Cold Concrete Envelopes with Fins Regulating Control Rooms Temperature under Accident Conditions

When nuclear power plants are under accident conditions, normal air-conditioning system will cease for safety considerations. However, the equipment still generates much heat and indoor temperature will rise rapidly, which threatens the personnel safety. Therefore, massive concrete envelopes with cooling fins are expected to absorb the heat passively from the indoor air continuously. The numerical simulations were conducted to study the temperature change and distribution during a 72-hour period. The results show that indoor temperature was 298.37 K at the final hour, with the maximal increase of 6.34 K in the beginning. The massive envelopes with cooling fins can be a reliable and effective way to mitigate the temperature rise under accident conditions. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.