Author/Authors :
Park، نويسنده , , Jee-Won ، نويسنده ,
Abstract :
Thermal characteristics of the reference DUPIC fuel has been studied for its feasibility of
loading in the CANDU reactor. Half of the DUPIC fuel bundle has been modeled for a
subchannel analysis of the ASSERT-IV Code which was developed by AECL. From the calculated
mixture enthalpy, equilibrium quality and void fraction distributions in subchannels
of the fuel bundle, it is found that the gravity effect may be pronounced in the DUPIC fuel
bundle when compared with the standard CANDU fuel bundle. The asymmetric distribution
of the coolant in the fuel bundle is known to be undesirable since the minimum critical heat
flux ratio can be reduced for a given value of the channel flow rate. On the other hand, the
central region of the DUPIC fuel bundle has been found to be cooled more efficiently than
that of the standard fuel bundle in the subcooled and the local boiling regimes due to the fuel
geometry and the fuel element power changes. Based upon the subchannel modeling used
in this study, the location of minimum critical heat flux ratio in the DUPIC fuel bundle
turned out to be very similar to that of the standard fuel when the equivalent values of
channel power and channel flow rate are used. From the calculated mixture enthalpy distribution
at the exit of the fuel channel, it is found that the subchannel-wise mixture enthalpy
and void fraction peaks are located in the peripheral region of the DUPIC fuel bundle while
those are located in the central region of the standard CANDU fuel bundle. Reduced values
of the channel flow rates were used to study the effect of channel flow rate variation. The
effect of the channel flow reduction on different thermal-hydraulic parameters have been discussed.
This study shows that the subchannel analysis for the horizontal flow is very informative
in developing new fuel for the CANDU reactor
