Numerical Investigation of Operational Conditions Effects on the Annualr Seal Rotordynamic Characteristics of a 1400-Mw Canned Motor Reactor Coolant Pump

Authors

  • Lu-sheng Zhou, Xiao-fang Wang, Hai-tao Liu, Jian-chi Xin

Abstract

The annular seal between the stator and rotor substantively act as a bearing which affects the rotordynamic characteristic of the Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) during its long-time service. The target of this work is to have a major research about the operational conditions effects about inlet pressure and rotational speeds on the rotordynamic characteristics of the annular seal in the RCP. For solving the annular seal frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients, a 3D numerical method applying mesh deformation technique was utilized to simulate the multiple-frequency ellipse rotor whirling motion for different operational conditions. The conclusions showed that increasing inlet pressure of the annular seal and decreasing rotational speeds both contribute to system stability due to the increasing positive effective damping. In addition, increasing inlet pressure will result in a decrease in the effective stiffness, which will make the rotor system confronted with a risk of high vibration problems.

Published

2020-10-01

Issue

Section

Articles