• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2775-2787
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• 2021

At present, most of the widely used system codes for nuclear safety analysis are one-dimensional, which cannot effectively simulate the flow field of the reactor core or other structures. This is true even for the system codes containing three-dimensional modules with limited three-dimensional simulation function such as RELAP-3D. In contrast, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes excel at providing a detailed three-dimensional flow field of the reactor core or other components; however, the computational domain is relatively small and results in the very high computing resource consuming. Therefore, the development of coupling codes, which can make comprehensive use of the advantages of system and CFD codes, has become a research focus. In this paper, a review focus on the researches of coupled CFD and thermal-hydraulic system codes was carried out, which summarized the method of coupling, the data transfer processing between CFD and system codes, and the verification and validation (V&V) of coupled codes. Furthermore, a series of problems associated with the coupling procedure have been identified, which provide the general direction for the development and V&V efforts of coupled codes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1125-1134
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• 2024

This paper presents a validation study of the subchannel analysis code SLTHEN used for the core thermal-hydraulic design of the Prototype Gen-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR). To assess the performance of the ENERGY model of SLTHEN, four liquid metal heating experiments conducted by ORNL, WARD, and KIT with hexagonal assemblies of wire-wrapped rod bundles were analyzed. These experiments were performed with 19-and 61-pin bundles and varying power distributions of axial and radial peaking factors up to 1.4 and 3.0, respectively. The coolant subchannel temperatures measured at different axial locations were compared with the SLTHEN predictions with the Novendstern, Chiu-Rohsenow-Todreas (CRT), and Cheng-Todreas (CT) correlations for flow split and mixing in wire-wrapped pin bundles. The results showed that the SLTHEN predicts the measured subchannel temperatures reasonably well with root-mean-square errors of ~10 % and maximum errors of ~20 %. It was also observed that the CRT and CT correlations consistently outperform the Novendstern correlation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.980-992
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• 2024

Steam line break accident (SLB) in the nuclear reactor is one of the representative Non-LOCA accidents in which thermal-hydraulics and neutron kinetics are strongly coupled each other. Thus, the multi-scale and multi-physics approach is applied in this study in order to examine a realistic safety margin. An entire reactor coolant system is modelled by system scale node, whereas sub-channel scale resolution is applied for the region of interest such as the reactor core. Fuel performance code is extended to consider full core pin-wise fuel behaviour. The MARU platform is developed for easy integration of the codes to be coupled. An initial stage of the steam line break accident is simulated on the MARU platform. As cold coolant is injected from the cold leg into the reactor pressure vessel, the power increases due to the moderator feedback. Three-dimensional coolant and fuel behaviour are qualitatively visualized for easy comprehension. Moreover, quantitative investigation is added by focusing on the enhancement of safety margin by means of comparing the minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio (MDNBR). Three factors contributing to the increase of the MDNBR are proposed: Various geometric parameters, realistic power distribution by neutron kinetics code, Radial coolant mixing including sub-channel physics model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1218-1230
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• 2019

A sub-channel solver, named ${\underline{S}}teady$ and ${\underline{T}}ransient$ ${\underline{A}}nalyzer$ for ${\underline{R}}eactor$ ${\underline{T}}hermal$ hydraulics (START), has been developed using the homogenous model for two-phase conditions of light water reactors. The code is developed as a fast and accurate TH-solver for coupled and multi-physics calculations. START has been validated against the NUPEC PWR Sub-channel and Bundle Test (PSBT) database. Tests like single-channel quality and void-fraction for steady state, outlet fluid temperature for steady state, rod-bundle quality and void-fraction for both steady state and transient conditions have been analyzed and compared with experimental values. Results reveal a good accuracy of solution for both steady state and transient scenarios. Axially different values for turbulent mixing coefficient are used based on different grid-spacer types. This provides better results as compared to using a single value of turbulent mixing coefficient. Code-to-code evaluation of PSBT results by the START code compares well with other industrial codes. The START code has been parallelized with the OpenMP algorithm and its numerical performance is evaluated with a large whole PWR core. Scaling study of START shows a good parallel performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.236-247
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• 1983

Analyzed are the the DNBR(Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio) sensitivities to variations in various PWR operating parameters utilizing the Korea Nuclear Unit 1(KNU-1) design and operating data. Studied parameters in the analysis are core power level, system pressure, core inlet flow rate, core inlet temperature, enthalpy rise hot channel factor, and axial power peaking factor and axial offset. The calculations are performed using the steady state and transient thermal-hydraulics computer program, COBRA-IV-K, which is the revised version of COBRA-IV-i that has been adapted, partially modified and verified at KAERI. A reference case is established based on the design and operating condition of the KNU-1 reactor core, and this provides a basis for the subsequent sensitivity analysis. From the calculation results it is concluded that the most sensitive parameter in the DNBR thermal design is the coolant core inlet temperature while the axial power peaking factor is the least sensitive.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.273-286
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• 2007

This paper presents the research activities performed to date for the development of a supercritical pressure water-cooled reactor (SCWR) in Korea. The research areas include a conceptual design of an SCWR with an internal flow recirculation, a reactor core conceptual design, a heat transfer test with supercritical $CO_2$, an adaptation of an existing safety analysis code to the supercritical pressure condition, and an evaluation of candidate materials through a corrosion study. Methods to reduce the cladding temperature are introduced from two different perspectives, namely, thermal-hydraulics and core neutronics. Briefly described are the results of an experiment on the heat transfer at a supercritical pressure, an experiment that is essential for the analysis of the subchannels of fuel assemblies and the analysis of a system safety. An existing system code has been adapted to SCWR conditions, and the process of a first-hand validation is presented. Finally, the corrosion test results of the candidate materials for an SCWR are introduced.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.873-879
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• 2024

A sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) core has a potential of prompt criticality due to a change of core material distribution during a severe accident, and the resultant energy release has been one of the safety issues of SFRs. In this study, the safety assessment of an unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) in a small SFR (SSFR) has been performed using the SIMMER-IV computer code, which couples the models of space- and time-dependent neutronics and multi-component, multi-field thermal hydraulics in three dimensions. The code, therefore, is applicable to the simulations of transient behaviors of extended disrupted core material motion and its reactivity effects during the transition phase (TP) of ULOF, including a potential of prompt-criticality power excursions driven by fuel compaction. Several conservative assumptions are used in the TP analysis by SIMMER-IV. It was found out that one of the important mechanisms that drives the reactivity-inserting fuel motion was sodium vapor pressure resulted from a fuel-coolant interaction (FCI), which itself was non-energetic local phenomenon. The uncertainties relating to FCI is also evaluated in much conservative way in the sensitivity analysis. From this study, the ULOF characteristics in an SSFR have been understood. Occurrence of recriticality events under conservative assumptions are plausible, but their energy releases are limited.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1687-1697
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• 2024

This study presents the Supporting platform for reactor fine flow characteristics calculation and analysis (Cilian platform), a user-friendly tool that supports the analysis and optimization of pressurized water reactor (PWR) cores with mixing vanes using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computing. The Cilian platform allows for easy creation and optimization of PWR's main CFD calculation schemes and autonomously manages CFD calculation and analysis of PWR cores, reducing the need for human and computational resources. The platform's key features enable efficient simulation, rapid solution design, automatic calculation of core scheme options, and streamlined data extraction and processing techniques. The Cilian platform's capability to call external CFD software reduces the development time and cost while improving the accuracy and reliability of the results. In conclusion, the Cilian platform exemplifies an innovative solution for efficient computational fluid dynamics analysis of pressurized water reactor (PWR) cores. It holds great promise for driving advancements in nuclear power technology, enhancing the safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of nuclear reactors. The platform adopts a modular design methodology, enabling the swift and accurate computation and analysis of diverse flow regions within core components. This design approach facilitates the seamless integration of multiple computational modules across various reactor types, providing a high degree of flexibility and reusability.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.248-257
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• 2020

This study presents an initial design for a novel system consisting in a coupled nuclear reactor and a phase change material-based thermal energy storage (TES) component, which acts as a buffer and regulator of heat transfer between the primary and secondary loops. The goal of this concept is to enhance the capacity factor of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the case of high integration of renewable energy sources into the electric grid. Hence, this system could support in elevating the economics of NPPs in current competitive markets, especially with subsidized solar and wind energy sources, and relatively low oil and gas prices. Furthermore, utilizing a prismatic-core advanced high temperature reactor (PAHTR) cooled by a molten salt with a high melting point, have the potential in increasing the system efficiency due to its high operating temperature, and providing the baseline requirements for coupling other process heat applications. The present research studies the neutronics and thermal hydraulics (TH) of the PAHTR as well as TH calculations for the TES which consists of 300 blocks with a total heat storage capacity of 150 MWd. SERPENT Monte Carlo and MCNP5 codes carried out the neutronics analysis of the PAHTR which is sized to have a 5-year refueling cycle and rated power of 300 MW_th. The PAHTR has 10 metric tons of heavy metal with 19.75 wt% enriched UO₂ TRISO fuel, a hot clean excess reactivity and shutdown margin of $33.70 and -$115.68; respectively, negative temperature feedback coefficients, and an axial flux peaking factor of 1.68. Star-CCM + code predicted the correct convective heat transfer coefficient variations for both the reactor and the storage. TH analysis results show that the flow in the primary loop (in the reactor and TES) remains in the developing mixed convection regime while it reaches a fully developed flow in the secondary loop.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.72-83
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• 2022

This paper presents a numerical investigation of two-phase natural circulation flows established when external reactor vessel cooling is applied to a severe accident of the APR1400 reactor for the in-vessel retention of the core melt. The coolability limit due to external reactor vessel cooling is associated with the natural circulation flow rate around the lower head of the reactor vessel. For an elaborate prediction of the natural circulation flow rate using a thermal-hydraulic system code, MARS-KS1.5, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is conducted to estimate the flow rate and pressure distribution of a liquid-state coolant at the brink of significant void generation. The CFD calculation results are used to determine the loss coefficient at major flow junctions, where substantial pressure losses are expected, in the nodalization scheme of the MARS-KS code such that the single-phase flow rate is the same as that predicted via CFD simulations. Subsequently, the MARS-KS analysis is performed for the two-phase natural circulation regime, and the transient behavior of the main thermal-hydraulic variables is investigated.