With recent progress in high-temperature pebble-bed reactor programs research focus has started to include more ancillary engineering issues. One very important aspect for the realisability is the mixing of hot and colder helium in the reactor lower plenum. Under nominal operating conditions, depending on core design, the temperature of hot gas leaving the core can locally differ up to 210° C. Due to material limitations, these temperature differences have to be reduced to at least ±15° C. Several reduced-size air experiments have been performed on this problem, but their applicability to modern commercially sized reactors is not certain. With the rise in computing power CFD simulations can be performed in addition, but advanced turbulence modeling is necessary due to the highly swirling and turbulent nature of this flow. The presented work uses the geometry of the German HTR-Modul which consists of an annular mixing channel and radially arranged ribs. Using the commercial CFD code ANSYS CFX, we have made detailed analyses of the complex 3D vortical flow phenomena within this geometry. Several momentum transport turbulence models, e.g. the classical k-e model, advanced two-equation models and Reynolds-Stress Models were compared with respect to their accuracy for this particular flow. In addition, the full set of turbulent scalar flux transport equations was implemented for modeling the three components of turbulent transport of enthalpy seperately and were compared with the standard turbulent Prandtl number approach. As expected from previous work in related fields of turbulence modeling, the differences in predicting the mixing performance between models were significant. Only the full Reynolds-Stress model coupled with the scalar flux equations was able to reproduce the experimentally observed reduction of mixing efficiency with increasing Reynolds number. The correct scaling of mixing efficiencies demonstrates that the utilized turbulence models are able to reproduce the physics of the underlying flow. Hence they could be employed for the scaling and optimization of the lower plenum geometry. The results also showed that the original geometry used for the HTR-Modul is insufficient to provide adequate mixing, and that hence a not sufficiently mixed coolant for future reactor designs might be an issue. Based on this work, an optimization for future lower plenum geometries has become feasible.

The goal of the work is to investigate the abilities of the realizable k-ε and the k-ω turbulence models to predict phenomena expected in the lower plenum of the prismatic gas cooled reactor by benchmarking them against one another as well as verifying them against available experimental data [6]. Simulations were performed with CD-Adapco’s Star-CCM+ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code utilizing the steady state approximation of the realizable k-ε turbulence model and the unsteady RANS approximations of the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. The unsteady results were averaged over a period of time corresponding to one full fluctuation cycle of the phenomena present with the lowest frequency. A case with a single jet of Reynolds number 12,700 was simulated as well as a case with dual jets of Reynolds numbers 6,300 and 12,700. Impingement of the jets occurred on the lower plane of the setup as occurs in the lower plenum. A two-layer shear driven [8] y+ wall treatment was used to satisfy the boundary layer profile. A mesh of 8.6 million polyhedral cells was generated to capture critical flow characteristics within the domain. Polyhedral cells were chosen for this application because they provided a better quality mesh and reduced the total number of cells necessary to achieve accurate results [4]. The simulations carried out were defined as having reached a converged solution when all residuals reduced to less than 10 −5 . The simulations of the flow in the rod bundle were successful in providing insight into locations of some key recirculation zones and the dependence they have on inlet conditions. The comparison between numerical and experimental results showed similar key flow patterns as well as aided in possible points of focus for future investigation. The information obtained and conclusions drawn will be critical in future numerical benchmarks in this area of research.

The question arose whether the correlation for the pressure drop prescribed for cylindrical pebble bed reactors by the Nuclear Safety Commission (KTA) of Germany could still be applied to the proposed annular configuration of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) currently being developed in South Africa. An approach is described which uses the extended Brinkman equation for fully developed flow together with the original KTA correlation, to account for the resistance of the pebbles, and an effective viscosity, to account for the effect of the walls. A cylindrical packed bed with the same hydraulic diameter as the annular core was first of all considered. The pressure drops for various Reynolds numbers were calculated using a correlation which accounts for the effect of the wall. The formulation of the correlation for an infinite bed was then used along with the Brinkman equation to determine the appropriate values of the effective viscosity to give the same pressure drops. It was then assumed that the effective viscosities obtained in this way could be applied to the annular configuration of the PBMR. The pressure drop through the annular core was then calculated for various Reynolds numbers employing the effective viscosities in the extended Brinkman equation. It was found that the friction coefficients that could be derived from these pressure drops were in good agreement with the friction coefficients obtained from physical experiments performed on a scale model of the PBMR annular core. It was therefore concluded that the strategy followed could be used with the necessary care to predict the pressure drop through the annular core of the PBMR.

In this investigation Particle Image Velocimetry technique was implemented to a matched refractive index facility which was placed in a rectangular channel of L:1016 mm×W:76.2 mm×H:76.2 mm. Water was pumped into either one or both of the inlet jets which were entering the channel’s top wall with several different Reynolds numbers. The instantaneous and time-resolved velocity fields were successfully obtained from which several flow characteristics such as vorticity, turbulence instabilities and Reynolds stresses can be calculated.

The experimental program that is being conducted at the Matched Index-of-Refraction (MIR) Flow Facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to obtain benchmark data on measurements of flow phenomena in a scaled model of a prismatic gas-cooled reactor lower plenum using 3-D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is presented. A description of the scaling analysis, experimental facility, 3-D PIV system, measurement uncertainties and analysis, experimental procedures and samples of the data sets that have been obtained are included. Samples of the data set that will be presented include the mean velocity field in an approximately 1:7 scale model of a region of the lower plenum of a typical prismatic gas-cooled reactor (GCR) similar to a General Atomics Gas-Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor (GTMHR) design. This experiment has been selected as the first Standard Problem endorsed by the Generation IV International Forum. The flow in the lower plenum consists of multiple jets injected into a confined cross flow — with obstructions. The model consists of a row of full circular posts along its centerline with half-posts on the two parallel walls to approximate flow scaled to that expected from the staggered parallel rows of posts in the reactor design. The model is fabricated from clear, fused quartz to match the refractive-index of the mineral oil working fluid. The benefit of the MIR technique is that it permits high-quality measurements to be obtained without locating intrusive transducers that disturb the flow field and without distortion of the optical paths. An advantage of the INL MIR system is its large size which allows obtaining improved spatial and temporal resolution compared to similar facilities at smaller scales. Results concentrate on the region of the lower plenum near its far reflector wall (away from the outlet duct). Inlet jet Reynolds numbers (based on the jet diameter and the time-mean average flow rate) are approximately 4,300 and 12,400. The measurements reveal developing, non-uniform flow in the inlet jets and complicated flow patterns in the model lower plenum. Data include three-dimensional vector plots, data displays along the coordinate planes (slices) and charts that describe the component flows at specific regions in the model. Information on inlet velocity profiles is also presented.

The nuclear core of High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) with pebble bed type has been investigated intensively due to its benefits in management, but its complicated flow geometry requested the reliable analytical method. Recent studies have been made using the three dimensional computational methods but they need to be evaluated with the experimental data. Due to the complicated and narrow flow channel, the intrusive methods of flow measurement are not proper in the study. In the present study, we developed a wind tunnel for the pebble bed geometry in the structure of Face Centered Cubic (FCC) and measure the flow field using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) directly. Due to the limitation of the image harnessing speed and accessibility of the light for particle identification, the system is scaled up to reduce the mean flow velocity by keeping the same Reynolds number of the HTGR. The velocity fields are successfully determined to identify the stagnation points suspected to produce hot spots on the surface of the pebble. It is expected that the present data is useful to evaluate the three dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis. Furthermore, It would provide an insight of experimental method if the present results are compared by those of scaled down and liquid medium.