Application of three-dimensional looped network analysis method to the core of prismatic very high temperature gas-cooled reactor

作者：Lee Jeong Hun; Cho Hyoung Kyu^*; Park Goon Cherl

来源：Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2018, 117: 12-24.

DOI：10.1016/j.anucene.2018.02.039

• Very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR)
• Bypass flow
• Cross flow
• Fluid flow network
• Looped network analysis method
• Code V&V

A hydrogen production system coupled to very high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (VHTR) is considered to be one of the most promising ways to achieve massive hydrogen production. The core of the prismatic VHTR consists of hexagonal graphite fuel blocks and reflector blocks. There exist gaps between graphite blocks; the vertical gap is referred to as a bypass gap and the horizontal gap is referred to as a cross gap. The coolant flows through these gaps as well as the coolant channels, thereby forming a complicated flow field in the core.
A looped network analysis method has been introduced for fast and simple flow distribution analysis. It has great strengths in analyzing a complex network in a short computational time; however, the looped network analysis has been used generally to analyze two-dimensional flow networks in practical applications. Because the flow network of the core of prismatic VHTR is three-dimensional, a new methodology to apply the looped network analysis to a three-dimensional flow network was proposed in this study.
This paper introduces the geometrical configuration of the reactor core of the prismatic VHTR, the looped network analysis method and its extension to the three-dimensional flow network, applied constitutive relations for closure and finally, the validation results against available multi-block bypass flow experimental data.

• 出版日期2018-7