THE PREDICTION OF pH BY GIBBS FREE ENERGY MINIMIZATION IN THE SUMP SOLUTION UNDER LOCA CONDITION OF PWR

• Main Author: HYOUNGJU YOON
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2013-02-01
• Series: Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• Subjects: Sump; pH; Gibbs Free Energy; Chemical Equilibrium; Boric Acid; TSP; Radiolysis
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573315300139

It is required that the pH of the sump solution should be above 7.0 to retain iodine in a liquid phase and be within the material compatibility constraints under LOCA condition of PWR. The pH of the sump solution can be determined by conventional chemical equilibrium constants or by the minimization of Gibbs free energy. The latter method developed as a computer code called SOLGASMIX-PV is more convenient than the former since various chemical components can be easily treated under LOCA conditions. In this study, SOLGASMIX-PV code was modified to accommodate the acidic and basic materials produced by radiolysis reactions and to calculate the pH of the sump solution. When the computed pH was compared with measured by the ORNL experiment to verify the reliability of the modified code, the error between two values was within 0.3 pH. Finally, two cases of calculation were performed for the SKN 3&4 and UCN 1&2. As results, pH of the sump solution for the SKN 3&4 was between 7.02 and 7.45, and for the UCN 1&2 plant between 8.07 and 9.41. Furthermore, it was found that the radiolysis reactions have insignificant effects on pH because the relative concentrations of HCl, HNO3, and Cs are very low.