Thermal hydraulic method for whole core design analysis of an HTGR

Alexander J. Huning, Srinivas Garimella

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new thermal hydraulic method and initial results are presented for core-wide steady state analysis of prismatic High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGR). The method allows for the complete solution of temperature and coolant mass flow distribution by solving quasi-steady energy balances for the discretized core. Assembly blocks are discretized into unit cells for which the average temperature of each unit cell is determined. Convective heat removal is coupled to the unit cell energy balances by a 1-D axial flow model. The flow model uses established correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number. Bypass flow is explicitly calculated by using an initial guess for mass flow distribution and determining the exit pressure of each flow channel. The mass flow distribution is updated until a uniform core exit pressure condition is reached. Results are obtained for the MHTGR-350 with emphasis on the change in thermal hydraulic parameters due to various steady state power profiles and bypass gap widths. Steady state temperature distribution and its variations are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationInternational Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering, M and C 2013
Pages2182-2193
Number of pages12
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes
EventInternational Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering, M and C 2013 - Sun Valley, ID, United States
Duration: May 5 2013May 9 2013

Publication series

NameInternational Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering, M and C 2013
Volume3

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering, M and C 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySun Valley, ID
Period05/5/1305/9/13

Keywords

  • Core design
  • HTGR
  • Thermal hydraulics

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