Development of a thermal-hydraulic analysis code for annular fuel assemblies

Abstract

A thermal-hydraulic analysis code which is capable of modeling both internally and externally cooled annular fuel pins was developed. The coolant flow distribution in the annular fuel-based assemblies is adjusted by a pressure drop model allowing for conditions such as non-equal velocity and non-saturated phases. The heat transfer fraction is determined by the ratio of cross-sectional areas distinguished by the radius at which the first derivative of the temperature within the annular fuel equals zero. The code predictions have been compared with calculations from Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and MIT. The heat transfer fraction difference between the code and RELAP was about 3.9%, and the Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR) prediction of the code agreed well with the MIT's result in the region below 3 m. For the application of the code, thermal-hydraulics of thorium-based fuel assemblies loaded with annular seed pins were compared with those of the existing thorium-based assemblies. The pressure drop in the assembly generally increased in the case of annular fuel due to the larger wetted perimeter. In the inner subchannels of the seed pins, mass fluxes were high due to the grid form losses in the outer subchannels. About 43% of the heat generated from the seed pin flowed into the inner subchannel and the rest into the outer subchannel. The minimum DNBRs (MDNBRs) of the annular fuel-based assemblies were higher than those of the existing ones. Because interchannel mixing cannot occur in the inner subchannels, temperatures and enthalpies were higher in the inner subchannels. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.