Thermal hydraulics simulation of the RD-14M steam generator facility

CORZO SANTIAGO; GODINO DARÍO; NIGRO NORBERTO; RAMAJO DAMIAN

ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017 vol. 105 p. 282 - 305

0306-4549

A full three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation of the secondary circuit of a steam generator test facility wascarried out. The multiphase flow was studied using the two-fluids Eulerian model. A constant boiling rate was assumed overthe U-tubes walls and a blending model was applied for solving the interface momentum exchange. Steady-state conditions weresimulated both by CFD and by a system code (RELAP) with the aim to compare the recirculation flow rate, the flow through eachone of the two riser legs and the five by-passes connecting the legs, the void distribution, the phase velocities and the pressure drop.The efficiencies of the separator and the dryer were also carefully studied. CFD and RELAP results were in very good agreementwith nominal data giving useful insights about the thermal hydraulics behavior of this kind of complex equipment and guidelinesto carry on future CFD and system code simulations.