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Rohde M, Peeters JWR, Pucciarelli A, Kiss A, Rao YF, Onder EN, Muehlbauer P, Batta A, Hartig M, Chatoorgoon V, Thiele R, Chang D, Tavoularis S, Novog D, McClure D, Gradecka M, Takase K. A Blind, Numerical Benchmark Study on Supercritical Water Heat Transfer Experiments in a 7-Rod Bundle. Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science 2016. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4031949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Heat transfer in supercritical water reactors (SCWRs) shows a complex behavior, especially when the temperatures of the water are near the pseudocritical value. For example, a significant deterioration of heat transfer may occur, resulting in unacceptably high cladding temperatures. The underlying physics and thermodynamics behind this behavior are not well understood yet. To assist the worldwide development in SCWRs, it is therefore of paramount importance to assess the limits and capabilities of currently available models, despite the fact that most of these models were not meant to describe supercritical heat transfer (SCHT). For this reason, the Gen-IV International Forum initiated the present blind, numerical benchmark, primarily aiming to show the predictive ability of currently available models when applied to a real-life application with flow conditions that resemble those of an SCWR. This paper describes the outcomes of ten independent numerical investigations and their comparison with wall temperatures measured at different positions in a 7-rod bundle with spacer grids in a supercritical water test facility at JAEA. The wall temperatures were not known beforehand to guarantee the blindness of the study. A number of models have been used, ranging from a one-dimensional (1-D) analytical approach with heat transfer correlations to a RANS simulation with the SST turbulence model on a mesh consisting of 62 million cells. None of the numerical simulations accurately predicted the wall temperature for the test case in which deterioration of heat transfer occurred. Furthermore, the predictive capabilities of the subchannel analysis were found to be comparable to those of more laborious approaches. It has been concluded that predictions of SCHT in rod bundles with the help of currently available numerical tools and models should be treated with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Rohde
- Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, Delft 2629 JB, The Netherlands e-mail:
| | - J. W. R. Peeters
- Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, Delft 2629 JB, The Netherlands
| | - A. Pucciarelli
- University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 2, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - A. Kiss
- BME NTI, Muegyetem rkp. 9 R bld. 317/7a, Budapest 1111, Hungary
| | - Y. F. Rao
- CNL, 286 Plant Road, Chalk River, ON K0J 1J0, Canada
| | - E. N. Onder
- CNL, 286 Plant Road, Chalk River, ON K0J 1J0, Canada
| | - P. Muehlbauer
- Research Centre Rez Ltd., Hlavní 130, Rez 250 68, Czech Republic
| | - A. Batta
- KIT-IKET, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, Karlsruhe 76344, Germany
| | - M. Hartig
- KIT-IKET, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, Karlsruhe 76344, Germany
| | - V. Chatoorgoon
- University of Manitoba, 75A Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada
| | - R. Thiele
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
| | - D. Chang
- University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON K1N6N5, Canada
| | - S. Tavoularis
- University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON K1N6N5, Canada
| | - D. Novog
- McMaster University, Somestreet 1, Hamilton, ON 333AS, Canada
| | - D. McClure
- McMaster University, Somestreet 1, Hamilton, ON 333AS, Canada
| | - M. Gradecka
- Warsaw University of Technology, ul. nowowiejska 21/25, Warsaw 00665, Poland
| | - K. Takase
- Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata, Tokai, Naka Ibaraki, Ibaraki-ken 319-1195, Japan
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