Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas
Permafrost degradation amplified by climate change is one of the key issues to consider when attempting to install a small modular reactor (SMR) in remote towns and communities of northern Canada. If the thermal disturbance of permafrost occurs, the ground's strength may be significantly reduce...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bbe2764e3845411d92684da0b1eca10e 2023-05-15T16:37:08+02:00 Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas L. Sun A. Mahmoud Y. Ding M. Yetisir 2022-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100202 https://doaj.org/article/bbe2764e3845411d92684da0b1eca10e EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666202722000660 https://doaj.org/toc/2666-2027 2666-2027 doi:10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100202 https://doaj.org/article/bbe2764e3845411d92684da0b1eca10e International Journal of Thermofluids, Vol 16, Iss , Pp 100202- (2022) SMR installation Northern permafrost conditions Heat transfer Geothermal analyses Foundation stability Heat QC251-338.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100202 2022-12-30T22:46:38Z Permafrost degradation amplified by climate change is one of the key issues to consider when attempting to install a small modular reactor (SMR) in remote towns and communities of northern Canada. If the thermal disturbance of permafrost occurs, the ground's strength may be significantly reduced, resulting in structural settlement and stability problems. Therefore, when constructing an SMR on permafrost soils or bedrocks, local permafrost conditions must be protected around the foundations. In the present work, a permafrost heat transfer model has been developed, including the mechanisms of the transient heat conduction, convection and phase change between the solid (ice) and liquid (water) in a porous medium (subsurface soil or sand), to predict the ground temperature variation with depth. The model was assessed by comparing against the available analytical solutions, and then applied to an underground SMR structure (using the Russian-ELENA design) and a civic building foundation (Igloo Church in Inuvik) to forecast the influence of construction heating and seasonal change on the thawing fronts, especially below the structure foundations. The climate data of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada was used as typical weather conditions of northern areas. The numerical results concluded that there is no significant difference of the thawing front penerations adjacent to the underground SMR structure between the summer and winter times, except the active layer. This study will help to ensure the long-term performance of SMR structures under changing environmental conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Inuvik Northwest Territories permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Inuvik ENVELOPE(-133.610,-133.610,68.341,68.341) Northwest Territories International Journal of Thermofluids 16 100202 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
SMR installation Northern permafrost conditions Heat transfer Geothermal analyses Foundation stability Heat QC251-338.5 |
spellingShingle |
SMR installation Northern permafrost conditions Heat transfer Geothermal analyses Foundation stability Heat QC251-338.5 L. Sun A. Mahmoud Y. Ding M. Yetisir Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
topic_facet |
SMR installation Northern permafrost conditions Heat transfer Geothermal analyses Foundation stability Heat QC251-338.5 |
description |
Permafrost degradation amplified by climate change is one of the key issues to consider when attempting to install a small modular reactor (SMR) in remote towns and communities of northern Canada. If the thermal disturbance of permafrost occurs, the ground's strength may be significantly reduced, resulting in structural settlement and stability problems. Therefore, when constructing an SMR on permafrost soils or bedrocks, local permafrost conditions must be protected around the foundations. In the present work, a permafrost heat transfer model has been developed, including the mechanisms of the transient heat conduction, convection and phase change between the solid (ice) and liquid (water) in a porous medium (subsurface soil or sand), to predict the ground temperature variation with depth. The model was assessed by comparing against the available analytical solutions, and then applied to an underground SMR structure (using the Russian-ELENA design) and a civic building foundation (Igloo Church in Inuvik) to forecast the influence of construction heating and seasonal change on the thawing fronts, especially below the structure foundations. The climate data of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada was used as typical weather conditions of northern areas. The numerical results concluded that there is no significant difference of the thawing front penerations adjacent to the underground SMR structure between the summer and winter times, except the active layer. This study will help to ensure the long-term performance of SMR structures under changing environmental conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
L. Sun A. Mahmoud Y. Ding M. Yetisir |
author_facet |
L. Sun A. Mahmoud Y. Ding M. Yetisir |
author_sort |
L. Sun |
title |
Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
title_short |
Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
title_full |
Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
title_fullStr |
Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
title_sort |
numerical analysis of permafrost heat transfer for small module reactor installation in northern areas |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100202 https://doaj.org/article/bbe2764e3845411d92684da0b1eca10e |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-133.610,-133.610,68.341,68.341) |
geographic |
Canada Inuvik Northwest Territories |
geographic_facet |
Canada Inuvik Northwest Territories |
genre |
Ice Inuvik Northwest Territories permafrost |
genre_facet |
Ice Inuvik Northwest Territories permafrost |
op_source |
International Journal of Thermofluids, Vol 16, Iss , Pp 100202- (2022) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666202722000660 https://doaj.org/toc/2666-2027 2666-2027 doi:10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100202 https://doaj.org/article/bbe2764e3845411d92684da0b1eca10e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100202 |
container_title |
International Journal of Thermofluids |
container_volume |
16 |
container_start_page |
100202 |
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1766027425474412544 |