• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2016

Spacer grids play an important role in maintaining the proper form of the fuel assembly structure and ensuring the safety of reactor core design. This study applies the Monte Carlo method to the analysis of the neutronics effects of spacer grids in a typical pressurized water reactor (PWR). The core problem used to analyze the neutronics effects of spacer grids is a modified version of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology benchmark problem 1B, based on an Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) core model. The spacer grids are modeled and added to this test problem in various ways. Then, by running MCNP5 for all cases of spacer grid modeling, some important numerical results, such as the effective multiplication factor, the spatial distributions of neutron flux, and its energy spectrum are obtained. The numerical results of each case of spacer grid modeling are analyzed and compared to assess which type has more advantages in accuracy of numerical results and effectiveness in terms of geometry building. The conclusion is that the most realistic modeling for Monte Carlo calculation is the "volume-preserving" streamlined heterogeneous spacer grids, but the "banded" dissolution spacer grids modeling is a more practical yet accurate model for routine (deterministic) analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.283-297
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• 2001

The CHF in PWR rod bundles is usually predicted by the local flow correlation approach based on subchannel analysis while difficulty exists due to the existence of spacer grids especially with mixing vanes. In order to evaluate the effect of spacer grids on CHF, the experimental rod bundle data with various types of spacer grids were analyzed using the subchannel code, COBRA-IV-i. For the Plain grid data, a CHF correlation was described as a function of local flow conditions and heated length, and then the residuals of the CHF in mixing vaned grids predicted by the correlation were examined in various kinds of grids. In order to compensate for the residual, three parameters, distances between grids and from the last grids to the CHF site, and equivalent hydraulic diameter were introduced into a grid parameter function representing the remaining effect of spacer grids predicted most of the CHF data points in plaing grids within $\pm$20 percent error band. Good agreement with the CHF data was also shown when the grid parameter function for mixing vaned grids of a specific design was used to compensate for the residuals of the CHF data predicted by the correlation.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.39-41
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• 2006

The weld quality of spacer grids in Pressurized Water Reactors(PWR) fuel is extremely important for the fuel assembly performance in the nuclear renter. The spacer grid welds are currently evaluated mainly by the metallographic examination although it reveals only cross-points which are welded by the laser beam. This experiment is also to compare the weldability of Zircaloy-4 spacer grids using by the GTA and laser beam. The effect of node geometries of spacer grids for GTAW and LBW has been studied and optimum conditions of spacer grid welding have been found. Microstructures and micro-hardness of GTA and laser beam welded zones have been also compared.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.22-28
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• 2006

A spacer grid assembly, which is an interconnected array of slotted grid straps and is welded at the intersections to form an egg crate structure, is one of the main structural components of the nuclear fuel assembly for Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). The weld quality of spacer grids in PWRs fuel is extremely important for the fuel assembly performance in the nuclear renter. The spacer grid welds are currently evaluated mainly by the metallographic examination although it reveals only cross-points which are welded by the laser beam. This experiment is also to compare the weldability of Zircaloy-4 spacer grids using by the GTA and LB. The effect of node geometries of spacer grids for the GTAW and LBW has been studied and optimum conditions of spacer grid welding have been found. Microstructures and micro-hardness of the GTA and LB welded zones have been also compared.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.18 no.4 s.70
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• pp.405-416
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• 2005

This study contains the static buckling tests and static buckling analyses for small size grids and full size grids. The buckling tests and finite element analyses were performed to evaluate the buckling characteristics of the spacer grids in a pressurized water reactor fuel assembly and to evaluate the possibility of the prediction lot the buckling strength of spacer grids. The buckling tests were performed for small size grids and full size grids, and the correlations between buckling strength and the number of straps and the correlations between buckling strength and the number of rows are derived based on the test results. The static buckling analyses were performed to identify the effect of the number of rows and the number of columns on the buckling strength of spacer grid by a finite element method using ANSYS program and the results were compared with the buckling test results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.93-101
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• 2001

The spacer grid is one of the main structural components in the fuel assembly, which supports the fuel rods, guides cooling water, and protects the system from an external impact load, such as earthquakes. Therefore, the mechanical and structural properties of the spacer grids must be extensively examined while designing them. In this paper, a numerical method for predicting the buckling strength of spacer grids is presented. Numerical analyses on the buckling behavior of the spacer grids are performed for a various array of sizes of the grids considering that the spacer grid is an assembled structure with thin-walled plates and imposing proper boundary conditions by nonlinear dynamic finite element method using ABAQUS/Explicit. Buckling tests on several numbers of specimens of the spacer grid were also carried out in order to compare the results between the test and the simulation result. The drop test is accomplished by dropping a carriage on the specimen at a pre-determined position. From this test, the specimens are buckled only at the uppermost and the lowermost layer among the multi-cells, which is similar to the local buckling at the weakest point of the grid structure. The simulated results also similarly predicted the local buckling phenomena and were found to give good correspondence with the experimental values for the thin-walled grid structures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.328-341
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• 1998

This paper presents in detail the hydraulic characteristic measurements using LDV(Laser Doppler Velocimetry) in subchannels of a HANARO, KAERI research reactor, fuel bundle. The fuel bundle consists of 18 axially finned rods with 3 spacer grids and has a cylindrical configuration. Axial velocity and turbulent intensity were measured. The effects of the spacer grids on the turbulent flow were investigated using the experimental results. Pressure drops for each component of the fuel bundle were measured, and the friction factors of the fuel bundle and the loss coefficients for the spacer grids were estimated from the measured pressure drops. The turbulent thermal mixing phenomena were discussed.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2396-2401
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• 2007

Freon CHF experiments are carried out to investigate the CHF enhancements by mixing vane shapes of spacer grids in nuclear fuel assembly. The experiments were performed for a wide range mass flux, 50$\sim}$3000 kg/$m^2s$. Three kinds of spacer grids in 5${\times}$5 rod bundles are tested: no mixing vane grids, hybrid mixing vane grids, and split mixing vane grids. The CHF performances are compared along with the data belong to the PWR operating conditions based on a water equivalence through a fluid-to-fluid modeling method. The average of the data in this range is 16.4% for 37 data of hybrid vane grid and 12.5% for 24 data of split vane. In the lower mass flux, however, the split vane grid shows slightly higher performance than the hybrid vane grid.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.705-709
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• 2002

The spacer grids in nuclear fuel assembly locate and align the fuel rods with respect to each other. They provide axial and lateral restraint against an excessive rod motion mainly caused by coolant flow. It is understood that each rod Is supported by multiple spacer grid. In such a case, it is important to determine spacer grid span so as to avoid resonance between the natural frequency of the fuel rods and excitation frequency. Actually dynamic characteristics of the fuel rods can be improved by assigning adequate spacer grid locations. When a dynamic performance of the structure is to be improved, design sensitivity analysis plays an important role as like many structural redesign problems. In this work, a shape design concept, different from conventional design, was applied to the problem. According to the theory shape can be a design parameter and optimal shape design can be found. This study concentrates on eigenvalue design sensitivity of the fuel rod supported by multiple spacer grids to determine optimal spacer grids positions.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.12
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• pp.1948-1952
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• 2012

The paper presents modal testing and analysis in order to obtain the dynamic characteristics of a middle spacer grids of a nuclear fuel rod. A spacer grid is one of the important structural elements supporting nuclear fuel rods. Such a fuel rod can be oscillated by its thermal expansion, neutron irradiation and etc. due to cooling water flow under the operation of a nuclear power plant. When the fuel rod vibrates, fretting wear due to repeated friction motion between the fuel rods and spacer grids can be occurred, and so the fuel rod is damaged. In this paper, through modal analysis and testing, natural frequencies and modes of a middle spacer grid were calculated, and the following conclusions were obtained. Firstly the numerical first-seven natural frequencies for spacer grids of a fuel rod having complicated structures have a small difference within 3.8% with experimental natural frequencies, and so the suitability of simulation results was verified. Secondly, experimental mode shapes for a middle spacer grid of a nuclear fuel rod were verified by obtaining lower non-diagonal terms through MAC(Modal Assurance Criteria), and were confirmed by the simulation modes.