CFD Analysis of the VHTR Prismatic Core with Variation of Geometry Parameters

Abstract

The Very High Temperature Reactor is a thermal, graphite moderated and helium cooled nuclear reactor. The purpose of this work is to study the behavior of the VHTR by means of parametric analysis, altering the energy generation profile in the fuel blocks and the influence of modifications in the geometry itself. The coolant flow through the coolant channels and by-pass channels were analyzed in a 1/12th section of a fuel block column. Geometry was used with by-pass channels of different dimensions, besides one that had only the cooling channels, without by-pass channel. It has been found that the existence of a by-pass flow induces an increase in the temperature gradient in the fuel block. Comparative studies were performed between the results obtained in simulations carried out with different profiles of thermal energy generation (uniform and sinusoidal) in the fuel channels. It was verified that when there is the same total thermal energy generation in the fuel block, the maximum temperature observed in each of the materials is smaller for the generation with sinusoidal profile. Computer simulations were performed using a geometry with a central channel with the same diameter as the others to verify the hypothesis that the existence of a temperature gradient in the fuel block, with the highest temperature at the center and the lowest temperature being at the periphery of this block, is due to the smaller dimension of the coolant channel located in the center of this block. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis