Numerical simulation of gas–liquid–solid three-phase flow using particle methods

We want to simulate, based on particle methods, the dynamic behavior of multi-phase flows in a gas–solid–liquid mixture system. With the governing equations discretized within the finite volume particle method, the effects of contact and collision between solid particles were modeled by the distinct element method. Applicability of the viscosity model and an empirical drag force model were confirmed for the hydrodynamic interactions between solid particles and fluid. Simulations were performed of a single bubble rising in a tank of stagnant solid particle–liquid. The results for the dynamic behavior indicate that the present computational framework of particle-based simulation method may be useful for numerical simulations of multi-phase flow behavior in a solid particle–fluid mixture system.     

Numerical and theoretical investigations of heat transfer characteristics in helium–xenon cooled microreactor core

Helium–xenon cooled microreactors are a vital technological solution for portable nuclear reactor power sources. To examine the convective heat transfer behavior of helium–xenon gas mixtures in a core environment, numerical simulations are conducted on a cylindrical coolant channel and its surrounding solid regions. Validated numerical methods are used to determine the effect and mechanisms of power and its distribution, inlet temperature and velocity, and outlet pressure on the distribution and...     

Investigation of E–H mode transition in magnetic-pole-enhanced inductively coupled neon–argon mixture plasma

In this paper, E–H mode transition in magnetic-pole-enhanced inductively coupled neon–argon mixture plasma is investigated in terms of fundamental plasma parameters as a function of argon fraction(0%–100%), operating pressure(1 Pa, 5 Pa, 10 Pa and 50 Pa), and radio frequency(RF) power(5–100 W). An RF compensated Langmuir probe and optical emission spectroscopy are used for the diagnostics of the plasma under study. Owing to the lower ionization potential and higher collision cross-section of argon, when its fraction in the discharge is increased, the mode transition occurs at lower RF power; i.e. for 0% argon and1 Pa pressure, the threshold power of the E–H mode transition is 65 W, which reduces to 20 W when the argon fraction is increased. The electron density increases with the argon fraction at afixed pressure, whereas the temperature decreases with the argon fraction. The relaxation length of the low-energy electrons increases, and decreases for high-energy electrons with argon fraction, due to the Ramseur effect. However, the relaxation length of both groups of electrons decreases with pressure due to reduction in the mean free path. The electron energy probability function(EEPF) profiles are non-Maxwellian in E-mode, attributable to the nonlocal electron kinetics in this mode; however, they evolve to Maxwellian distribution when the discharge transforms to H-mode due to lower electron temperature and higher electron density in H-mode. The tail of the measured EEPFs is found to deplete in both E-and H-modes when the argon fraction in the discharge is increased, because argon has a much lower excitation potential(11.5 eV) than neon(16.6 eV).     

Numerical investigation of Ar–NH_3 mixture in homogenous DBDs

In this paper, a study of homogenous dielectric barrier discharge Ar–NH_3 was made in order to investigate the electrical and the physical characteristics of homogenous discharge at atmospheric pressure. The discharge model includes the electrical module and the chemical kinetic module. The results obtained by the present model were compared with experimental work. The evolution of the plasmas voltage, the species densities, and the concentration of charged species are analyzed and discussed.     

Non-invasive optical characterization and estimation of Zn porosity in gas tungsten arc welding of Fe–Al joints using CR model and OES measurements

In this study, we employed a non-invasive approach based on the collisional radiative(CR) model and optical emission spectroscopy(OES) measurements for the characterization of gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW) discharge and quantification of Zn-induced porosity during the GTAW process of Fe–Al joints. The OES measurements were recorded as a function of weld current, welding speed, and input waveform. The OES measurements revealed significant line emissions from Zn-I in 460–640 nm and Ar-I in 680–80...     

Hybrid–PIC simulation of sputtering product distribution in a Hall thruster

Hall thrusters have been widely used in orbit correction and the station-keeping of geostationary satellites due to their high specific impulse,long life,and high reliability.During the operating life of a Hall thruster,high-energy ions will bombard the discharge channel and cause serious erosion.As time passes,this sputtering process will change the macroscopic surface morphology of the discharge channel,especially near the exit,thus affecting the performance of the thruster.Therefore,it is necessary to carry out research on the motion of the sputtering products and erosion process of the discharge wall.To better understand the moving characteristics of sputtering products,based on the hybrid particle-in-cell (PIC) numerical method,this paper simulates the different erosion states of the thruster discharge channel in different moments and analyzes the moving process of different particles,such as B atoms and B+ ions.In this paper,the main conclusion is that B atoms are mainly produced on both sides of the channel exit,and B+ ions are mainly produced in the middle of the channel exit.The ionization rate of B atoms is approximately 1％.     

3D Numerical Simulation of Temperature and Flow Field in Core Exit

The temperature field and flow field in the core of pool type fast reactor is an important research subject. The region of sodium pool of reactor is comparatively large, in which there are many factors effecting on sodium flow and heat transfer. Both flow…     

A numerical simulation of water jet injection behavior in fuel–coolant interaction

Water injection mode of molten fuel and coolant interaction is a key issue during the steam generator tube rupture accident in liquid metal reactors. The focus of the present study is placed on the numerical simulation of the water jet behavior falling into a pool of a denser fluid in order to get qualitative and quantitative understanding of initial premixing phase of water injection mode. A multi-phase code with the volume of fluid (VOF) method is developed. The simulation results are compared with experimental data to examine the capability of the current approach. Effects of density ratio and Froude number on cavity penetration velocity are quantitatively analyzed. The simulation results show surface waves and breakup behavior occur both at the top of the cavity during cavity collapse and at the cavity boundary. The simulation results are compared with the existing theories. At the top of the cavity, the water jet wavelength is close to the value estimated based on the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. At the cavity boundary, melt wave length is close to the value estimated based on the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability.     

Effect of the displacement damage from argon ion irradiation on the synergistic effect of helium–hydrogen in tungsten

The effect of argon ion pre-irradiation on helium and hydrogen ion irradiation was investigated in tungsten. At the same time, comparative experiments were carried out on the irradiation of helium and hydrogen ions in tungsten. Without the argon ion irradiation, the energy of 35 keV hydrogen ions mainly accelerated the coalescence of defects created by the 60 keV helium ions, the irradiation damage degree increased with hydrogen ion fluence increasing. With the argon ion irradiation, lots of voids were created by argon ion irradiation, which increased the helium and hydrogen retention and the synergistic effect of helium–hydrogen in tungsten. In the same hydrogen fluence, the surface damage degree with argon ion pre-irradiation was higher than that without argon ion pre-irradiation.     

Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of the turbulent flow pulsation and coherent structures in a tight lattice in rolling motion

The flow in a tight lattice is strongly affected by the quasi-periodic lateral flow pulsations caused by large scale vortices. This kind of large scale vortices is largely responsible for the momentum and heat exchange across the gaps. In rolling motion, the coherent structure and flow oscillation are affected by an additional force. The coherent structure in rolling motion is more significant than that in no rolling motion. The oscillation period in rolling motion is about 10% bigger than that in no rolling motion. The rolling motion can affect the coherent structure. However, the effect of rolling motion on the thermal hydraulic parameters, i.e. wall temperature and bulk temperature, is very limited. The wall temperature and wall shear stress in rolling motion and no rolling motion are nearly the same. The additional force due to rolling motion can change the moving characteristics of coherent structures, but its effect on the turbulent flow and heat transfer is weak.     

A human–machine interaction design and evaluation method by combination of scenario simulation and knowledge base

A method of designing and evaluating HMI (human–machine interaction) is proposed for the design in supervisory control of fully digitalized I&C (instrumentation and control) and digitalized human–machine interface system, which is a large-scale complex system in the NPPs (nuclear power plants). The proposed method consists of plant accident scenario simulation, knowledge base establishment, and interaction simulation. The plant accident scenario simulation is to analyze the plant behavior and system sequences under the predefined conditions; the knowledge base is modeled based on the simulation results as human and machine roles; and the interaction simulation is to simulate the interactions such as between operator and plant, operator and technical advisor. The proposed method utilizes the object-oriented software named plant DiD (defense-in-depth) risk monitor with the combination of accident simulation by an advanced nuclear safety analysis code such as RELAP5/MOD4. The practical developments for the details are demonstrated using an example practice for the SBLOCA (small break loss of coolant accident) case of passive safety PWR (pressurized water reactor) AP1000.     

Measurement and Monte Carlo simulation of γ-ray dose rate in high-exposure building materials

Natural radioactivity radionuclides in building materials, such as~(226)Ra,~(232)Th and~(40)K, cause indoor exposure due to their gamma-rays. In this research, in a standard dwelling room(5.0 m 9 4.0 m 9 2.8 m), with the floor covered by various granite stones, was set up to simulate the dose rates from the radionuclides using MCNP4 C code. Using samples of granite building products in Iran, activities of the~(226)Ra,~(232)Th and~(40)K were measured at 3.8–94.2, 6.5–172.2 and 556.9–1529.2 Bq kg~(-1),respectively. The simulated dose rates were26.31–184.36 n Gy h~(-1), while the measured dose rates were 27.70–204.17 n Gy h~(-1). With the results in good agreement, the simulation is suitable for any kind of dwelling places.     

Energy and angular distribution of recoil proton of fast neutron in scintillation fiber： a simulation study

Due to their low cost,big reaction cross-section with neutrons,flexibility,and convenience for long distance data transfer,plastic scintillation fibers (PSF) have been increasingly used as detectors or sensors for high-energy neutron radiography.In this paper,Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation tool was used to obtain some chalacteristics of energy and angular distributions of recoil protons in plastic scintillation fibers irradiated by fast neutrons.The plastic fiber with BCF-20 as the core and an acrylic outer cladding was used in the simulation.The results show that there is a big range of energy and angular distribution of recoil protons in energies varying inversely with the recoil angle.     

Numerical Simulation of Radial and Angular Distribution of γ-Ray＇s Energy Deposition in Scintillation Optical Fibre

Angular and radial distributions of the energy deposition of γ-ray radiation in scintillation optical fibres are simulated and analysed using the Geant4 system. The results show a linear relation between the energy deposition and the radius of the fibres. The deposition is roughly inversely proportional to sinθ with θ the incident angle relative to the fibre axis. The results could provide corrections to the measurements of the scintillation fibres used in monitoring the γ-ray radiation.     

Radiation Characteristics of Fuel and Wastes in the Uranium–Plutonium and Thorium–Uranium Fuel Cycle

The radiation characteristics of fuel cycles of various reactors – replacement candidates in the future nuclear power – are compared. Proceeding from the basic requirements (safety, fuel supply, and nonproliferation of fissioning materials), inherently safe fast reactors of the BREST type can be used as the basis for large-scale nuclear power. Thermal reactors, which can burn enriched uranium, thorium–uranium fuel, or mixed uranium–plutonium fuel with makeup with fissioning materials from fast reactors, will operate for a long time simultaneously with fast reactors in the future nuclear power. VVÉR-1000 and CANDU reactors are examined as representatives of thermal reactors; for each of these reactors the operation in various variants of the fuel cycle is simulated. It is shown that with respect to radiation characteristics of the fuel and wastes the thorium–uranium fuel cycle has no great advantages over the uranium–plutonium cycle.     

Geant4 simulation of multi-sphere spectrometer response function and the detection of ~(241)Am–Be neutron spectrum

This paper is aimed at detecting the neutron spectrum of~(241)Am–Be, a widely used neutron source, with the SP9 ~3He proportional counter, which is a multi-sphere spectrometer system of eight thermal neutron detectors embedded in eight polyethylene(PE) spheres of varying diameters. The transport processes of a neutron in the multi-sphere spectrometer are simulated using the Geant4 code. Two sets of response functions of the PE spheres are obtained for calculating the~(241)Am–Be neutron spectrum.Response Function 1 utilizes the thermal neutron scattering model G4 Neutron HPThermal Scattering for neutron energies of ≤4 eV, and Response Function 2 has no thermal treatment. Neutron spectra of an~(241)Am–Be neutron source are measured and compared to those calculated by using the response functions. The results show that response function with thermal treatment is more accurate and closer to the real spectrum.     

Implementation of high-fidelity neutronics and thermal–hydraulic coupling calculations in HNET

To perform nuclear reactor simulations in a more realistic manner, the coupling scheme between neutronics and thermal-hydraulics was implemented in the HNET program for both steady-state and transient conditions. For simplicity, efficiency, and robustness, the matrixfree Newton/Krylov (MFNK) method was applied to the steady-state coupling calculation. In addition, the optimal perturbation size was adopted to further improve the convergence behavior of the MFNK. For the transient coupling simulat...     

Numerical Study on Effects of Fuel Mixture Fraction and Li-6 Enrichment on Neutronic Parameters of a Fusion–Fission Hybrid Reactor

This study presents the effects of mixture fractions of nuclear fuels (mixture of fissile–fertile fuels and mixture of two different fertile fuels) and ⁶Li enrichment on the neutronic parameters (the tritium breeding ratio, TBR, the fission rate, FR, the energy multiplication ratio, M, the fissile breeding rate, FBR, the neutron leakage out of blanket, L, and the peak-to-average fission power density ratio, Γ) of a deuterium–tritium (D–T) fusion neutron-driven hybrid blanket. Three different fertile fuels (²³²Th, ²³⁸U and ²⁴⁴Cm), and one fissile fuel (²³⁵U) were selected as the nuclear fuel. Two different coolants (pressurized helium and natural lithium) were used for the nuclear heat transfer out of the fuel zone (FZ). The Boltzmann transport equation was solved numerically for obtaining the neutronic parameters with the help of the neutron transport code XSDRNPM/SCALE4.4a. In addition, these calculations were performed by also using the MCNP4B code. The sub-limits of the mixture fractions and ⁶Li enrichment were determined for the tritium self-sufficiency. The considered hybrid reactor can be operated in a self-sufficiency mode in the cases with the fuel mixtures mixed with a fraction of equal to or greater than these sub-limits. Furthermore, the numerical results show that the fissile fuel breeding and fission potentials of the blankets with the helium coolant are higher than with the lithium coolant.