LargeeddysimulationinpebblebedgascooledcorereactorsOriginalResearchArticle

Ahightemperaturegas-cooledreactor(HTGR)isoneoftherenewedreactordesignstoplayaroleinnuclearpowergeneration.Thisreactordesignconceptiscurrentlyunderconsiderationanddevelopmentworldwide.Thecombinationofcoatedparticlefuel,inertheliumgasascoolantandgraphitemoderatedreactormakespossibletooperateathightemperatureyieldingahighefficiency.Inthisstudythesimulationofturbulenttransportforthegasthroughthegapsofthesphericalfuelelements(fuelpebbles)wasperformedusingthelargeeddysimulation.Thiswouldhelpinunderstandingthehighlythree-dimensional,complexflowphenomenacausedbyflowcurvatureinthepebblebed.Resolvingallthescalesofaturbulentflowistoocostly,whileemployinghighlyempiricalturbulencemodelstocomplexproblemscouldgiveinaccuratesimulationresults.Thelargeeddysimulation(LES)methodwouldovercometheseshortcomings.Anattempttoobtainexperimentalvelocityflowpatternsusingparticleimagevelocimetrytechniquecombinedwithmatchedrefractiveindexliquidwaspursued.