The thermal–hydraulic phenomena in a pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) core have been simulated under steady-state and transient conditions. The PBMR core is basically a long right circular cylinder with a fuel effective height of 11 m and a diameter of 3.7 m. It contains approximately 452,000 fuel pebbles. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model of the PBMR core has been developed to study the influence of porosity on the core performance after reactor shutdown. The developed model was carried out on a personal computer using ANSYS fluent 14.5. Several important heat transfer and fluid flow parameters have been examined under steady-state and transient conditions, including the coolant temperature, effective thermal conductivity of the pebble bed, and the decay heat. Porosity was found to have a significant influence on the coolant temperature, on the effective thermal conductivity of the pebble bed, on the decay heat, and on the required time for heat removal.
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A Numerical Investigation on the Influence of Porosity on the Steady-State and Transient Thermal–Hydraulic Behavior of the PBMR
Masoumeh Sadat Latifi,
Masoumeh Sadat Latifi
Department of Energy Engineering and Physics,
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave,
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: m.s.latifi@aut.ac.ir
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave,
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: m.s.latifi@aut.ac.ir
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Saeed Setayeshi,
Saeed Setayeshi
Department of Energy Engineering and Physics,
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave.
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: setayesh@aut.ac.ir
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave.
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: setayesh@aut.ac.ir
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Giuseppe Starace,
Giuseppe Starace
Department of Engineering for Innovation,
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.starace@unisalento.it
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.starace@unisalento.it
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Maria Fiorentino
Maria Fiorentino
Department of Engineering for Innovation,
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: maria.fiorentino@unisalento.it
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: maria.fiorentino@unisalento.it
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Masoumeh Sadat Latifi
Department of Energy Engineering and Physics,
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave,
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: m.s.latifi@aut.ac.ir
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave,
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: m.s.latifi@aut.ac.ir
Saeed Setayeshi
Department of Energy Engineering and Physics,
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave.
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: setayesh@aut.ac.ir
Amirkabir University of Technology,
424 Hafez Ave.
Tehran, Iran
e-mail: setayesh@aut.ac.ir
Giuseppe Starace
Department of Engineering for Innovation,
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.starace@unisalento.it
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.starace@unisalento.it
Maria Fiorentino
Department of Engineering for Innovation,
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: maria.fiorentino@unisalento.it
University of Salento,
Lecce 73100, Italy
e-mail: maria.fiorentino@unisalento.it
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received January 27, 2016; final manuscript received May 3, 2016; published online June 7, 2016. Editor: Portonovo S. Ayyaswamy.
J. Heat Transfer. Oct 2016, 138(10): 102003 (9 pages)
Published Online: June 7, 2016
Article history
Received:
January 27, 2016
Revised:
May 3, 2016
Citation
Latifi, M. S., Setayeshi, S., Starace, G., and Fiorentino, M. (June 7, 2016). "A Numerical Investigation on the Influence of Porosity on the Steady-State and Transient Thermal–Hydraulic Behavior of the PBMR." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. October 2016; 138(10): 102003. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4033544
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