• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.452-461
• /
• 1998

The pin power distribution is determined by analyzing the rotational gamma scanning data for 36 element fuel bundle of HANARO. A fission monitor of Nb$^{95}$ is chosen by considering the criteria of the half-life, fission yield, emitting ${\gamma}$-ray energy and probability. The ${\gamma}$-ray spectra were measured in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI) by using a HPGe detector and by rotating the fuel bundle at steps of 10$^{\circ}$. The counting rates of Nb$^{95}$ 766 keV ${\gamma}$-rays are determined by analyzing the full absorption peak in the spectra. A 36$\times$36 response matrix is obtained from calculating the contribution of each rod at every scanning angle by assuming 2-dimensional and parallel beam approximations for the measuring geometry. In terms of the measured counting rates and the calculated response matrix, an inverse problem is set up for the unknown distribution of activity concentrations of pins. To select a suitable solving method, the performances of three direct methods and the iterative least-square method are tested by solving simulation examples. The final solution is obtained by using the iterative least-square method that shows a good stability. The influences of detection error, step size of rotation and the collimator width are discussed on the accuracy of the numerical solution. Hence an improvement in the accuracy of the solution is proposed by reducing the collimator width of the scanning arrangement.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.295-306
• /
• 2009

The subchannel grade void distributions in the NUPEC (Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation) BFBT (BWR Full-Size Fine-Mesh Bundle Tests) facility were evaluated with the subchannel analysis code MATRA and the system code MARS. Fifteen test series from five different test bundles were selected for an analysis of the steady-state subchannel void distributions. Two transient cases, a turbine trip without a bypass as a typical power transient and a re-circulation pump trip as a flow transient, were also chosen for this analysis. It was found that the steady-state void distributions calculated by both the MATRA and MARS codes coincided well with the measured data in the range of thermodynamic qualities from 5% to 25%. The results of the transient calculations were also similar and were highly feasible. However, the computational aspects of the two codes were clearly different.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.11
• /
• pp.1004-1011
• /
• 2000

Experimental and computational studies were carried out to confirm the turbulent enhancement of the cooling system of nuclear reactor by large scale vortex generation in nuclear fuel bundle. The large scale vortex motions were generated by rearranging the inclination angles of mixing vanes to the coordinate directions. Axial development of mean and turbulent velocities in the subchannels were measured by the 2-color LDV system. Eddy diffusivity heat flux model and $k-varepsilon$ model were employed to analyze the turbulent heat and fluid flows in the subchannel. The turbulence generated by split mixing vanes has small length scales so that they maintain only about $10 D_H$ after the spacer grid. On the other hand, the turbulences generated by the large scale vortex continue more and remain up to $25 D_H$after the spacer gird.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.53-62
• /
• 2017

The forced convection heat transfer performance of a twist-vane spacer grid for a dual-cooled annular fuel assembly was examined experimentally. The twist-vane spacer grid was uniquely designed to enhance mixing inside subchannels and mixing between adjacent subchannels. For testing, a $4{\times}4$ square-arrayed rod bundle with narrow gaps between rods was prepared as the dual-cooled annular fuel assembly to be simulated. The pitch-to-rod diameter ratio of simulated dual-cooled annular fuel assembly was 1.08. The experiments were performed under the following conditions: axial bulk velocity, 1.5 m/s and heat flux, $26kW/m^2$. With regard to the circumferential temperature distribution, the lowest rod-wall temperatures upstream and downstream were measured at the subchannel center and the position toward the tip of twist-vane, respectively. With regard to the axial temperature distribution, behind the twist-vane spacer grid, the rod-wall temperature decreased drastically, and the Nusselt number was enhanced by up to 56 %. The present measured data indicate that the twist-vane spacer grid can effectively improve the forced convection heat transfer in the dual-cooled annular fuel assembly with narrow gaps.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.7
• /
• pp.2728-2735
• /
• 2022

The research on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of lead bismuth(LBE) is significant for the thermal-hydraulic calculation, safety analysis and practical application of lead-based fast reactors(LFR). In this paper, a new CFD model is proposed to solve the thermal-hydraulic analysis of LBE. The model includes two parts: turbulent model and turbulent Prandtl, which are the important factors for LBE. In order to find the best model, the experiment data and design of 19-pin hexagonal rod bundle with spacer grid, undertaken at the Karlsruhe Liquid Metal Laboratory (KALLA) are used for CFD calculation. Furthermore, the turbulent model includes SST k - 𝜔 and k - 𝜀; the turbulent Prandtl includes Cheng-Tak and constant (Pr_t =1.5,2.0,2.5,3.0). Among them, the combination between SST k - 𝜔 and Cheng-Tak is more suitable for the experiment. But in the low Pe region, the deviation between the experiment data and CFD result is too much. The reason may be the inlet-effect and when Pe is in a low level, the number of molecular thermal diffusion occupies an absolute advantage, and the buoyancy will enhance. In order to test and verify versatility of the model, the NCCL performed by the Nuclear Thermal-hydraulic Laboratory (Nuthel) of Xi'an Jiao tong University is used for CFD to calculate. This paper provides two verification examples for the new universal model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.314-327
• /
• 1999

A subchannel analysis code MATRA applicable to PWRs and ALWRs has been developed to be run on an IBM PC or HP WS based on the existing CDC CYBER mainframe version of COBRA-Rf-1. This MATRA code is a thermal-hydraulic analysis code based on the subchannel approach for calculating the enthalpy and How distribution in fuel assemblies and reactor cores for both steady-state and transient conditions. HATRA has been provided with an improved structure, various functions, and models to give more convenient user environment and to enhance the code accuracy. Among them, the pressure drop model has been improved to be applied to non-square-lattice rod arrays, and the models for the lateral transport between adjacent subchannels have been improved to enhance the accuracy in predicting two-phase flow phenomena. The predictions of MATRA were compared with the experimental data on the flow and enthalpy distribution in some sample rod-bundle cases to evaluate the performance of MATRA. All the results revealed that the predictions of MATRA were better than those of COBRA-IV-I.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2005.11a
• /
• pp.173.1-173.1
• /
• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
• /
• 2017.10a
• /
• pp.91-92
• /
• 2017

In this study, assembling procedure of TRU fuel assembly was reviewed and divided into rod bundle assembling, mating preassemblies and welding, and inspection and non-destructive examination. Based on this assumption, the design criteria of a remote assembler for TRU fuel assembly of PGSFR is defined and predictable technical issues are proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.7
• /
• pp.2714-2719
• /
• 2022

The present paper proposes some new computational methods and results in the framework of flow computation through congested domains seen as porous media, as it can be found in the core of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The flow is thus mostly governed by the distribution of pressure losses, both through the porous structures, such as fuel assemblies, and in the thin fluid layers between them. The purpose of the present paper is to consider the question of the interaction of a flow and a rod bundle from an analytical point of view gathering all the contributions through a set of equations as simple and representative as possible. It aims at demonstrating a sound understanding of the relevant phenomena governing the flow establishment in the geometry of interest instead of relying mainly on a posteriori observations obtained both experimentally and numerically. Comparison with two set of experimental results showed good agreement. The model proposed being analytical it appears easily implementable for studies needing an expression of fluid forces in a rod array as for fuel assembly bowing issue. It would be interesting to test the reliability of the model on other geometry with different P/R ratios.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.381-393
• /
• 1993

This paper presents the experimental results on flooding of countercurrent flow in vertical multirod channels, which consists of falling water film and upward air flow. In particular, the effects of spacer grids, with and without mixing vane, and of blockage in the multirod bundle on the behaviour of flooding were investigated. The 5$\times$5 zircaloy tube bundle was used for the test section. The comparison of previous analytical models and empirical correlations with present data on flooding showed that the existing models and correlations predict much higher flooding curves. The spacer grid causes the lower flooding air flow rate to compare with the bare rod bundle. However, the mixing spacer grids need a higher flooding air flow rate for a constant liquid flow rate than the spacer grids without mixing vanes. The bundle containing blockages has the highest flooding air flow rate among the bundles with spacer grids and blockages. Empirical flooding correlations for the three types of test section have been made.