• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2001년도 춘계학술대회논문집E
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• pp.482-487
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• 2001

A CFD study was conducted to evaluate the nuclear fuel assembly coolant mixing that is promoted by the flow-mixing vanes on the grid spacer. Four mixing vanes (split vane, swirl vane, twisted vane, hybrid vane) were chosen in this study. A single subchannel of one grid span is modeled using the flow symmetry. The three mixing vanes other than swirl vane generate a large crossflow between the subchannels and a skewed elliptic swirling flow in the subchannel near the grid spacer. The swirl vane induces a circular swirling flow in the subchannel and a negligible crossflow. The split vane and the twisted vane were predicted to result in relatively larger pressure drop across the grid spacer. Since the average turbulent kinetic energy in the subchannel rapidly decreases to a fully developed level downstream of the spacer, turbulent mixing caused by the mixing vanes appears to be not as effective as swirling flow mixing in the subchannel. In summary, the CFD analysis represented the overall characteristics of coolant mixing well in a nuclear fuel assembly with the flow mixing vanes on the grid spacer. The CFD study is therefore quite useful for the development of an advanced flow-mixing vane.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2007년도 춘계학술대회B
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• pp.2396-2401
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• 2007

Freon CHF experiments are carried out to investigate the CHF enhancements by mixing vane shapes of spacer grids in nuclear fuel assembly. The experiments were performed for a wide range mass flux, 50$\sim}$3000 kg/$m^2s$. Three kinds of spacer grids in 5${\times}$5 rod bundles are tested: no mixing vane grids, hybrid mixing vane grids, and split mixing vane grids. The CHF performances are compared along with the data belong to the PWR operating conditions based on a water equivalence through a fluid-to-fluid modeling method. The average of the data in this range is 16.4% for 37 data of hybrid vane grid and 12.5% for 24 data of split vane. In the lower mass flux, however, the split vane grid shows slightly higher performance than the hybrid vane grid.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2007년도 춘계학술대회B
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• pp.2873-2878
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• 2007

The mixing vanes attached to the spacer grid of rod bundles are used to improve the heat transfer in heat exchanger devices by controlling the characteristics of the flow structures and turbulence. In this study, velocity patterns induced by two types of mixing vane(split and swirl vane) are measured by the PIV technique to better understand how to effect on the cross and secondary vortex flow patterns in $5{\times}$ rod bundle simulating the fuel assembly of the nuclear reactor. A successful measurement of the lateral velocity patterns was conducted using a specially designed beam sheet generator and experimental loop at KAERI. As the result, we found that for the cross flow between subchannels, the split vane is more effective than the swirl vane, while for the secondary vortex flow in each subchannel, the swirl vane's one is larger and longer than split vane's one.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권4호
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• pp.389-397
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• 2015

The effects of mixing vanes (MVs) attached to a grid spacer on the characteristics of air-water annular flows were experimentally investigated. To know the effects, a grid spacer with or without MV was inserted in a vertical circular pipe of 16-mm internal diameter. For three cases (i.e., no spacer, spacer without MV, and spacer with MV), the liquid film thickness, liquid entrainment fraction, and deposition rate were measured by the constant current method, single liquid film extraction method, and double liquid film extraction method, respectively. The MVs significantly promote the re-deposition of liquid droplets in the gas core flow into the liquid film on the channel walls. The deposition mass transfer coefficient is three times higher for the spacer with MV than for the spacer without MV, even for cases 0.3-m downstream from the spacer. The liquid film thickness becomes thicker upstream and downstream for the spacer with MV, compared with the thickness for the spacer without MV and for the case with no spacer.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2004년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.1819-1824
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• 2004

The common method to improve heat transfer in Nuclear fuel rod bundle is install a mixing vane in space grid. The previous split mixing vane is guides cooling water to swirl flow in sub-channel of fuel assembly. But, this swirl flow decade rapidly after mixing vane and the effect of enhancing the heat transfer vanish behind this short region. The large scale secondary vortex flow was generated by rearranging the inclined angle direction of mixing vanes to the coordinated directions. This LSVF mixing vanes generate the most strong secondary flow vortices which maintain about 35 $D_H$ after the spacer grid and the streamwise vorticity in subchannel with LSVF mixing vane sustain two times more than that in subchannel with split mixing vane. The turbulent kinetic energy and the Reynolds stresses generated by the mixing vanes have nearly same scales but maintain twice more than previous type.

• 대한기계학회논문집B
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• 제36권7호
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• pp.689-695
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• 2012

지지격자가 있는 봉다발과 축방향으로 평행한 유동에서, 봉다발 마찰계수와 지지격자 손실계수를 평가하였다. 시험부는 외경 9.5 mm, 길이 2000 mm 인 봉 25 개를 $5{\times}5$ 정사각 구조로 배열하여 제작하였으며, 봉 중심간 거리와 봉 외경의 비는 1.35 였다. 지지격자로는 plain 지지격자, split-vane 지지격자, hybrid-vane 지지격자를 이용하였다. 지지격자가 없는 봉다발의 마찰계수는 기존 상관식과 비교적 잘 일치하였다. 지지격자가 있는 봉다발 실험의 경우, hybrid-vane 지지격자에서 봉다발 마찰계수 및 지지격자 손실계수가 가장 크게 측정되었으며, 이는 지지격자의 유동단면 막음비 증가와 혼합날개 형상에 의한 유동 교란이 증가되기 때문인 것으로 판단된다. Re=$5{\times}10^5$ 조건에서 plain 지지격자, split-vane 지지격자, hybrid-vane 지지격자의 손실계수는 약 0.79, 0.80, 0.88 로 예측되었다.

• 대한기계학회논문집B
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.24-31
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• 2006

Mixing vanes have been installed in the space grid of nuclear fuel rod bundle to improve turbulent heat transfer. Split mixing vanes induce the vortex flow in the cooling water to swirl in sub-channel of fuel assembly. But, The swirling flow decays rapidly so that the heat transfer enhancing effect limited to short length after the mixing vane. In thi present study, the large scale vortex flow(LSVF) is generated by rearranging the mixing vanes to the coordinated directions. This LSVF mixing vanes generate the most strong secondary flow vortices which maintain about 35 $D_H$ after the spacer grid. The streamwise vorticity generated by LSVF sustain two times more than that split mixing vane. Heat transfer in the rod bundle occurs greatly at the same direction to cross flow, and maximum temperature at the surface of bundle drops about 1.5K

• 설비공학논문집
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• 제18권10호
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• pp.811-818
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• 2006

Mixing vanes have been installed in the space grid of nuclear fuel rod bundle to improve turbulent heat transfer. Split mixing vanes induce the vortex flow in the cooling water to swirl in sub-channel of fuel assembly. But, The swirling flow decays rapidly so that the heat transfer enhancing effect limited to short length after the mixing vane. In the present study, the large scale vortex flow (LSVF) is generated by rearranging the mixing vanes to the coordinated directions. This LSVF mixing vanes generate the most strong secondary flow vortices which maintain about $35D_h$ after the spacer grid. The streamwise vorticity generated by LSVF sustain two times more than that split mixing vane.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.737-746
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• 2007

A spacer grid, which is one of the most important structural components in a PWR fuel assembly, supports its fuel rods laterally and vertically. Based on in-house design experience, scrutiny of the design features of advanced nuclear fuels and the patents of other spacer grids, KAERI has devised its own spacer grid shapes and acquired patents. In this study, a performance evaluation of KAERI's spacer grid shapes was carried out from mechanical/structural and thermohydraulic view points. A comparative performance evaluation of commercial spacer grid shapes was also carried out. The comparisons addressed the spring characteristics, fuel rod vibration characteristics, fretting wear resistance, impact strength characteristics, CHF enhancement, and the pressure drop level of the spacer grid shapes. The results show that the performances of KAERI's spacer grid shapes are as good as or better than those of the commercial spacer grid shapes.

• 대한기계학회논문집B
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.53-62
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• 2017

이중냉각 환형핵연료 집합체를 위한 비틀림 혼합날개 지지격자의 강제대류열전달 성능을 실험적으로 평가하였다. 비틀림 혼합날개 지지격자는 부수로 간 혼합뿐 아니라 부수로 내 혼합을 동시에 증대시킬 수 있도록 설계되었다. 실험을 위한 이중냉각 환형핵연료 모의 집합체로, 봉 중심 간 거리와 봉 외경의 비가 1.08인 봉 간격이 좁은 $4{\times}4$ 정사각 배열의 봉다발을 준비하였다. 실험은 봉다발 유동의 축방향 평균속도가 1.5 m/s, 열유속은 $26kW/m^2$인 조건에서 수행하였다. 원주방향 온도 분포의 경우, 지지격자 상류에서는 부수로 중심 벽면에서, 하류에서는 비틀림 혼합날개 끝이 향하는 벽면에서 온도가 가장 낮게 나타났다. 축방향 온도 분포의 경우, 지지격자 하류 근처에서 온도가 급격하게 감소하는 것으로 측정되었고, 비틀림 혼합날개에 의해 누셀트 수는 최대 56 % 증대되는 것으로 나타났다. 본 실험결과를 토대로 봉 간격이 좁은 이중냉각 환형핵연료 집합체에서 비틀림 혼합날개 지지격자에 의해 강제대류열 전달 성능이 효과적으로 증대될 수 있음을 확인하였다.