Modeling of a buoyancy-driven flow experiment at the ROCOM test facility using the CFD codes CFX-5 and Trio_U

The influence of density differences on the mixing of the primary loop inventory and the emergency core cooling (ECC) water in the downcomer of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) was analyzed at the ROssendorf COolant Mixing (ROCOM) test facility. ROCOM is a 1:5 scaled model of a German PWR, and has been designed for coolant mixing studies. It is equipped with advanced instrumentation, which delivers high-resolution information for temperature or boron concentration fields.An experiment with 5% of the design flow rate in one loop and 10% density difference between the ECC and loop water was selected for validation of the CFD software packages CFX-5 and Trio_U. Two similar meshes with approximately 2 million control volumes were used for the calculations. The effects of turbulence on the mean flow were modeled with a Reynolds stress turbulence model in CFX-5 and a LES approach in Trio_U. CFX-5 is a commercial code package offered from ANSYS Inc. and Trio_U is a CFD tool which is developed by the CEA-Grenoble, France.The results of the experiment and of the numerical calculations show that mixing is dominated by buoyancy effects: at higher mass flow rates (close to nominal conditions) the injected slug propagates in the circumferential direction around the core barrel. Buoyancy effects reduce this propagation. The ECC water falls in an almost vertical path and reaches the lower downcomer sensor directly below the inlet nozzle. Therefore, density effects play an important role during natural convection with ECC injection in PWRs. Both CFD codes were able to predict well the observed flow patterns and mixing phenomena.     

Verification and validation considerations regarding the qualification of numerical schemes for LES for dilution problems

Since a long time, the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) concept is considered as a very promising candidate for advanced thermal hydraulic modeling in Nuclear Reactor Safety. This paper shows how LES is successfully applied in an industrial framework to free shear flows at high Reynolds numbers and to the associated transport of scalars (e.g. boron). Extensive verification and validation attempts towards this objective have already been performed for the Trio_U code ( [H?hne et al., 2006], [Bieder et al., 2007] and [Bieder and Graffard, 2007]). In the first part, this paper presents a short overview of what has been done for predicting the boron concentration at the core inlet under accident conditions. These calculations are then related to the demands of Best Practice Guidelines (BPG), which have been discussed by Mahaffy et al. (2007). It is shown, that high quality LES simulations for free sheer flows can be performed on tetrahedral meshes, what significantly simplifies the mesh generation procedure in topologically complex geometries. Guidelines specifically devoted to the LES framework are proposed to analyse the capability of numerical schemes to treat correctly the scalar transport.     

Validation of the CFD code fluent by post-test calculation of a density-driven ROCOM experiment

During the last years, boron dilution events with the potential of reactivity transients were an important issue of German PWR safety analyses. A coolant with a low-boron concentration could be collected in localized areas of the reactor coolant system, e.g., by separation of a borated reactor coolant into highly concentrated and diluted fractions (inherent dilution) which can occur during reflux-condenser heat transfer after a small break loss of coolant accident with a limited availability of the emergency core cooling systems.During the course of follower core assessments, TÜV NORD SysTec appraises safety analyses of boron dilution events presented by the utilities. These analyses are based on the simulation of boron dilution and transport processes in conjunction with a number of dedicated experiments. The analyses demonstrate that boron dilution events cannot lead to recriticality of the core. Hence, the boron concentration at the core inlet has to be determined.TÜV NORD SysTec applies the CFD code FLUENT for the investigation of boron dilution events in pressurized water reactors. To affirm the FLUENT abilities for the simulation of boron dilution events, a validation against the ROCOM experiment T6655_21 with a density-driven coolant mixing was performed. This validation proves that FLUENT is able to appropriately simulate the effects of boron transport and dilution such as streaks of coolant with lower density in the downcomer. Deficits were identified in the simulation of fluid layering in the cold leg, which fortunately have a rather small influence on the predicted core inlet concentration. Therefore, the boron concentration in the reactor core can be determined with sufficient accuracy to solve the safety issue, regardless of the core becoming critical or not.     

Experimental determination of the boron concentration distribution in the primary circuit of a PWR after a postulated cold leg small break loss-of-coolant-accident with cold leg safety injection

It is known that under-borated coolant can accumulate in the loops and that it can be transported towards the reactor core during a loss-of-coolant-accident. Therefore, the mixing of weakly borated water inside the reactor pressure vessel was investigated using the ROCOM test facility. Wire-mesh sensors based on electrical conductivity measurement are used to measure in detail the spreading of a tracer solution in the facility. The mixing in the downcomer was observed with a measuring grid of 64 azimuthal and 32 vertical positions. The resulting distribution of the boron concentration at the core inlet was measured with a sensor integrated into the lower core support plate providing one measurement position at the entry into each fuel assembly.

The boundary conditions for this mixing experiment are taken from an experiment at the thermal hydraulic test facility PKL operated by AREVA Germany. The slugs, which have a lower density, accumulate in the upper part of the downcomer after entering the vessel. The ECC water injected into the reactor pressure vessel falls almost straight down through this weakly borated water layer and accelerates as it drops over the height of the downcomer. On the outer sides of the ECC streak, lower borated coolant admixes and flows together with the ECC water downwards. This has been found to be the only mechanism of transporting the lower borated water into the lower plenum. In the core inlet plane, a reduced boron concentration is detected only in the outer reaches of the core inlet. The minimum instantaneous boron concentration that was measured at a single fuel element inlet was found to be 66.3% of the initial 2500 ppm.     

CFD simulation of the Vattenfall 1/5th-scale PWR model for boron dilution studies

The VATT-02 experiment, performed at Vattenfall, Sweden, with a 1/5th-scale model of a 3-loop PWR pressure vessel, has been simulated with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code CFX-5 at PSI, Switzerland. The simulations were initially part of the FLOMIX-R EU 5th Framework Programme, aimed at providing validation data prior to CFD codes being used to model full-size nuclear vessels. These studies were extended at PSI to examine mesh effects. Steady-state velocities and transient boron concentration distributions were plotted, and their sensitivity to different CFD models and mesh refinement examined. Steady-state velocities in the downcomer were not in good agreement with experiment at all instrumentation locations, but, nevertheless, predicted transient boron distribution and its minimum concentration at the core inlet were close to the measured data. Useful conclusions could be drawn for application to full reactor size.     

Simulation of mixing effects in a VVER-1000 reactor

This work has been performed in the framework of the OECD/NEA thermalhydraulic benchmark V1000CT-2. This benchmark is related to fluid mixing in the reactor vessel during a MSLB accident scenario in a VVER-1000 reactor. Coolant mixing in a VVER-1000 V320 reactor was investigated in plant experiments during the commissioning of the Unit 6 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. Non-uniform and asymmetric loop flow mixing in the reactor vessel has been observed in the event of symmetric main coolant pump operation. For certain flow conditions, the experimental evidence of an azimuthal shift of the main loop flows with respect to the cold leg axes (swirl) was found.Such asymmetric flow distribution was analyzed with the Trio_U code. Trio_U is a CFD code developed by the CEA Grenoble, aimed to supply an efficient computational tool to simulate transient thermalhydraulic turbulent flows encountered in nuclear systems. For the presented study, a LES approach was used to simulate turbulent mixing. Therefore, a very precise tetrahedral mesh with more than 10 million control volumes has been created.The Trio_U calculation has correctly reproduced the measured rotation of the flow when the CAD data of the constructed reactor pressure vessel where used. This is also true for the comparison of cold leg to assembly mixing coefficients. Using the design data, the calculated swirl was significantly underestimated. Due to this result, it might be possible to improve with CFD calculations the lower plenum flow mixing matrices which are usually used in system codes.     

Low Mach number model for compressible flows and application to HTR

This paper deals with a numerical study of a pebble bed reactor. The calculations are performed with the Trio_U/Priceles code. The results obtained with the Boussinesq approximation and the quasi-compressible model are compared. It is seen that the expanding effect are important. The quasi-compressible model leads to a lower maximum value for the temperature field. The maximum pressure difference is detected when the density variations are taken into account.     

Analyses of the V1000CT-1 benchmark with the DYN3D/ATHLET and DYN3D/RELAP coupled code systems including a coolant mixing model validated against CFD calculations

Plant-measured data provided within the specification of the OECD/NEA VVER-1000 coolant transient benchmark (V1000CT) were used to validate the DYN3D/RELAP5 and DYN3D/ATHLET coupled code systems. Phase 1 of the benchmark (V1000CT-1) refers to the MCP (main coolant pump) switching on experiment conducted in the frame of the plant-commissioning activities at the Kozloduy NPP Unit 6 in Bulgaria. The experiment was started at the beginning of cycle (BOC) with average core expose of 30.7 effective full power days (EFPD), when the reactor power was at 27.5% of the nominal level and three out of four MCPs were operating. The transient is characterized by a rapid increase in the primary coolant flow through the core and, as a consequence, a decrease of the space-dependent core inlet temperature. Both DYN3D/RELAP5 and DYN3D/ATHLET analyses were based on the same reactor model, including identical MCP characteristics, boundary conditions, benchmark-specified nuclear data library and nearly identical nodalization schemes. For an adequate modelling of the redistribution of the coolant flow in the reactor pressure vessel during the transient a simplified mixing model for the DYN3D/ATHLET code was developed and validated against a computational fluid dynamics calculation.

The results of both coupled code calculations are in good agreement with the available experimental data. The discrepancies between experimental data and the results of both coupled code calculations do not exceed the accuracy of the measurement data. This concerns the initial steady-state data as well as the time histories during the transient. In addition to the validation of the coupled code systems against measured data, a code-to-code comparison between simulation results has been performed to evaluate relevant thermal hydraulic models of the system codes RELAP5 and ATHLET and to explain differences between the calculation results.     

Design concept of a small nuclear reactor for large-diameter NTD-Si using a conventional PWR full-length fuel assembly

A design concept for a small nuclear reactor dedicated to large-diameter neutron transmutation doping silicon (NTD-Si) is proposed. Conventional PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) full-length fuel assembly is used to assure stable and reliable supply of fuel. Criticality, neutron transportation, and core burn-up calculations are performed using the MVP/GMVP II code and MVP-BURN code. The calculation results show that the proposed reactor can be critical over 18 years, and excess reactivity can be suppressed by a combination of Gd₂O₃ burnable poison and soluble boron. Preliminary steady-state single-channel thermal hydraulic analysis showed that heat removal from core is possible under 1 atm operating pressure. Si ingots up to 30 cm in diameter can be irradiated in the reactor irradiation channels, and the uniform irradiation condition can be achieved for a large-diameter Si ingot.     

SBLOCA with boron dilution in pressurized water reactors. Impact on operation and safety

When the water level in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) is low enough and the core temperature is such that the coolant in that region boils, reflux-condensation conditions are established. Under such conditions, almost boron-free water is collected in a region of the primary system forming a non-borated slug. If subsequent natural circulation is established or a reactor coolant pump (RCP) is restarted, the slug could be transported to the core. This scenario configures an important part of the so-called boron issue. The Energy Systems Analysis Group at the Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE) of the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) has studied the boron issue in three different stages. The steps were the following: participation in OECD-related projects, code improvement and investigation at nuclear power plant (NPP) scenarios. The third step is the main aim of this paper and consists of a continuation of the previous projects in the field of NPP analysis. The aim of this paper is to study SBLOCA transients with boron dilution in PWR. The chosen NPP was Ascó-2 which is a 3-loop-2940,6 MWth Westinghouse PWR. The paper contains some references to OECD/SETH and OECD/PKL experimental projects and analyses an established scenario including features of boron transport and sensitivity calculations for relevant parameters.     

Design simplification of a small nuclear reactor for large-diameter neutron transmutation doping silicon using control rods

A design concept for a small nuclear reactor for neutron transmutation doping silicon (NTD-Si) using a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) full-length fuel assembly was proposed in our previous work. The excess reactivity was suppressed by a combination of Gd₂O₃ and soluble boron, which results in a flatter flux profile over the core than with control rod insertion; however, the soluble boron system for reactivity control is quite complex and expensive. The removal of this system would make the design much simpler. In the current work, the removal of soluble boron is considered. Criticality, neutron transportation and core burn-up calculations were performed using the MVP/GMVP II code and MVP-BURN code. The calculation results show that the insertion of control rods in five of the nine assemblies is enough to suppress reactivity. The thermal hydraulic analysis showed that heat removal from the core was possible under 1 atm operating pressure. Silicon ingots up to 30 cm in diameter could be irradiated with sufficient uniformity in the irradiation channels.     

Build-up of actinides in irradiated fuel rods of the ET-RR-1 reactor

The content concentrations of actinides are calculated as a function of operating reactor regime and cooling time at different percentage of fuel burn-up. The build-up transmutation equations of actinides content in an irradiated fuel are solved numerically .A computer code BAC was written to operate on a PC computer to provide the required calculations. The fuel element of 10% ²³⁵U enrichment of ET-RR-1 reactor was taken as an example for calculations using the BAC code. The results are compared with other calculations for the ET-RR-1 fuel rod. An estimation of fissile build-up content of a proposed new fuel of 20% ²³⁵U enrichment for ET-RR-1 reactor is given. The sensitivity coefficients of build-up plutonium concentrations as a function of cross-section data uncertainties are also calculated.     

Full-scale modelling of the MNSR reactor to simulate normal operation, transients and reactivity insertion accidents under natural circulation conditions using the thermal hydraulic code ATHLET

A full-scale ATHLET system model for the Syrian miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) has been developed. The model represents all reactor components of primary and secondary loops with the corresponding neutronics and thermal hydraulic characteristics. Under the MNSR operation conditions of natural circulation, normal operation, step reactivity transients and reactivity insertion accidents have been simulated. The analyses indicate the capability of ATHLET to simulate MNSR dynamic and thermal hydraulic behaviour and particularly to calculate the core coolant velocity of prevailing natural circulation in presence of the strong negative reactivity feed back of coolant temperature. The predicted time distribution of reactor power, core inlet and outlet coolant temperature follow closely the measured data for the quasi steady and transient states. However, sensitivity analyses indicate the influence of pressure form loss coefficients at core inlet and outlet on the results. The analysis of reactivity accidents represented by the insertion of large reactivity, demonstrates the high inherent safety features of MNSR. Even in case of insertion of total available cold excess reactivity without scram, the high negative reactivity feedback of moderator temperature limits power excursion and avoids consequently the escalation of clad temperature to the level of onset of sub-cooled void formation. The calculated peak power in this case agrees well with the data reported in the safety analysis report. The ATHLET code had not previously been assessed under these conditions. The results of this comprehensive analysis ensure the ability of the code to test some conceptual design modifications of MNSR's cooling system aiming the improvement of core cooling conditions to increase the maximum continuous reactor operation time allowing more effective use of MNSR for irradiation purposes.     

Modeling and simulation of coupled nuclear heat energy deposition and transfer in the fuel assembly of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1)

Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code coupled with PLTEMP/ANL code were used to model and simulate the heat transfer problems in the fuel elements assembly of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) by solving Boltzmann transport approximation to the heat conduction equation. Coupled neutron radiation-thermal codes were used to determine the spatial variations of thermal energy in the fuel channels, the heat energy distribution in the radial and axial segments of the fuel assembly and the convective heat transfer processes in the entire core of the reactor. The thermal energy at maximum reactivity load of 4 mk, reactor power of 30 kW and inlet system pressure of 101.3 kPa were found to be 8.896 × 10⁻¹⁶ J for a single fuel pin, and 1.104 × 10⁻¹⁵ J and 7.376 × 10⁻¹⁶ J, for the radial and axial sectioning of the core respectively. Using the PLTEMP/ANL V4.0 code and given that the inlet coolant temperature was 30 °C, the maximum outlet coolant temperature was 51 °C. The energy values were obtained using the following thermodynamic parameters as maximum pressure drop of 0.7 MPa and mass flow rate of 0.4 kg/s. Neutronics point kinetics model and Safety Analysis Report used to validate the results confirmed that the heat distribution in the core did not exceed 100 °C. The heat energy profiles based on the data suggested no nucleate boiling at the simulated energies, and since the melting point of U–Al alloy fuel material is 640 °C, the reactor was considered to be inherently safe during normal or steady state operations.     

Experiments at the mixing test facility ROCOM for benchmarking of CFD codes

For the validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, experimental data on fluid flow parameters with high resolution in time and space are needed.Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) is a test facility for the investigation of coolant mixing in the primary circuit of pressurized water reactors. This facility reproduces the primary circuit of a German KONVOI-type reactor. All important details of the reactor pressure vessel are modelled at a linear scale of 1:5. The facility is characterized by flexible possibilities of operation in a wide variety of flow regimes and boundary conditions. The flow path of the coolant from the cold legs through the downcomer until the inlet into the core is equipped with high-resolution detectors, in particular, wire mesh sensors in the downcomer of the vessel with a mesh of 64 × 32 measurement positions and in the core inlet plane with one measurement position for the entry into each fuel assembly, to enable high-level CFD code validation. Two different types of experiments at the ROCOM test facility have been proposed for this purpose. The first proposal concerns the transport of a slug of hot, under-borated condensate, which has formed in the cold leg after a small break LOCA, towards the reactor core under natural circulation. The propagation of the emergency core cooling water in the test facility under natural circulation or even stagnant flow conditions should be investigated in the second type of experiment. The measured data can contribute significantly to the validation of CFD codes for complex mixing processes with high relevance for nuclear safety.     

Implementation of control rod movement and boron injection options by using control variables in RELAP5/PARCS V2.7 coupled code

In present neutron kinetics codes, control rods banks do not have the possibility of dynamic movement during the simulation of a transient; besides it is necessary to send the boron concentration from the thermal-hydraulic code to the neutronic code to account for changes in cross-sections due to boron dilution. For instance, control rod movements are pre-programmed with simple instructions introduced before the beginning of the calculation. Hence, control rod positions are not related to the core characteristics and the control systems at any time of the simulation. This work presents the changes introduced in RELAP5/PARCS v2.7 codes to achieve that control rods and the boron injection become more dynamic and realistic components in such kind of simulators. Furthermore, in order to test the modifications introduced in both codes, it has been analyzed a boron injection transient in a typical PWR Nuclear Power Plant. The thermal-hydraulic model includes all the primary loop components of a PWR, the core fuel assemblies modeled with PIPE components, pumps, steam generators, pressurizer, etc. The neutronic representation of the reactor has been made in a one-to-one basis fuel channel model for the whole core.     

Implementation of control rod movement and boron injection options by using control variables in RELAP5/PARCS V2.7 coupled code

In present neutron kinetics codes, control rods banks do not have the possibility of dynamic movement during the simulation of a transient; besides it is necessary to send the boron concentration from the thermal-hydraulic code to the neutronic code to account for changes in cross-sections due to boron dilution. For instance, control rod movements are pre-programmed with simple instructions introduced before the beginning of the calculation. Hence, control rod positions are not related to the core characteristics and the control systems at any time of the simulation. This work presents the changes introduced in RELAP5/PARCS v2.7 codes to achieve that control rods and the boron injection become more dynamic and realistic components in such kind of simulators. Furthermore, in order to test the modifications introduced in both codes, it has been analyzed a boron injection transient in a typical PWR Nuclear Power Plant. The thermal-hydraulic model includes all the primary loop components of a PWR, the core fuel assemblies modeled with PIPE components, pumps, steam generators, pressurizer, etc. The neutronic representation of the reactor has been made in a one-to-one basis fuel channel model for the whole core.     

压水堆高保真换料循环计算功能开发与验证应用

在自主开发的数值反应堆物理计算程序NECP-X基础上开发了压水堆的换料循环计算功能，并针对某M310机组首循环、第2循环和第3循环的启动物理实验，以及针对前2个循环的燃耗进行了精细建模计算。计算值与实测值的比较结果表明：首循环、第2循环和第3循环启动物理实验的临界硼浓度、控制棒价值、温度系数计算结果误差均较小，符合验收准则；不同燃耗深度下的临界硼浓度、堆芯功率分布与实测值的比较结果显示，稳定燃耗点处最大硼浓度偏差为-39ppm(1ppm=10^-6)，最大的组件功率误差小于4.5%，随着燃耗的加深，堆芯功率的分布逐渐展平，误差逐渐减小。计算结果表明NECP-X程序已经具备商用压水堆启动物理实验和多燃料循环的计算能力。     

大亚湾核电站18个月换料的堆芯失水事故长期冷却分析研究

在失水事故长期冷却过程中，必须确定安全注射系统从冷段注射切换到冷热段同时注射的切换时间。这对避免反应堆堆芯硼结晶、堆芯因地坑硼浓度过低而引起重返临界有着十分重要的意义。介绍了大亚湾核电站18个月换料设计失水事故长期冷却分析，应用REFLET程序分析计算了失水事故后堆芯和地坑的硼浓度随时间的变化，给出了不同换料水箱硼浓度下的容许切换时间。当换料水箱硼浓度为2204mg/L时，操作员必须在6小时以前将安注由冷段注射切换到冷、热段同时注射的模式。