Flow characteristics analysis of USC overload turbine control valve for nuclear power plant

P. K. Bhowmik, K. Y. Suh, J. A. Shamim, A. Gairola

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Experiments as well as numerical analysis were carried out to analyze the flow characteristics (FC) of ultra-supercritical (USC) turbine combine overload valve for a power conversion system of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The electric power output in a turbine system is proportional to the mass flow to turbine through valve. By controlling the mass flow to the turbine, the turbine valve plays a pivotal role to regulate the output power as per load demand. So, to ensure the effective electrical load following operation and system stability, the turbine valve should operate linearly. But the real valve has different FC both linear and non-linear pursuant to the plug and or stem lift type. To overcome these difficulties, it is necessary to check the valve FC accurately. In this study, experiments were conducted using compressed air as the working fluid and Lab VIEW as real time data acquisition. A test loop named VELO (Valve Engineered Layout Operation) was built to experimentally investigate the flow characteristics of the control valve. CATIA V.5® and ANSYS CFX were used for three-dimensional computer-aided design and computational fluid dynamics analysis, respectively. The valve FC curves were plotted by calculating the ratio of the experimental as well as numerical computational mass flow rate versus the theoretical mass flow rate. The theoretical mass flow rate was calculated using the thermodynamic characteristics analysis of the control valve. The FC curves were utilized to check the performance of the turbine system to ensure the highest controllability, reliability and safety of the power conversion system of nuclear and fossil fuel power plants.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication9th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2015
PublisherAmerican Nuclear Society
Pages1734-1745
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9781510808096
StatePublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes
Event9th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2015 - Charlotte, United States
Duration: Feb 22 2015Feb 26 2015

Publication series

Name9th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2015
Volume2

Conference

Conference9th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies, NPIC and HMIT 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCharlotte
Period02/22/1502/26/15

Keywords

  • ANSYS CFX
  • Control valve
  • Flow characteristics
  • Lab VIEW
  • Turbine system

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