• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.1945-1954
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• 2020

Subchannel code is one of the effective simulation tools for thermal-hydraulic analysis in nuclear reactor core. In order to reduce the computational cost and improve the calculation efficiency, empirical correlation of turbulent mixing coefficient is employed to calculate the lateral mixing velocity between adjacent subchannels. However, correlations utilized currently are often fitted from data achieved in central channel of fuel assembly, which would simply neglect the wall effects. In this paper, the CFD approach based on spectral element method is employed to predict turbulent mixing phenomena through gaps in 3 × 3 bare tight lattice rod bundle and investigate the flow pulsation through gaps in different positions. Re = 5000,10000,20500 and P/D = 1.03 and 1.06 have been covered in the simulation cases. With a well verified mesh, lateral velocities at gap center between corner channel and wall channel (W-Co), wall channel and wall channel (W-W), wall channel and center channel (W-C) as well as center channel and center channel (C-C) are collected and compared with each other. The obvious turbulent mixing distributions are presented in the different channels of rod bundle. The peak frequency values at W-Co channel could have about 40%-50% reduction comparing with the C-C channel value and the turbulent mixing coefficient β could decrease around 25%. corrections for β should be performed in subchannel code at wall channel and corner channel for a reasonable prediction result. A preliminary analysis on fluctuation at channel gap has also performed. Eddy cascade should be considered carefully in detailed analysis for fluctuating in rod bundle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.721-733
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• 2020

In nuclear engineering, the occurrence of critical heat flux (CHF) is complicated for rod bundle, and it is much more difficult to predict the CHF when it is in natural circulation under motion condition. In this paper, the dryout-type CHF is investigated for the rod bundle in a natural circulation loop under rolling motion condition based on the coupled analysis of subchannel method, a one-dimensional system analysis method and a CHF mechanism model, namely the three-fluid model for annular flow. In order to consider the rolling effect of the natural circulation loop, the subchannel model is connected to the one-dimensional system code at the inlet and outlet of the rod bundle. The subchannel analysis provides the local thermal hydraulic parameters as input for the CHF mechanism model to calculate the occurrence of CHF. The rolling motion is modeled by additional motion forces in the momentum equation. First, the calculation methods of the natural circulation and CHF are validated by a published natural circulation experiment data and a CHF empirical correlation, respectively. Then, the CHF of the rod bundle in a natural circulation loop under both the stationary and rolling motion condition is predicted and analyzed. According to the calculation results, CHF under stationary condition is smaller than that under rolling motion condition. Besides, the CHF decreases with the increase of the rolling period and angular acceleration amplitude within the range of inlet subcooling and mass flux adopted in the current research. This paper can provide useful information for the prediction of CHF in natural circulation under motion condition, which is important for the nuclear reactor design improvement and safety analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.1905-1915
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• 2019

This paper investigated the influence of simple support girds on flow, irrespective of having mixing vanes, in a 1 × 3 array rod bundle by using CFD methodology and the most accurate turbulence model which could reflect the actual physics of the flow was determined. In this context, a CFD model was created simulating the experimental studies on a single-phase flow [1] and the results were compared with the experimental data. In the first part of the study, influence of mesh was examined. Tetra, hybrid and poly type meshes were analyzed and convergence study was carried out on each in order to determine the most appropriate type and density. k - ε Standard and RSM LPS turbulence models were used in this section. In the second part of the study, the most appropriate turbulence model that could reflect the physics of the actual flow was investigated. RANS based turbulence models were examined using the mesh that was determined in the first part. Velocity and turbulence intensity results obtained on the upstream and downstream of the spacer grid at -3d_h, +3d_h and +40d_h locations were compared with the experimental data. In the last section of the study, the behavior of flow through the spacer grid was examined and its prominent aspects were highlighted on the most appropriate turbulence model determined in the second part. Results of the study revealed the importance of mesh type. Hybrid mesh having the largest number of structured elements performed remarkably better than the other two on results. While comparisons of numerical and experimental results showed an overall agreement within all turbulence models, RSM LPS presented better results than the others. Lastly, physical appearance of the flow through spacer grids revealed that springs has more influence on flow than dimples and induces transient flow behaviors. As a result, flow through a simple support grid was examined and the most appropriate turbulence model reflecting the actual physics of the flow was determined.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1653-1661
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• 2012

In this study, the pressure drop changes and structural characteristics of a SMART rod bundle under the effect of a coolant were investigated. The turbulence model of the BSL Reynolds stress model was used to model the coolant flow, and a fluid solid interaction simulation was conducted. First, fuel rod vibration analysis was performed to confirm the natural frequency of the fuel rod, which was supported by spacer grid assemblies, and this was compared with experimental results. From the experimental results, the natural frequency was found to be 48 Hz, and the error compared with the simulation results was 2%. The pressure drop at the rod bundle was calculated and compared with the experimental data; it showed an error of 8%, demonstrating the simulation accuracy. In the flow analysis, the flow velocity and secondary flow at different domains were calculated, and vortex generation was also observed. Finally, through the fluid solid interaction analysis, the fuel rod displacements caused by flow-induced vibrations were calculated. Then, calculated displacement PSD at maximum displacement happed point.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.895-910
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• 2013

The reflood test data from the rod bundle heat transfer (RBHT) test facility showed that the grids in the upper portion of the rod bundle could become wet well before the arrival of the quench front and that the sizes of liquid droplets downstream of a wet grid could not be predicted by the droplet breakup models for a dry grid. To investigate the water droplet generation from a wet grid spacer, a viscous linear temporal instability model of the water sheet issuing from the trailing edge of the grid with the surrounding steam up-flow is developed in this study. The Orr-Sommerfeld equations along with appropriate boundary conditions for the flow are solved using Chebyshev series expansions and the Tau-Galerkin projection method. The effects of several physical parameters on the water sheet oscillation are studied by determining the variation of the temporal growth rate with the wavenumber. It is found that a larger relative steam velocity to water velocity has a tendency to destabilize the water sheet with increased dynamic pressure. On the other hand, a larger ratio of steam boundary layer to the half water sheet thickness has a stabilizing effect on the water sheet oscillation. Droplet diameters downstream of the spacer grid predicted by the present model are found to compare reasonably well with the data obtained at the RBHT test facility as well as with other data recently reported in the literature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.125.1-125
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• 1999

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.194.2-194
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.139.2-139
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• 2002

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.328-341
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• 1998

This paper presents in detail the hydraulic characteristic measurements using LDV(Laser Doppler Velocimetry) in subchannels of a HANARO, KAERI research reactor, fuel bundle. The fuel bundle consists of 18 axially finned rods with 3 spacer grids and has a cylindrical configuration. Axial velocity and turbulent intensity were measured. The effects of the spacer grids on the turbulent flow were investigated using the experimental results. Pressure drops for each component of the fuel bundle were measured, and the friction factors of the fuel bundle and the loss coefficients for the spacer grids were estimated from the measured pressure drops. The turbulent thermal mixing phenomena were discussed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.689-695
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• 2012

The friction factor in a rod bundle and the loss coefficient at a spacer grid were examined. As a test section, 25 smooth rods, 9.5 mm in diameter and 2000 mm in length, were prepared and installed in a $5{\times}5$ square array in a square channel. In this case, the P/D (Pitch-to-Diameter ratio) was 1.35. In this work, plain (i.e., no mixing vanes), split-vane, and hybrid-vane spacer grids were tested. In a bare rod bundle (i.e., no spacer grid), the measured friction factors were in good agreement with the previous correlations. Among the spacer grids tested, the hybrid-vane spacer grid presented the largest friction factor in the rod bundle and loss coefficient. This may be because of the flow pattern change induced by large relative plugging of the flow cross section and mixing vane geometry. At Re=$5{\times}10^5$, the predicted loss coefficients of plain, splitvane, and hybrid-vane spacer grids were approximately 0.79, 0.80, and 0.88, respectively.