Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model Research Articles

CFD Applications to Pressurized Thermal Shock-Related Phenomena

In pressurized water reactor accident scenarios, the injection of water from the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) (ECC injection) might induce a pressurized thermal shock (PTS), affecting the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) integrity. Therefore, PTS is a vital research issue in reactor safety, and its analysis is essential for evaluating the integrity of RPVs, which determines the reactor life. The PTS analysis comprises a coupled analysis between thermal–hydraulic and structural analyses. The thermal–hydraulic approach is particularly crucial, and reliable computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations should play a vital role in the future because predicting the temperature gradient of the RPV wall requires data on the transient temperature distribution of the downcomer (DC). Since one-dimensional codes cannot predict the complex three-dimensional flow features during ECC injection, PTS is one reactor safety issue where CFD simulation can benefit from complement evaluations with thermal–hydraulic system analysis codes. This study reviewed from the viewpoint of the turbulence models most affecting PTS analysis based on papers published since 2010 on single- and two-phase flow CFD simulation for the experiment on PTS performed in the Rossendorf coolant mixing model (ROCOM), transient two-phase flow (TOPFLOW), upper plenum test facility (UPTF), and large-scale test facility (LSTF). The results revealed that in single-phase flow CFD simulation, where knowledge and experience are sufficient, various turbulence models have been considered, and many analyses using large eddy simulation (LES) have been reported. For two-phase flow analysis of air–water conditions, interface capturing/tracking methods were used in addition to two-fluid models. The standard k–ε and shear stress transport (SST) k–ω models were still in the validated phase, and various turbulence models have yet to be fully validated. In the two-phase flow analysis of steam–water conditions, many studies have used two-fluid models and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stoke (RANS), and NEPTUNE_CFD, in particular, has been reported to show excellent prediction performance based on years of accumulated validation.

Computational studies on pressurized thermal shock in reactor pressure vessel

Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) in the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) can occurs during injection of Emergency Core Cooling (ECC) water into the cold leg of Pressurized Water Reactor. Injected ECC water generates large temperature gradient which leads to large thermal stresses in the RPV wall. To study this behaviour in Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM), case of buoyancy driven mixing with a constant flow rate and 10% density difference between the ECC injection and loop water was taken for analysis. ROCOM is a 1:5 scaled German KONVOI type reactor having four-loop with a RPV mock-up made of transparent acrylic material. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) based models are used for this numerical analysis work in OpenFOAM CFD code. LES offered more accurate predictions of the local and spatial mixing phenomena compared to RANS based models. The predicted results are compared and validated with experimental data of ROCOM test facility. It shows that results are in good agreement.

Investigating on multi-RANS models coupling simulation for flow mixing experiments

Prediction and analysis of coolant flow and mixing problems in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) are some of the most critical studies to ensure system safety and balance of nuclear power plant. The flow mixing problem in the reactor primary system with complicated interior structure is a large domain three-dimensional problem. In this paper, we investigated the performance of utilizing multiple RANS models (MRANS) coupling method in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS FLUENT to study flow mixing. Based on the domain decomposition technique, the 2-equation and 7-equation RANS models were coupled and applied to simulate the flow mixing phenomenon in the Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) test facility. First, a CFD model of ROCOM was developed, and the explicit domain decomposition coupling simulation was achieved with a user-defined Python control program. To ensure the best CFD model was utilized, three different turbulence models and varying resolution grids were used for turbulence model feasibility analysis and grid sensitivity testing. Then the applicability of MRANS coupling method was evaluated by comparing the results from the MRANS simulations with those obtained from flow mixing experiments. In addition, single and MRANS model simulation results were compared. Results show good agreements between the MRANS coupling simulations and the experimental data. Compared with overall simulations by single RANS models, the MRANS coupling method also have superior performance in accuracy and efficiency for the CFD simulation study of mixing phenomena in the reactor primary coolant system.

The capability of Ansys CFX to predict the mixing phenomena in ROCOM test facility

This work consists of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of a reference experiment on boron dilution in the Rossendorf coolant mixing Model (ROCOM) as part of a coordinated research project of the International Atomic Energy Agency, namely, “Application of numerical codes of fluid dynamics to the design of nuclear power plants”. This coordinated project aims to address the application of CFD codes to the process of optimizing the design of nuclear power plants related to pressurized water reactors and to evaluate the performance and predictive capabilities of these codes and to contribute to their validation. In this context, a three-dimensional numerical simulation study was carried out using CFD code ANSYS CFX v14.5, to study the boron mixing phenomenon at the core inlet and the downcomer of the ROCOM test facility. The phenomenon of experimental mixing occurs by the injection of a tracer (sodium chloride) into one of the loops of the ROCOM installation mainly containing demineralized water in its primary circuit. The concentration field of the tracer is measured and simulated at the entrance of the heart and in the lowering. The SST-kω turbulence model used in this study could reasonably predict the distribution of the injected tracer in measurement locations within the test facility. The results of this numerical simulation were compared to the Benchmark data provided by the ROCOM experimental facility of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Institute.

Numerical analysis of the ROCOM boron dilution benchmark experiment using the CUPID code

Abstract The Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) boron dilution benchmark experiment was assessed using the CUPID code in the framework of a Coordinated Research Project by the International Atomic Energy Agency, namely, “Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics Codes for Nuclear Power Plant Design.” Two-equation Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence models, such as the standard k-e model, Re-Normalization Group (RNG) k-e model, and Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω model, were tested, and predictions of boron concentration were compared to measurements at the downcomer and core inlet in the reactor pressure vessel. The analysis result showed that the de-borated water slug injected from one cold leg was diffused by the turbulence mixing effect as it flowed downward in the downcomer and passes through a perforated drum in the lower plenum. The applied turbulence model affected the mixing patterns of the de-borated water, which resulted in a local distribution of boron concentration at the core inlet. This was the main concern of the boron dilution phenomena from the viewpoint of safety analysis. The result showed combining the CUPID code with the RANS turbulence models could reasonably predict the boron dilution phenomena in the reactor vessel when the proper y-plus wall treatment was assured, considering the characteristics of the turbulence models.

The applicability of CFD to simulate and study the mixing process and the thermo-hydraulic consequences of a main steam line break in PWR model

This paper focuses on the validation and applicability of CFD to simulate and analyze the thermo-hydraulic consequences of a main steam line break. Extensive validation data come from experiments performed using the Rossendorf coolant mixing model facility. For the calculation, the range of 9 to 12 million hexahe?dral cells was constructed to capture all details in the interrogation domain in the system. The analysis was performed by running a time-dependent calculation, Detailed analyses were made at different cross-sections in the system to evaluate not only the value of the maximum and minimum temperature, but also the loca?tion and the time at which it occurs during the transient which is considered to be indicator for the quality of mixing in the system. CFD and experimental results were qualitatively compared; mixing in the cold legs with emergency core cooling systems was overestimated. This could be explained by the sensitivity to the bound?ary conditions. In the downcomer, the experiments displayed higher mixing: by our assumption this related to the dense measurement grid (they were not modelled). The temperature distribution in the core inlet plane agreed with the measurement results. Minor deviations were seen in the quantitative comparisons: the maximum temperature difference was 2?C.

Validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics Calculation Using Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model Flow Measurements in Primary Loop of Coolant in a Pressurized Water Reactor Model

The aim of this work is to simulate the thermohydraulic consequences of a main steam line break and to compare the obtained results with Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) 1.1 experimental results. The objective is to utilize data from steady-state mixing experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations to determine the flow distribution and the effect of thermal mixing phenomena in the primary loops for the improvement of normal operation conditions and structural integrity assessment of pressurized water reactors. The numerical model of ROCOM was developed using the FLUENT code. The positions of the inlet and outlet boundary conditions and the distribution of detailed velocity/turbulence parameters were determined by preliminary calculations. The temperature fields of transient calculation were averaged in time and compared with time-averaged experimental data. The perforated barrel under the core inlet homogenizes the flow, and therefore, a uniform temperature distribution is formed in the pressure vessel bottom. The calculated and measured values of lowest temperature were equal. The inlet temperature is an essential parameter for safety assessment. The calculation predicts precisely the experimental results at the core inlet central region. CFD results showed a good agreement (both qualitatively and quantitatively) with experimental results.

Multi-dimensional boron transport modeling in subchannel approach: Part II. Validation of CTF boron tracking model and adding boron precipitation model

The risk of small-break loss of coolant accident (SB-LOCA) and other reactivity initiated transients caused by boron dilution in the light water reactors (LWRs), and the complications of tracking the soluble boron concentration experimentally inside the primary coolant have stimulated the interest in computational studies for accurate boron tracking simulations in nuclear reactors. In Part I of this study, the development and implementation of a multi-dimensional boron transport model with modified Godunov scheme based on a subchannel approach within the COBRA-TF (CTF) thermal-hydraulic code was presented. The modified Godunov scheme approach with a physical diffusion term was determined to provide the most accurate and precise solution. Current paper extends these conclusions and presents the model validation studies against experimental data from the Rossendorf coolant mixing model (ROCOM) test facility. In addition, the importance of the two-phase flow characteristics in modeling boron transient are emphasized, especially during long-term cooling period after the loss of coolant accident (LOCA) condition in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The CTF capabilities of boron transport modeling are further improved based on the three-field representation of the two-phase flow utilized in the code. The boron transport within entrained droplets is modeled, and a model for predicting the boron precipitation under transient conditions is developed and tested. It is aimed to extend the applicability of CTF to reactor transient simulations, and particularly to a large-break loss of coolant accident (LB-LOCA) analysis.

Buoyancy‐driven Mixing Studies of Natural Circulation Flows using Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model Experiments and CFD

AbstractCoolant mixing in the cold leg, downcomer and the lower plenum of pressurized water reactors is an important phenomenon mitigating the reactivity insertion into the core. Therefore, mixing of the deborated slugs with the ambient coolant in the reactor pressure vessel was investigated at the four loop 1:5‐scaled Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) mixing test facility. Thermalhydraulics analyses showed that weakly borated condensate can accumulate in particular in the pump loop seal of those loops, which do not receive safety injection. After refilling of the primary circuit, natural circulation in the stagnant loops can re‐establish simultaneously and the deborated slugs are shifted towards the reactor pressure vessel. In the ROCOM experiments, the length of the flow ramp and the initial density difference between the slugs and the ambient coolant was varied. From the test matrix experiments with 0 and 2 % density differences between the deborated slugs and the ambient coolant were used to validate the CFD software ANSYS CFX. To model the effects of turbulence on the mean flow a higher order Reynolds stress turbulence model was employed and a mesh consisting of 6.4 million hybrid elements was utilized. Only the experiments and CFD calculations with modeled density differences show stratification in the downcomer. Depending on the degree of density differences the less dense slugs flow around the core barrel at the top of the downcomer. At the opposite side the lower borated coolant is entrained by the colder safety injection water and transported to the core. The validation proves that ANSYS CFX is able to simulate appropriately the flow field and mixing effects of coolant with different densities.

Application of large-eddy simulation to pressurized thermal shock problem: A grid resolution study

Abstract Life time extension assessment is a very important issue for the nuclear community. A serious threat to the life time extension of a Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) is an occurrence of the Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) during an Emergency Core Coolant (ECC) injection in a loss-of-coolant accident. Traditional system codes fail to predict the complex three-dimensional flow phenomena resulting from such ECC injection. Improved results have been obtained using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. However, it has been also shown that transient RANS approaches are less capable to predict the complex flow features in the downcomer of the RPV. More advanced CFD methods like Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) are required for modeling of these flow phenomena. This paper addresses the feasibility of the application of LES for single-phase PTS. Furthermore, the required grid resolution for such LES analyses is identified by evaluation of the solution on different mesh sizes. A buoyancy-driven PTS experiment has been considered here. This experiment has been performed in the 1:5 linear scale Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) facility. In the applied numerical model, the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved in the LES formulation, with an additional transport equation for a scalar, which is responsible for driving the embedded buoyancy term in the momentum equations. Instantaneous mixing characteristics are investigated based on evaluation of the scalar concentration. The analysis presented in this paper indicates that the application of LES is feasible nowadays for single-phase PTS. It is demonstrated that the mixing in the downcomer is quite sensitive to small turbulent disturbances at the ECC inlet, i.e., two simulations performed with slightly different fluctuations at the inlet result in substantially different flow in the downcomer. This complicates the analysis of the data from simulations and suggests that evaluation of the results should be performed in the frequency–amplitude domain instead of the classically employed temporal data analysis.

Boron dilution transients during natural circulation flow in PWR—Experiments and CFD simulations

Coolant mixing in the cold leg, downcomer and the lower plenum of pressurized water reactors is an important phenomenon mitigating the reactivity insertion into the core. Therefore, mixing of the de-borated slugs with the ambient coolant in the reactor pressure vessel was investigated at the four loops 1:5 scaled Rossendorf coolant mixing model (ROCOM) mixing test facility. In particular thermal hydraulics analyses have shown, that weakly borated condensate can accumulate in the pump loop seal of those loops, which do not receive a safety injection. After refilling of the primary circuit, natural circulation in the stagnant loops can re-establish simultaneously and the de-borated slugs are shifted towards the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). In the ROCOM experiments, the length of the flow ramp and the initial density difference between the slugs and the ambient coolant was varied. From the test matrix experiments with 0 resp. 2% density difference between the de-borated slugs and the ambient coolant were used to validate the CFD software ANSYS CFX. To model the effects of turbulence on the mean flow a higher order Reynolds stress turbulence model was employed and a mesh consisting of 6.4 million hybrid elements was utilized. Only the experiments and CFD calculations with modeled density differences show stratification in the downcomer. Depending on the degree of density differences the less dense slugs flow around the core barrel at the top of the downcomer. At the opposite side, the lower borated coolant is entrained by the colder safety injection water and transported to the core. The validation proves that ANSYS CFX is able to simulate appropriately the flow field and mixing effects of coolant with different densities.

Experiments at the mixing test facility ROCOM for benchmarking of CFD codes

For the validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, experimental data on fluid flow parameters with high resolution in time and space are needed. Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) is a test facility for the investigation of coolant mixing in the primary circuit of pressurized water reactors. This facility reproduces the primary circuit of a German KONVOI-type reactor. All important details of the reactor pressure vessel are modelled at a linear scale of 1:5. The facility is characterized by flexible possibilities of operation in a wide variety of flow regimes and boundary conditions. The flow path of the coolant from the cold legs through the downcomer until the inlet into the core is equipped with high-resolution detectors, in particular, wire mesh sensors in the downcomer of the vessel with a mesh of 64 × 32 measurement positions and in the core inlet plane with one measurement position for the entry into each fuel assembly, to enable high-level CFD code validation. Two different types of experiments at the ROCOM test facility have been proposed for this purpose. The first proposal concerns the transport of a slug of hot, under-borated condensate, which has formed in the cold leg after a small break LOCA, towards the reactor core under natural circulation. The propagation of the emergency core cooling water in the test facility under natural circulation or even stagnant flow conditions should be investigated in the second type of experiment. The measured data can contribute significantly to the validation of CFD codes for complex mixing processes with high relevance for nuclear safety.

Fluid mixing and flow distribution in a primary circuit of a nuclear pressurized water reactor—Validation of CFD codes

The EU project FLOMIX-R was aimed at describing the mixing phenomena relevant for both safety analysis, particularly in steam line break and boron dilution scenarios, and mixing phenomena of interest for economical operation and the structural integrity. This report will focus on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code validation. Best practice guidelines (BPG) were applied in all CFD work when choosing computational grid, time step, turbulence models, modelling of internal geometry, boundary conditions, numerical schemes and convergence criteria. The strategy of code validation based on the BPG and a matrix of CFD code validation calculations have been elaborated. CFD calculations have been accomplished for selected experiments with two different CFD codes (CFX, FLUENT). The matrix of benchmark cases contains slug mixing tests simulating the start-up of the first main circulation pump which have been performed with three 1:5 scaled facilities: the Rossendorf coolant mixing model ROCOM, the Vattenfall test facility and a metal mock-up of a VVER-1000 type reactor. Before studying mixing in transients, ROCOM test cases with steady-state flow conditions were considered. Considering buoyancy driven mixing, experimental results on mixing of fluids with density differences obtained at ROCOM and the FORTUM PTS test facility were compared with calculations. Methods for a quantitative comparison between the calculated and measured mixing scalar distributions have been elaborated and applied. Based on the “best practice CFD solutions”, conclusions on the applicability of CFD for turbulent mixing problems in PWR were drawn and recommendations on CFD modelling were given. The results of the CFD calculations are mostly in-between the uncertainty bands of the experiments. Although no fully grid-independent numerical solutions could be obtained, it can be concluded about the suitability of applying CFD methods in engineering applications for turbulent mixing in nuclear reactors.

Fluid mixing and flow distribution in the reactor circuit, measurement data base

Experimental investigations and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations on coolant mixing in pressurised water reactors (PWR) have been performed within the EC project FLOMIX-R. The project aims at describing the mixing phenomena relevant for both safety analysis, particularly in steam line break and boron dilution scenarios, and mixing phenomena of interest for economical operation and the structural integrity. Measurement data from a set of mixing experiments have been gained by using advanced measurement techniques with enhanced resolution in time and space. Slug mixing tests simulating the start-up of the first main circulation pump are performed with two 1:5 scaled facilities: the Rossendorf Coolant Mixing model ROCOM and the Vattenfall test facility. Additional data on slug mixing in a VVER-1000 type reactor have been gained at a 1:5 scaled metal mock-up at EDO Gidropress. Experimental results on buoyancy driven mixing of fluids with density differences have been obtained at ROCOM and the Fortum PTS test facility. Concerning mixing phenomena of interest for operational issues and thermal fatigue, flow distribution data available from commissioning tests at PWRs and VVER are used together with the data from the ROCOM facility as a basis for the flow distribution studies. In the paper, the experiments performed are described, results of the mixing experiments are shown and discussed. Efforts on computational fluid dynamics codes validation on selected mixing tests applying Best Practice Guidelines in code validation will be reported about in a separate paper.

Coolant Mixing in a Pressurized Water Reactor: Deboration Transients, Steam-Line Breaks, and Emergency Core Cooling Injection

The reactor transient caused by a perturbation of boron concentration or coolant temperature at the inlet of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) depends on the mixing inside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Initial steep gradients are partially lessened by turbulent mixing with coolant from the unaffected loops and with the water inventory of the RPV. Nevertheless the assumption of an ideal mixing in the downcomer and the lower plenum of the reactor leads to unrealistically small reactivity inserts. The uncertainties between ideal mixing and total absence of mixing are too large to be acceptable for safety analyses. In reality, a partial mixing takes place. For realistic predictions it is necessary to study the mixing within the three-dimensional flow field in the complicated geometry of a PWR. For this purpose a 1:5 scaled model [the Rossendorf Coolant Mixing Model (ROCOM) facility] of the German PWR KONVOI was built. Compared to other experiments, the emphasis was put on extensive measuring instrumentation and a maximum of flexibility of the facility to cover as much as possible different test scenarios. The use of special electrode-mesh sensors together with a salt tracer technique provided distributions of the disturbance within downcomer and core entrance with a high resolution in space and time. Especially, the instrumentation of the downcomer gained valuable information about the mixing phenomena in detail. The obtained data were used to support code development and validation. Scenarios investigated are the following: (a) steady-state flow in multiple coolant loops with a temperature or boron concentration perturbation in one of the running loops, (b) transient flow situations with flow rates changing with time in one or more loops, such as pump startup scenarios with deborated slugs in one of the loops or onset of natural circulation after boiling-condenser-mode operation, and (c) gravity-driven flow caused by large density gradients, e.g., mixing of cold emergency core cooling (ECC) water entering the RPV through the ECC injection into the cold leg. The experimental results show an incomplete mixing with typical concentration and temperature distributions at the core inlet, which strongly depend on the boundary conditions. Computational fluid dynamics calculations were found to be in good agreement with the experiments.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Boron Dilution Transients in Pressurized Water Reactors

Within the pressurized water reactor (PWR) safety analyses, attention has increasingly focused in recent years on boron dilution events that could potentially lead to reactivity transients. Mixing of the low-boron water with the ambient coolant of higher boron content provides an important mitigation mechanism before the low-boron water enters the core.Experimental support is needed to validate the computational tools to be applied to analyze the mixing of the low-boron water. Experiments were performed in the three test facilities—the Upper Plenum Test Facility (UPTF), the Primärkreislauf (PKL), and the Rossendorf coolant mixing model (ROCOM)—in Germany.The relevant PKL and UPTF tests were focused on small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) scenarios with reflux-condenser mode and restart of natural circulation. The two test facilities represent a typical western-type PWR and are/were operated by Siemens/KWU now Framatome ANP in Germany. While the restart of natural circulation was investigated in the PKL system test facility (volume 1:145, height 1:1), the UPTF experiments dealt with the mixing of water flows with different boron concentration in the cold legs, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) downcomer, and the lower plenum (all these components were full-scale models).The results from the PKL test facility demonstrate that in case of a postulated SBLOCA with reflux condensation phase, natural circulation does not start up simultaneously in all loops. This means that slugs of condensate, which might have accumulated in the pump seal during reflux-condenser mode of operation, would reach the RPV at different points in time. The UPTF tests showed an almost ideal mixing of water flows with different boron concentration in the RPV downcomer.The ROCOM test facility has been built in a linear scale of 1:5 for the investigation of coolant mixing phenomena in a wide range of flow conditions in the RPV of the German KONVOI-type PWR. The test results presented are focused on the mixing of a slug of deborated water during the startup of the first reactor coolant pump. Based on experimentally determined pulse responses, a semianalytical model for the description of coolant mixing inside the KONVOI RPV has been developed. Calculations for a presumed boron dilution event during the startup of the first reactor coolant pump have been carried out by means of the semianalytical model and independently by means of the computational fluid dynamics code CFX-4. The semianalytical model is able to describe the time dependent behavior of the deboration front at each fuel element position in a good agreement with the experiment. All main mixing effects, observed in the experiment, are also reproduced by the CFX calculation.