Combined numerical and experimental investigations of local hydrodynamics and coolant flow mass transfer in Kvadrat-type fuel assemblies of PWR reactors with mixing grids

Abstract

Results of research works on studying local hydrodynamics and mass transfer for coolant flow in the characteristic zones of PWR reactor fuel assemblies in case of using belts of mixing spacer grids are presented. The investigations were carried out on an aerodynamic rig using the admixture diffusion method (the tracer-gas method). Certain specific features pertinent to coolant flow in the fuel rod bundles of Kvadrat-type fuel assemblies were revealed during the experiments. The obtained study results were included in the database for verifying computation fluid dynamics computer codes and detailed cell-wise calculations of reactor cores with Kvadrat-type fuel assemblies. The obtained results can also be used for more exact determination of local coolant flow hydrodynamic and mass transfer characteristics in assessing thermal reliability of PWR reactor cores.