The Influence and Optimization of Geometrical Parameters on Coast-Down Characteristics of Nuclear Reactor Coolant Pumps

Coast-down characteristics are the crucial safety evaluation factors of nuclear reactor coolant pumps. The energy stored at the highest moment of inertia of the reactor coolant pump unit is utilized to maintain a normal coolant supply to the core of the cooling loop system for a short period of time during the coast-down transition. As a result of the high inertia moment of the rotor system, the unit requires a high reliability of the nuclear reactor coolant pump and consumes considerable energy in the start-up and normal operation. This paper considers the operational characteristics of the coast-down transition process based on the existing hydraulic model of the nuclear reactor coolant pump. With the implementation of an orthogonal test, the hydraulic performance of the nuclear reactor coolant pump was optimized, and the optimal combination of impeller geometrical parameters was selected using multivariate linear regression to prolong the coast-down time of the reactor coolant pump and to avoid serious nuclear accidents.