Direct numerical simulation of fluid flow in a 5x5 square rod bundle using nek5000

Adam Kraus, Elia Merzari, Thomas Norddine, Oana Marin, Sofiane Benhamadouche

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rod bundle flows are commonplace in nuclear engineering, and are present in light water reactors (LWRs) as well as other more advanced concepts. Inhomogeneities in the bundle cross section can lead to complex flow phenomena, including varying local conditions of turbulence. Despite the decades of numerical and experimental investigations regarding this topic, and the importance of elucidating the physics of the flow field, to date there are few publicly available direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the flow in multiple-pin rod bundles. Thus a multiplepin DNS study can provide significant value toward reaching a deeper understanding of the flow physics, as well as a reference simulation for development of various reduced-resolution analysis techniques. To this end, DNS of the flow in a square 5x5 rod bundle at Reynolds number of 19,000 has been performed using the highly-parallel spectral element code Nek5000. The geometrical dimensions were representative of typical LWR fuel designs. The DNS was designed using microscales estimated from an advanced Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model. Characteristics of the velocity field, Reynolds stresses, and anisotropy are presented in detail for various regions of the bundle. The turbulent kinetic energy budget is also presented and discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationStudent Paper Competition; Thermal-Hydraulics; Verification and Validation
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Print)9784888982566
StatePublished - 2020
Event2020 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 2020, collocated with the ASME 2020 Power Conference - Virtual, Online
Duration: Apr 4 2020Apr 5 2020

Publication series

NameInternational Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Proceedings, ICONE
Volume3

Conference

Conference2020 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 2020, collocated with the ASME 2020 Power Conference
CityVirtual, Online
Period4/4/204/5/20

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Nuclear Energy and Engineering

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