System and method for determining fluctuating pressure loading on a component in a reactor steam dome

An apparatus for providing a determination of a fluctuating pressure loading on at least one component, comprising:

• a reactor structure, or a representation of said reactor structure, said reactor structure comprising a reactor steam dome containing said at least one component and having at least one steam line for transferring steam away from said dome, said at least one steam line being joined to said dome via an inlet region;
• A computing device comprising:
• a computer-readable medium comprising instructions for:
• estimating an inlet fluctuating mass flux at said inlet region;
• and
• solving one of a 3-D wave equation or a 3-D Helmholtz equation having said inlet fluctuating pressure as part of a boundary condition, thereby providing a determination of a fluctuating pressure loading on said at least one component.

A fluctuating pressure loading estimate, comprising:

• A presentation of one or more values representing one or more fluctuating pressure loading estimates on at least one component, said values having been obtained by an estimating process comprising:
• providing a reactor structure, or a representation of said reactor structure, said reactor structure comprising a reactor steam dome containing said at least one component and having at least one steam line for transferring steam away from said dome, said at least one steam line being joined to said dome via an inlet region;
• estimating an inlet fluctuating mass flux at said inlet region;
• and
• obtaining a fluctuating pressure loading on said at least one component using said inlet fluctuating mass flux and solving one of a 3-D wave equation or a 3-D Helmholtz equation.