Pathfinder Atomic Power Plant: Superheater Temperature Evaluation Routine, an IBM-704 Computer Program

William B. Ross

Jan 1961 · United States Atomic Energy Commission, Office of Technical Information

About this ebook

A computer program was written for analysis of steam flow and heat transfer in fuel elements consisting of concentric fuel tubes with several annular coolant-flow channels. Performance of both average and hot-channel fuel elements may be evaluated since, for any heat generation rate, either total coolant flow rate or over-all pressure drop may be specified. The heat split from the fueled volume, thermal coupling between coolant channels, and heat loss from the fuel element are considered. Aithough any one run investigates only a single fuel element, any number of parallel fuel elements may be analyzed in successive runs by assuming that the pressure drop across the core is equal to the pressure drop across the nominal fuel element. Although written for inlet saturated steam at 6l5 psia, the program can be easily modified for use at any inlet condition. The program may be used on any 8K core IBM 704 computer. No tapes or drums are required. Typical running time for a problem composed of three flow channels, two fueled volumes, and four heat transfer surfaces, is approximately 2.5 min.