LMR Core Flow Grouping Study

Coolant flow distribution to the assemblies and core coolant/component temperatures should be determined in LMR core steady state thermal-hydraulic performance analysis. Sodium flow is distributed to core assemblies with the overall goal of equalizing the peak cladding midwall temperatures for the peak temperature pin of each pin bundle, thus pin cladding damage accrual and pin reliability. The flow orificing analysis for conceptual design will be performed with Excel spreadsheet program ORFCE which was set up and tested, using the calibration factors based on available analyses data. For the verification of this program, flow orificing calculation for the MDP 840MWth core was performed. The calculational results are satisfactory compared to those of CRIEPI calculation.