CFD Simulation of Axial Turbulent Flow in a Triangular Rod Bundle

A CFD analysis has been made for fully developed turbulent flows in a triangular bare rod bundle with pitch to diameter ratio (P/D) of 1.123. The nonlinear turbulence models predicted the turbulence­driven secondary flow in the triangular subchannel. The nonlinear quadratic $\kappa-\omega$ models by Speziale and Myong-Kasagi predicted turbulence structure in the rod bundle fairly well. The nonlinear quadratic and cubic $\kappa-\omega$ models by Shih et al. and Craft et al. showed somewhat weaker anisotropic turbulence. The differential Reynolds stress model appeared to overpredict the turbulence anisotropy in the rod bundle.