The flooding phenomenon can be defined as the maximum attainable flow
condition beyond which the well defined countercurrent flow pattern can no longer
exist. Thus the countercurrent flow limit (CCFL) or the flooding limit may be thought
of as the flow condition at which the strong interaction between the two...
In the event of a small break loss of coolant accident
(SBLOCA) in a nuclear reactor, cold fluid is injected through
the reactor system high pressure injector to compensate for
the coolant loss. When this flow rate is less than a critical
value, however, the hot fluid in the cold...
Downward flow opposing mixed convection conditions have been studied using the FLUENT CFD code. This work was comprised of two primary objectives. The first was to study core channel flow reversal susceptibility in the Gas Reactor Test Section (GRTS) at low flow conditions. The second objective was the development of...
The metastable isotope of technetium-99 (Tc-99m) is an important diagnostic tool used in the field of nuclear medicine due to the isotope's 6.0 hour half-life, 140.5 keV γ-decay mechanism, and multiple oxidation states [1,2]. Approximately 70% of the world’s nuclear medicine procedures involve the use of Tc-99m [3]. The conventional...
As computational power increases, so does the desire to use fluid-structure interaction (FSI) software to design complex systems and components such as fuel plates. Presently, an effort is underway to support the design and qualification of a new nuclear fuel material which is intended for applications in select, plate-type, research...
The Oregon State University (OSU), Hydro Mechanical Fuel test Facility (HMFTF) is designed to hydro-mechanically test prototypical plate type fuel. OSU's fuel test program is a part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), formerly known as the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor program. One of the GTRI's...
Some of the next generation of small modular reactors have been designed with helically coiled steam generators integrated into the reactor vessel to enhance natural circulation. According to the developers of TASS/SMR, a one-dimensional thermal hydraulic code written to model the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute's SMART reactor, the Žukauskas...
There is renewed interest in the reliability and safety of nuclear power plants following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident followed by 8.9 magnitude earthquake and Tsunami with the height of 15 m on March 11, 2011. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have been developed to improve safety systems by utilizing passive...
Under simulated accident conditions, tees in the primary coolant loop of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) can deviate from their original design purpose and become separators that effectively remove core heat sink capacity. This method of primary coolant removal is a phenomelogical subset of phase separation known as liquid entrainment,...
Since High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors are being considered as most promising design of upcoming IV Gen reactors, thus key research areas were identified to address safety aspects of this design. Number of simulations and experiments need to be conducted in this field. In this study thermal-hydraulics aspects of coolant flow...