A study on the effect of various design parameters on the natural circulation flow rate of the ex-vessel core catcher cooling system of EU-APR1400

In this paper, a study on the effect of various design parameters such as the channel gap width, heat flux distribution, down-comer pipe size and two-phase flow slip ratio on the natural circulation flow rate is performed based on a physical model for a natural circulation flow along the flow path of the ex-vessel core catcher cooling system of an EU-APR1400, and these effects on the natural circulation flow rate are analyzed and compared with the minimum flow rate required for the safe operation of the system. (authors)