Numerical Investigation of the Hydrodynamic Behavior of Trash-Blocking Nets for Water Intake Engineering of Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract

In order to ensure the safety of the cooling water source of coastal nuclear power plants (NPP), trash-blocking nets (TBNs) are usually installed at the entrance of the penstock to prevent marine sewage and organisms flowing into the front pool of the pump house of the nuclear power plant. The safety evaluation of these trash-blocking nets is of paramount importance for the stable operation of a nuclear power plant. However, there is no reliable analysis method for improving the design of trash-blocking nets and mooring systems. In this study, a numerical model of in-current trash-blocking nets based on the lumped mass method was developed to calculate the tension force on the trash-blocking nets and mooring system. A comparison with the experimental data indicates that the present numerical model is appropriate for calculating the in-current hydrodynamic loads on the trash-blocking nets. In addition, the effects of the width of trash-blocking nets, hanging ratio, water depth, and net solidity are discussed in detail, and the damage process of trash-blocking nets was also investigated. The results indicate that the maximum tension force on the trash-blocking net linearly increases with the increasing width of trash-blocking nets, and it is greatly decreased with the increase in the horizontal hanging ratio of trash-blocking nets. It can be increased by 200% when the net solidity is increased from 0.16 to 0.6. Two damage modes for mooring lines can be observed, which are determined by the strength of mooring lines.