Comparison of experimental and simulation results on interior subchannel of a 61-pin wire-wrapped hexagonal fuel bundle

As part of a joint U.S. Department of Energy project, AREVA, Argonne National Laboratory, Terrapower, and Texas A&M University have collaborated to produce experimental data and computational results to characterize the flow behavior of a 61-pin wire-wrapped hexagonal fuel bundle. Isothermal experiments have been performed at TAMU to characterize the flow behaviors along the near-wall and interior subchannels by applying particle image/tracking velocimetry techniques. In this paper, comparisons are made between particle image velocimetry velocity field measurements to Argonne National Laboratory’s large-eddy simulation results at an interior subchannel for a Reynolds number of 19,000. It can be concluded the shape and magnitude of the mean vertical velocity component are in excellent agreement for the selected horizontal line plots. Maximum relative errors are less than 10% until the subchannel walls are approached. The shape, and to a lesser extent, magnitude of the mean horizontal velocity component are in satisfactory agreement between the particle image velocimetry and large-eddy simulation results.