Development of low-pressure-loss steam separator with design by analysis and test (II) verification of the full-scale steam separator performance with improved swirler

The purpose of this study is to develop a new BWR steam separator with a lower pressure loss of more than 20% than the current steam separator while maintaining the steam separation performance. Reducing the pressure loss of steam separators is advantageous in that it reduces the required recirculation pump power and hence increases the net electrical power output. In previous studies, a low-pressure-loss steam separator was developed by three-dimensional two-phase flow simulations verified by 1/2.22-scale model experiment. In this study, performance tests for a full-scale steam separator with an improved swirler were conducted under actual reactor operating conditions of 7.17 MPa and 287°C. The obtained results demonstrate that pressure loss decreases by about 25% and the separation performance is similar to that of the current steam separator under rated reactor conditions.