IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v340y2025ics0360544225049473.html

Research on gradient optimization design method for Q-H curve changes of nuclear reactor coolant pump based on energy loss analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Huazheng
  • Lu, Yonggang
  • Liu, Xiangsong
  • Li, Huairui
  • Fu, Qiang
  • Zhu, Rongsheng

Abstract

Variations in the primary circuit temperature of a nuclear reactor can lead to changes in coolant pressure, thereby altering the operating conditions of the reactor coolant pump (RCP). To enhance operational safety, this study introduces the gradient of the Q–H curve variation as a quantitative indicator for evaluating the safety performance of the RCP. Pressure pulsation characteristics at various circumferential positions on the RCPM casing were obtained through model testing, and then analyzed the internal flow structures under different flow conditions. By examining the distribution of entropy production, the primary regions of hydraulic loss in various structural components under off-design conditions were identified. Based on this analysis, a structural optimization method was proposed in which the guide vanes are offset from the centerline of the pump outlet. The optimization results demonstrate that this approach effectively reduces the number of vortices within the pump casing, lowers overall turbulence intensity, and mitigates flow losses under low-flow conditions. Consequently, the hydraulic efficiency has increased by 1.08 %, and the slope of the Q-H curve has increased by 30 %, thereby enhancing the RCP's operational stability and adaptability to varying conditions. These findings provide theoretical support and design guidance for the structural optimization and efficient operation of reactor coolant pumps.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Huazheng & Lu, Yonggang & Liu, Xiangsong & Li, Huairui & Fu, Qiang & Zhu, Rongsheng, 2025. "Research on gradient optimization design method for Q-H curve changes of nuclear reactor coolant pump based on energy loss analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:340:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225049473
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.139305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225049473
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.139305?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wu, TianXin & Wu, DengHao & Gao, ShuYu & Song, Yu & Ren, Yun & Mou, JieGang, 2023. "Multi-objective optimization and loss analysis of multistage centrifugal pumps," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    2. Kan, Kan & Xu, Zhe & Chen, Huixiang & Xu, Hui & Zheng, Yuan & Zhou, Daqing & Muhirwa, Alexis & Maxime, Binama, 2022. "Energy loss mechanisms of transition from pump mode to turbine mode of an axial-flow pump under bidirectional conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    3. Xiangyang Li & Jingwei Cao & Jianling Zhuang & Tongmao Wu & Hongyong Zheng & Yunfeng Wang & Wenqiang Zheng & Guoqing Lin & Zhengwei Wang, 2022. "Effect of Operating Head on Dynamic Behavior of a Pump–Turbine Runner in Turbine Mode," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, May.
    4. Miao, Senchun & Tan, Xingxing & Luo, Wen & Wang, Xiaohui & Yang, Junhu, 2024. "The mechanism of internal energy losses in double- suction centrifugal pumps under direct and reverse conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    5. Bohdanowicz, Zbigniew & Łopaciuk-Gonczaryk, Beata & Kowalski, Jarosław, 2025. "Europe becomes pro-nuclear? Drivers of public support for nuclear energy in six EU countries after the energy crisis of 2022," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    6. Gan, Xingcheng & Xu, Yuanhui & Pei, Ji & Wang, Wenjie & Yuan, Shouqi, 2025. "Approaching a modified adaptive swarm intelligence to energy efficiency enhancement of an inline pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    7. Ji, Leilei & Li, Wei & Shi, Weidong & Chang, Hao & Yang, Zhenyu, 2020. "Energy characteristics of mixed-flow pump under different tip clearances based on entropy production analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    8. Mu, Tong & Zhang, Rui & Xu, Hui & Fei, Zhaodan & Feng, Jiangang & Jin, Yan & Zheng, Yuan, 2023. "Improvement of energy performance of the axial-flow pump by groove flow control technology based on the entropy theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    9. Liu, Yunqi & Wang, Tao & Lei, Lei & Huang, Tengfei & Guo, Qing, 2025. "Vortex characteristics and energy loss analysis of a centrifugal pump as turbine based on velocity triangles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    10. Chen, Huazheng & Liu, Xiangsong & Lu, Yonggang & Fu, Qiang & Zhu, Rongsheng & Li, Huairui & Su, Haonan, 2024. "Evolution mechanism of internal flow in the hump region and hump optimization of axial-flow reactor coolant pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    11. Zhao, Yuanqi & Li, Deyou & Chang, Hong & Fu, Xiaolong & Wang, Hongjie & Qin, Daqing, 2023. "Suppression effect of bionic guide vanes with different parameters on the hump characteristics of pump-turbines based on entropy production theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    12. Zhang, Liwen & Wang, Xin & Wu, Peng & Huang, Bin & Wu, Dazhuan, 2023. "Optimization of a centrifugal pump to improve hydraulic efficiency and reduce hydro-induced vibration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    13. Wang, Wengjie & Wang, Hongyu & Pei, Ji & Chen, Jia & Gan, Xingcheng & Sun, Qin, 2025. "Artificial intelligence approach for energy and entropy analyses of a double-suction centrifugal pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    14. Li, Wei & Huang, Yuxin & Ji, Leilei & Ma, Lingling & Agarwal, Ramesh K. & Awais, Muhammad, 2023. "Prediction model for energy conversion characteristics during transient processes in a mixed-flow pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    15. Zhong Li & Yanna Sun & Weifeng Gong & Dan Ni & Bo Gao, 2024. "Analysis of Energy Loss Characteristics in an Axial-Flow Reactor Coolant Pump Based on Entropy Production Theory," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-18, July.
    16. Lu, Yangping & Tan, Lei, 2024. "Design method based on a new slip-diffusion parameter of centrifugal pump for multiple conditions in wide operation region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Huazheng & Liu, Xiangsong & Lu, Yonggang & Fu, Qiang & Zhu, Rongsheng & Li, Huairui & Su, Haonan, 2024. "Evolution mechanism of internal flow in the hump region and hump optimization of axial-flow reactor coolant pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    2. He, Xinxiang & Zhang, Jun & Qin, Shijie & Wu, Peng & Wu, Dazhuan, 2025. "Energy loss dynamic decomposition analysis under different working conditions in centrifugal pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    3. Gu, Yandong & Huang, Jiayi & Zhu, Qiyuan & Ma, Cheng & Cheng, Li, 2025. "Analysis of impeller passage blockage effects on energy dissipation and flow fields in pumped cooling systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    4. Dehghan, Amir Arsalan & Shojaeefard, Mohammad Hassan & Roshanaei, Maryam, 2024. "Exploring a new criterion to determine the onset of cavitation in centrifugal pumps from energy-saving standpoint; experimental and numerical investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    5. Li, Wei & Long, Yu & Ji, Leilei & Li, Haoming & Li, Shuo & Chen, Yunfei & Yang, Qiaoyue, 2024. "Effect of circumferential spokes on the rotating stall flow field of mixed-flow pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    6. Yu, Shengping & Wang, Yuhu & Chen, Tairan & Li, Mingke & Zhang, Xiaoping & Huang, Biao & Xu, Jin & Wang, Guoyu, 2025. "An inclined groove and its optimization design method for improving the energy performance at the saddle zone of axial flow pumps," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    7. Wang, Wengjie & Wang, Hongyu & Pei, Ji & Chen, Jia & Gan, Xingcheng & Sun, Qin, 2025. "Artificial intelligence approach for energy and entropy analyses of a double-suction centrifugal pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    8. Pei, Ji & Shen, Jiawei & Wang, Wenjie & Yuan, Shouqi & Zhao, Jiantao, 2024. "Evaluating hydraulic dissipation in a reversible mixed-flow pump for micro-pumped hydro storage based on entropy production theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    9. Lei, Shuaihao & Cheng, Li, 2025. "Investigation of transient effects and energy losses for an axial flow pump as turbine in pump mode's start-up," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    10. Li, Wei & Yang, Qiaoyue & Yang, Yi & Ji, Leilei & Shi, Weidong & Agarwal, Ramesh, 2024. "Optimization of pump transient energy characteristics based on response surface optimization model and computational fluid dynamics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).
    11. Jiao, Weixuan & Chen, Hongjun & Cheng, Li & Zhang, Bowen & Gu, Yangdong, 2023. "Energy loss and pressure fluctuation characteristics of coastal two-way channel pumping stations under the ultra-low head condition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PA).
    12. Gu, Yandong & Zhu, Qiyuan & Bian, Junjie & Wang, Qiliang & Cheng, Li, 2025. "Novel sealing design for high-speed coolant pumps: Impact on energy performance, axial thrust and flow field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    13. Zheng, Yunhao & Li, Yanjun & Zhang, Fan & Yuan, Shouqi & Zhu, Xingye, 2025. "Multi-condition hydraulic performance enhancement for a mixed flow pump through improved AIGV," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    14. Li, Wei & Pu, Wei & Ji, Leilei & Yang, Qiaoyue & He, Xinrui & Agarwal, Ramesh, 2024. "Mechanism of the impact of sediment particles on energy loss in mixed-flow pumps," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    15. Zhang, Xiaowen & Tang, Fangping & Pavesi, Giorgio & Hu, Chongyang & Song, Xijie, 2024. "Influence of gate cutoff effect on flow mode conversion and energy dissipation during power-off of prototype tubular pump system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    16. Xu, Lianchen & Kan, Kan & Zheng, Yuan & Liu, Demin & Binama, Maxime & Xu, Zhe & Yan, Xiaotong & Guo, Mengqi & Chen, Huixiang, 2024. "Rotating stall mechanism of pump-turbine in hump region: An insight into vortex evolution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    17. Zhao, Yun & Yuan, Shouqi & Lu, Yonggang & Liu, Zhiwang & Liu, Xiangsong & Fu, Qiang, 2025. "Research on the conversion mechanism between cold and hot performance of reactor coolant pump based on entropy production theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    18. Song, Xijie & Luo, Yongyao & Wang, Zhengwei, 2024. "Mechanism of the influence of sand on the energy dissipation inside the hydraulic turbine under sediment erosion condition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    19. Xu, Zhe & Zheng, Yuan & Kan, Kan & Chen, Huixiang, 2023. "Flow instability and energy performance of a coastal axial-flow pump as turbine under the influence of upstream waves," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    20. Mu, Tong & Zhang, Rui & Xu, Hui & Fei, Zhaodan & Feng, Jiangang & Jin, Yan & Zheng, Yuan, 2023. "Improvement of energy performance of the axial-flow pump by groove flow control technology based on the entropy theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:340:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225049473. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.