The capability of Ansys CFX to predict the mixing phenomena in ROCOM test facility

Abstract

This work consists of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of a reference experiment on boron dilution in the Rossendorf coolant mixing Model (ROCOM) as part of a coordinated research project of the International Atomic Energy Agency, namely, "Application of numerical codes of fluid dynamics to the design of nuclear power plants". This coordinated project aims to address the application of CFD codes to the process of optimizing the design of nuclear power plants related to pressurized water reactors and to evaluate the performance and predictive capabilities of these codes and to contribute to their validation. In this context, a three-dimensional numerical simulation study was carried out using CFD code ANSYS CFX v14.5, to study the boron mixing phenomenon at the core inlet and the downcomer of the ROCOM test facility. The phenomenon of experimental mixing occurs by the injection of a tracer (sodium chloride) into one of the loops of the ROCOM installation mainly containing demineralized water in its primary circuit. The concentration field of the tracer is measured and simulated at the entrance of the heart and in the lowering. The SST-kω turbulence model used in this study could reasonably predict the distribution of the injected tracer in measurement locations within the test facility. The results of this numerical simulation were compared to the Benchmark data provided by the ROCOM experimental facility of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Institute.