Experimental and operational verification of the HTR-10 - Once-through steam generator (SG) - Heat-transfer and hydrodynamic features of the once-through steam generator

In January 2003, the 10 MW High-temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTR-10) reached its full power for continuous operation of seventy-two hours in the Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Tsinghua University. The reactor was operated smoothly at the designated parameters. The once-through steam generator (SG) is one of key equipments of the HTR-10 reactor. The SG includes 30 modular heating helical tube assemblies. Design of the SG includes hydraulics. heat transfer and stability designs. Based on the design requirement, it is necessary to ensure sufficient heat removal from the reactor in order to maintain stable operation. In order to confirm the thermal hydraulic reliability of the SG, a series of experiments had been carried out. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design features and experimental verification of HTR-10 SG, and the research results of small bending radius helical coil-pipe used in HTR-10, for example, the heat transfer coefficient of water, superheat steam and the two phase flow in the helical tube, the heat transfer coefficient of the He flow across the helical tube, and the centrifugal force effect on the heat transfer for the helical tube. In the paper, some operational experimental data of the HTR-10 SG have been presented.