The Field of Acoustic Standing Waves in the VVER Reactor Coolant Circuits

Many research teams and groups pay much attention to matters concerned with hydrodynamic impacts exerted on the equipment of nuclear power facilities (NPFs), which is reflected in numerous publications: monographs, articles, and reviews. However, despite the availability of theoretical works on this problem, matters concerned with applied investigations, i.e., immediately with direct measurements, still remain beyond the scope of scientific interests of Russian and foreign scientists. The need of studying them for practical applications is mainly stemming from the complexity of interpreting various revealed abnormalities, requirements for precise adjustment of various models, and essentially different spectral images of equipment not only within the framework of various designs of reactor plants (RPs), but in the power units of the same type within one NPP. These problems cannot be solved using solely theoretical or calculation methods, or using simulation software tools. The situation is also aggravated by the fact that the process of carrying out investigations is an exceptionally complex problem in terms of both selecting the data sources and interpreting the information obtained. In all likelihood, it is exactly these factors due to which an essentially weakened interest in experimental works on vibroacoustic topic in various RPs both in Russia and other countries can be explained. The article briefly presents some results of studying the fields of acoustic standing waves (ASWs) in the reactor coolant circuit (RCC) of a reactor plant equipped with a pressurized water reactor (VVER-1200) taking as an example power unit 1 at the Novovoronezh-2 NPP; in addition, the main ASW types are described.