Hyoung Tae Kim

Scaled-Down Moderator Circulation Test Facility at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) started the experimental research on moderator circulation as one of a the national research and development programs from 2012. This research program includes the construction of the moderator circulation test (MCT) facility, production of the validation data for self-reliant computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools, and development of optical measurement system using the particle image velocimetry (PIV). In the present paper we introduce the scaling analysis performed to extend the scaling criteria suitable for reproducing thermal-hydraulic phenomena in a scaled-down CANDU- (CANada Deuterium Uranium-) 6 moderator tank, a manufacturing status of the 1/4 scale moderator tank. Also, preliminary CFD analysis results for the full-size and scaled-down moderator tanks are carried out to check whether the moderator flow and temperature patterns of both the full-size reactor and scaled-down facility are identical.

Measurement of Velocity and Temperature Profiles in the 1/40 Scaled-Down CANDU-6 Moderator Tank

In order to simulate the CANDU-6 moderator circulation phenomena during steady state operating and accident conditions, a scaled-down moderator test facility has been constructed at Korea Atomic Energy Institute (KAERI). In the present work an experiment using a 1/40 scaled-down moderator tank has been performed to identify the potential problems of the flow visualization and measurement in the scaled-down moderator test facility. With a transparent moderator tank model, a flow field is visualized with a particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique under an isothermal state, and the temperature field is measured using a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technique. A preliminary CFD analysis is also performed to find out the flow, thermal, and heating boundary conditions with which the various flow patterns expected in the prototype CANDU-6 moderator tank can be reproduced in the experiment.

Measurement of Velocity and Temperature Profiles in the Scaled-Down CANDU-6 Moderator Tank

We are planning to construct a scaled-down moderator test facility to simulate the CANDU-6 moderator circulation phenomena during steady state operation and accident conditions at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. In the present work a preliminary experiment using a 1/40 scaled-down moderator tank has been performed to identify the potential problems of the flow visualization and measurement in the scaled-down moderator test facility. With a transparent moderator tank model, a flow field is visualized with a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique under an isothermal state, and the temperature field is measured using a Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique. A preliminary CFD analysis is also performed to find out the flow, thermal, and heating boundary conditions with which the various flow patterns expected in the prototype CANDU-6 moderator tank can be reproduced in the experiment.Copyright

Preliminary Analysis of the CANDU Moderator Thermal-Hydraulics using the CUPID Code

A transient, three-dimensional, two-phase flow analysis code, CUPID, has been developed in KAERI. In this work, we performed a preliminary analysis using the CUPID code to investigate the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the moderator in the Calandria vessel of a CANDU reactor. At first, we validated the CUPID code using the three experiments that were performed at Stern Laboratories Inc. To avoid the complexity to generate computational mesh around the Calandria tube bundles, a porous media approach was applied for the region. The pressure drop in the porous media zone was modeled by an empirical correlation. The results of the calculations showed that the CUPID code can predict the mixed flow pattern of forced and natural convection inside the Calandria vessel very well. Thereafter, the analysis was extended to a two-phase flow condition. Also, the local maximum temperature in the Calandria vessel was plotted as a function of the injection flow rate, which may be utilized to predict the local subcooling margin.

The Feasibility of Multidimensional CFD Applied to Calandria System in the Moderator of CANDU-6 PHWR Using Commercial and Open-Source Codes

The moderator system of CANDU, a prototype of PHWR (pressurized heavy-water reactor), has been modeled in multidimension for the computation based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics) technique. Three CFD codes are tested in modeled hydrothermal systems of heavy-water reactors. Commercial codes, COMSOL Multiphysics and ANSYS-CFX with OpenFOAM, an open-source code, are introduced for the various simplified and practical problems. All the implemented computational codes are tested for a benchmark problem of STERN laboratory experiment with a precise modeling of tubes, compared with each other as well as the measured data and a porous model based on the experimental correlation of pressure drop. Also the effect of turbulence model is discussed for these low Reynolds number flows. As a result, they are shown to be successful for the analysis of three-dimensional numerical models related to the calandria system of CANDU reactors.

Application of a Zircaloy/Steam Oxidation Model to a CFD Code and its Validation against a CANDU Fuel Channel Experiment : CS28-2

Oxidation of a Zircaloy cladding exposed to high-temperature steam is an important phenomenon in the safety analysis of CANDU reactors during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), since a Zircaloy/steam reaction is highly exothermic and results in hydrogen production. As part of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the CS28-2 high-temperature experiment for this accident analysis, two Zircaloy/steam reaction models based on a parabolic rate law are implemented in a commercial CFD code (CFX-10) through a user FORTRAN. It is confirmed that the present oxidation models for the CFX-10 reproduce the results of each empirical correlation in the verification tests well. Then the CFX-10 predictions of a temperature rise and hydrogen production due to Zircaloy/steam oxidation are compared with the results of the CS28-2 experiment. From these validation processes, it is shown that the Urbanic-Heidrick model, which is widely used in CANDU fuel channel codes, is also applicable to a CFX-10 simulation of Zircaloy/steam oxidation in a CANDU fuel channel.

Unsteady two-dimensional multiphysical simulation of a pressure tube model expanded to contact with the outer concentric tube

For the blind calculation of the International Collaborative Standard Problem (ICSP) experiment on heavy water reactor moderator subcooling requirements, the COMSOL Multiphysics code is used to simulate plastic deformation of a pressure tube (PT) as a result of the interaction of stress and temperature. It is shown that the thermal stress model of COMSOL is compatible to simulate the multiple heat transfers (including the radiation heat transfer and heat conduction) and stress strain in the simplified two-dimensional problem. The benchmark test result for radiation heat transfer is in good agreement with the analytical solution for the concentric configuration of PT and calandria tube (CT). Since the original strain model of COMSOL only considers an elastic deformation with thermal expansion coefficient, the PT/CT contact cannot be predicted in the ICSP. Therefore, the plastic deformation model by the Shewfelt and Godin, widely used in the fuel channel analysis of CANadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor, is implemented to the strain equation of COMSOL. The heat-up of PT, the strain rate, and the contact time of the PT/CT are calculated with the boundary conditions (BCs) given for blind calculation of the ICSP experiment. The result shows a sudden expansion of the inner concentric PT within a few milliseconds. This unsteady simulation should be helpful for the conceptual design of experiment as well as for the understanding of multiphysics inside the fuel channels of the CANDU reactor.

PIV Measurement of Velocity Profile in the 1/8 Scale CANDU6 Moderator Circulation Test

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has a scaled-down moderator test program to simulate the CANDU6 moderator circulation phenomena during steady state operation and accident conditions. In the present work a preliminary experiment using a 1/8 scaled-down moderator tank has been performed to identify the potential problems of the flow visualization and measurement in the scaled-down moderator test facility. With a transparent moderator tank model, a velocity field is measured with a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique under an isothermal state. The flow patterns from the inlet nozzles to the top region of the tank are investigated using PIV for a 1/8 scale moderator tank.

Preliminary Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of the CANDU Reactor Moderator Tank using the CUPID Code

The CUPID code has been developed for a transient, three-dimensional, two-phase flow analysis at a component scale. It has been validated against a wide range of two-phase flow experiments. Especially, to assess its applicability to single- and two-phase flow analyses in the Calandria vessel of a CANDU nuclear reactor, it was validated using the experimental data of the 1/4-scaled facility of a Calandria vessel at the STERN laboratory. In this study, a preliminary thermal-hydraulic analysis of the CANDU reactor moderator tank using the CUPID code is carried out, which is based on the results of the previous studies. The complicated internal structure of the Calandria vessel and the inlet nozzle was modeled in a simplified manner by using a porous media approach. One of the most important factors in the analysis was found to be the modeling of the tank inlet nozzle. A calculation with a simple inlet nozzle modeling resulted in thermal stratification by buoyance, leading to a boiling from the top of the Calandria tank. This is not realistic at all and may occur due to the lack of inlet flow momentum. To improve this, a new nozzle modeling was used, which can preserve both mass flow and momentum flow at the inlet nozzle. This resulted in a realistic temperature distribution in the tank. In conclusion, it was shown that the CUPID code is applicable to thermal-hydraulic analysis of the CANDU reactor moderator tank using the cost-effective porous media approach and that the inlet nozzle modeling is very important for the flow analysis in the tank.

Experimental Study of Moderator Circulation in CANDU6 Calandria Tank

As a CANDU6 reactor has a high pressure primary cooling system and an independently cooled moderator system, the moderator in the calandria would act as a supplementary heat sink during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) if the primary cooling and emergency coolant injection systems fail to remove the decay heat from the fuel. For the safety concern it is required to predict the 3-dimensional velocity and temperature distribution of moderator fluid to confirm the effectiveness of moderator heat sink.Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is carrying out a scaled-down moderator test program to simulate the CANDU6 moderator circulation phenomena during steady state operation and accident conditions. This research program includes the construction of the Moderator Circulation Test (MCT) facility, production of the validation data for self-reliant CFD tools, and development of optical measurement system using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). In the present work the PIV technique is used to measure the velocity distributions in the scaled moderator tank of MCT under iso-thermal test conditions. The preliminary PIV measurement data are obtained and compared with CFX code predictions.Copyright