Reliability and efficiency of valves are necessary for precise control and sufficient heat-flow to heat application plants for the integrated energy systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Strategic Management Analysis Requirement and Technology (SMART) valves’ ability to control flow and assess environmental parameters stands out for these requirements. Their ability to sustain the downstream flow rate, prevent reverse flow, and maintain pressure in the heat transport loop is much more efficient with the integration of sensors and intelligent algorithms. For assessing valve performance and monitoring, mechanical design and operating conditions are two important parameters. In this study, the butterfly valves of three different sizes are simulated with water and steam using STAR-CCM+ in various flow regimes and positions to analyze performance parameters to strategize an automated control system for efficiently balancing the heat–transport network. Also, flow behavior is studied using velocity and pressure fields for valve–body geometry optimization. It can be observed, through performance parameters, that the valves are suitable for operation between 30° and 90° positions with significantly low loss coefficients and high flow coefficients, and the performance parameters follow a certain pattern in both water and steam flow in each scenario.

An improved heat flux partitioning model of pool boiling is proposed in this study to predict the material-conjugated pool boiling curve. The fundamental rationale behind the improved model is that heat convection is only governed by far-field mechanisms while heat quenching and evaporation are partially subjected to near-field material-dependent mechanisms. The quenching heat flux is derived dependently on thermal-effusivities of solid and liquid, respectively, based on the transient heat conduction analyses. The evaporative heat flux correlates the material-dependent bubble dynamics parameters including bubble departure frequency and nucleation site density together to yield a new analytical form and support the theoretical reflections of material-conjugated boiling behaviors. The proposed model can approximately capture the material-related impacts on boiling heat transfer coefficients and simulate pool boiling curves validated by the use of experimental data.