A review of natural circulation loops in pressurized water reactors and other systems

Abstract A survey is presented on the theoretical and experimental work on single-phase natural circulation loops (thermosyphons). It includes available modeling methods (analytical and numerical) to describe steady-state flows, transients and stability characteristics of the various loops. These range from simple geometry systems through small-scale (laboratory) loops to full-scale systems—nuclear reactor plants and solar water heaters. An attempt is made to compare some of the analytical models and to present the results by using generalized parameters. The available data are given and the comparison with the theoretical results is discussed.

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