This article presents a numerical investigation of thermal-fluid dynamics processes through the gaps of the spherical fuel elements (fuel pebbles) in the core of a Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR), using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The PBR is one of the most promising projects of the six classes of Generation IV Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). The results of two analyzes are presented. In the first case were evaluated two models of heat transfer to the spherical fuel. In this model is specified the volumetric heat generation, with thermal conduction in the fuel, and in the cladding. In the second model was specified a particular heat flux at the spherical fuel elements surface. In this analysis were performed simulations in two arrays of spheres i.e., the spheres into contact and spaced 2 mm. In the second analysis was also evaluated the influence of the spheres arrangement in the bed thermal-fluid dynamic behavior. The set of pebbles that constitute the core was modeled by representations of crystalline structure with different packing factors. The four simulations of the first analysis showed differences in flow and temperature profiles and maximum surface coating. There were also no significant differences in flow and heat transfer between the beads and the fluid in cases with different packing factors. These results show the importance of simulation of heat conduction inside the pebble fuel as well as the need to better assess the influence of the arrangement formed by pebbles fuel in PBR reactors thermal-fluid dynamics behavior.
| Published in | International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16 |
| Page(s) | 69-76 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), PBR Reactors
| [1] | Lohnert, G., "Technical design features and essential safety-related properties of the HTR-module", Nuclear Engineering and Design. 121. 1990. |
| [2] | Lohnert, G., and Reutler, H. "The modular HTR-a new design of high temperature pebble bed reactor". J. Br. Nuclear Energy Soc. 22 June (3). 197. 1983. |
| [3] | Hassan, Y.A. "Large eddy simulation in pebble bed gas cooled core reactors". Nuclear Engineering and Design, V. 238, I. 3, March 2008, p. 530-537. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2007.02.041. |
| [4] | Hore-Lacy, I., Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century. 2nd Edition, Word Nuclear University, London, 2011. |
| [5] | Duarte, J.P., Oliva, J.J.R. and Melo, P.F.F.F. "Generation IV Nuclear Systems: State of the Art and Current Trends with Emphasis on Safety and Security Features". In: Current Research in Nuclear Reactor Technology in Brazil and Worldwide, Prof. Amir Mesquita (Ed.), InTech, Croatia. 2013. DOI: 10.5772/53140. |
| [6] | ANSYS, "CFX-13.0 User Manuals", ANSYS, 2010. |
| [7] |
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Available at |
| [8] | Lee, J.J., Park,G.C., Kim,K.Y., and Lee,W.J., "Numerical treatment of pebble contact in the flow and heat transfer analysis of a pebble bed reactor core", Nuclear Engineering and Design, v. 237, p.2138-2196. 2007. |
| [9] | Lee, J.J., Yoon,S.J., Park,G.C., and Lee,W.J., "Turbulence-Induced Heat Transfer in PBMR Core Using LES and RANS". Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, v. 44, n. 7, p. 985-996, 2007. |
| [10] | Sobes,V,; Forgetb,B., and Kadakc,A., "Individual pebble temperature peaking factor due to local pebble arrangement in a pebble bed reactor core". Nuclear Engineering and Design, v. 241, p. 124-133, 2011. |
| [11] | Auwerda, G.J., Kloosterman, J.L., Winkelman, A.J.M., Groen, J. and van Dijk, V., "Comparison of Experiments and Calculation of Void Fraction Distributions in Randomly Stacked Pebble Beds", PHYSOR 2010 – Advances in Reactor Physics to Power the Nuclear Renaissance. 2010. |
| [12] | Matzner,H.D., "PBMR project status and the way ahead". 2nd International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology, Beijing, China, September. 2004. |
| [13] | Tak, N.I., Kim,Y.W., Choi, J.H., and Lee, W. J., "Termo-fluid investigation on a double- side-cooled annular fuel for the prismatic very high temperature gas-cooled reactor", Nuclear Engineering and Design, v. 238, p. 2821-2827, 2008. |
| [14] | NIST, "Thermophysical properties of fluid systems", National Institute of Standards and Technology - NIST, http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/fluid/, 2013. |
| [15] | Costa, F.C., Navarro, M.A., and Santos, A.A.C. "Numerical Investigation of Flow in Bed Pebbles Gas Cooled High Temperature Reactors". In: International Nuclear Atlantic Conference - INAC. Belo Horizonte (in Portuguese). 2011. |
APA Style
André A. C. Santos, Franklin C. Costa, Amir Z. Mesquita, Hugo C. Rezende. (2013). Numerical Investigation of Flow in Generation IV Pebble Bed Gas Cooled Core Reactors. International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, 2(2), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16
ACS Style
André A. C. Santos; Franklin C. Costa; Amir Z. Mesquita; Hugo C. Rezende. Numerical Investigation of Flow in Generation IV Pebble Bed Gas Cooled Core Reactors. Int. J. Energy Power Eng. 2013, 2(2), 69-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16
AMA Style
André A. C. Santos, Franklin C. Costa, Amir Z. Mesquita, Hugo C. Rezende. Numerical Investigation of Flow in Generation IV Pebble Bed Gas Cooled Core Reactors. Int J Energy Power Eng. 2013;2(2):69-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16,
author = {André A. C. Santos and Franklin C. Costa and Amir Z. Mesquita and Hugo C. Rezende},
title = {Numerical Investigation of Flow in Generation IV Pebble Bed Gas Cooled Core Reactors},
journal = {International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering},
volume = {2},
number = {2},
pages = {69-76},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepe.20130202.16},
abstract = {This article presents a numerical investigation of thermal-fluid dynamics processes through the gaps of the spherical fuel elements (fuel pebbles) in the core of a Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR), using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The PBR is one of the most promising projects of the six classes of Generation IV Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). The results of two analyzes are presented. In the first case were evaluated two models of heat transfer to the spherical fuel. In this model is specified the volumetric heat generation, with thermal conduction in the fuel, and in the cladding. In the second model was specified a particular heat flux at the spherical fuel elements surface. In this analysis were performed simulations in two arrays of spheres i.e., the spheres into contact and spaced 2 mm. In the second analysis was also evaluated the influence of the spheres arrangement in the bed thermal-fluid dynamic behavior. The set of pebbles that constitute the core was modeled by representations of crystalline structure with different packing factors. The four simulations of the first analysis showed differences in flow and temperature profiles and maximum surface coating. There were also no significant differences in flow and heat transfer between the beads and the fluid in cases with different packing factors. These results show the importance of simulation of heat conduction inside the pebble fuel as well as the need to better assess the influence of the arrangement formed by pebbles fuel in PBR reactors thermal-fluid dynamics behavior.},
year = {2013}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Numerical Investigation of Flow in Generation IV Pebble Bed Gas Cooled Core Reactors AU - André A. C. Santos AU - Franklin C. Costa AU - Amir Z. Mesquita AU - Hugo C. Rezende Y1 - 2013/05/30 PY - 2013 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16 DO - 10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16 T2 - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering JF - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering JO - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering SP - 69 EP - 76 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2326-960X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20130202.16 AB - This article presents a numerical investigation of thermal-fluid dynamics processes through the gaps of the spherical fuel elements (fuel pebbles) in the core of a Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR), using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The PBR is one of the most promising projects of the six classes of Generation IV Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). The results of two analyzes are presented. In the first case were evaluated two models of heat transfer to the spherical fuel. In this model is specified the volumetric heat generation, with thermal conduction in the fuel, and in the cladding. In the second model was specified a particular heat flux at the spherical fuel elements surface. In this analysis were performed simulations in two arrays of spheres i.e., the spheres into contact and spaced 2 mm. In the second analysis was also evaluated the influence of the spheres arrangement in the bed thermal-fluid dynamic behavior. The set of pebbles that constitute the core was modeled by representations of crystalline structure with different packing factors. The four simulations of the first analysis showed differences in flow and temperature profiles and maximum surface coating. There were also no significant differences in flow and heat transfer between the beads and the fluid in cases with different packing factors. These results show the importance of simulation of heat conduction inside the pebble fuel as well as the need to better assess the influence of the arrangement formed by pebbles fuel in PBR reactors thermal-fluid dynamics behavior. VL - 2 IS - 2 ER -
Information
Email: