COOLING ANALYSIS OF A MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION REACTOR - SINGLE-PHASE NATURAL-CONVECTION

A cooling analysis of a Medical Isotope Production Reactor (MIPR) has been performed using a finite element model. The aim of the present wo rk is to determine the power level at which cooling can be attained by natural convection without boiling. Since the liquid fuel is being un iformly heated and the vessel wall serves as a heat sink, there is no heterogeneous boiling occurring at the vessel surfaces. The numerical results suggest that homogeneous boiling occurs approximately at Q = 1 6 kW. The thermal resistance analysis reveals that the convective resi stance in the fuel region is dominant during the cooling process.