During the last years, EU supported many projects aiming to improve nuclear technology also paving the way for the development of Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs). This kind of reactors opens the floor for many advantages with respect to PWRs both in terms of safety and efficiency; in addition, these reactors could be used as burners for the spent fuel of PWRs reducing the long-lived radioactive waste. In this paper, pre-test analyses of the experimental campaign foreseen at the ENEA Brasimone research centre for the CIRCE facility are presented: LBE thermal-hydraulics and the capabilities of helical coil steam generators (HCSG) will be investigated. The paper presents predictions for one of the postulated incidental transients both with STH and CFD approaches, particularly with RELAP5/Mod3.3 and ANSYS Fluent. The main goal of this analysis is the evaluation of the decay heat removal procedure, both applying an external air-cooling system, named RVACS, and the HCSG. Starting from the reference steady state, the transient will be simulated, and attention is paid to the thermal power extracted by each component. Results provided by the CFD, and STH approaches present some differences: these discrepancies are investigated and possible solutions for future works are proposed.
CFD and STH Thermal-Hydraulic Analyses in support of the CIRCE-THETIS experimental campaign
Stefanini Pietro
;Nicola Forgione;Andrea Pucciarelli
2023-01-01
Abstract
During the last years, EU supported many projects aiming to improve nuclear technology also paving the way for the development of Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs). This kind of reactors opens the floor for many advantages with respect to PWRs both in terms of safety and efficiency; in addition, these reactors could be used as burners for the spent fuel of PWRs reducing the long-lived radioactive waste. In this paper, pre-test analyses of the experimental campaign foreseen at the ENEA Brasimone research centre for the CIRCE facility are presented: LBE thermal-hydraulics and the capabilities of helical coil steam generators (HCSG) will be investigated. The paper presents predictions for one of the postulated incidental transients both with STH and CFD approaches, particularly with RELAP5/Mod3.3 and ANSYS Fluent. The main goal of this analysis is the evaluation of the decay heat removal procedure, both applying an external air-cooling system, named RVACS, and the HCSG. Starting from the reference steady state, the transient will be simulated, and attention is paid to the thermal power extracted by each component. Results provided by the CFD, and STH approaches present some differences: these discrepancies are investigated and possible solutions for future works are proposed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.