Thermal hydraulic considerations of nuclear reactor systems: Past, present and future challenges

Yeoh, Guan Heng

doi:10.1007/s42757-019-0002-5

Cited by 66 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 153 publications

(155 reference statements)

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“…Contrarily, it is anticipated that the price of nuclear fuel will stay stable for many years to come, with little to no price fluctuation up to 40 to 60 years of additional LWR operations. According to several assessments, given particular operating circumstances and clean energy permits, an LWR hybrid plant can also outperform traditional natural gas steam reforming [56,57].…”

Section: Light Water Reactors (Lwrs) and Boiling Water Reactors (Bwrs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear-Driven Integrated Energy Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

2023

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Because of the growing concerns regarding climate change and energy sustainability, a transition toward a modern energy sector that reduces environmental effects while promoting social and economic growth has gained traction in recent years. Sustainable energy solutions, which include renewable and low-carbon sources such as nuclear energy and natural gas, could minimize emissions of greenhouse gases, enhance air and water quality, and encourage energy independence. Yet, the shift to a sustainable energy industry is fraught with difficulties, including governmental and regulatory obstacles, technological and economic limits, and societal acceptability hurdles. Addressing these issues would necessitate the development of long-term, durable, and cost-effective energy systems containing nuclear energy and associated with the generation of both electricity and other by-products required by industry. Integrated energy systems (IES) are a novel way to maximize the use of various energy resources and technologies in order to deliver dependable, efficient, and sustainable energy services. IES entail the integration of various energy systems, such as electricity, heating, cooling, and transportation, in respect to energy sustainability and a system’s resilience and flexibility. Their development and implementation require the cooperation of several parties, including energy providers and policymakers. This study provides a state-of-the-art literature review of the most creative nuclear-driven hybrid energy system applications and methodologies, from which the research challenges and prospects for effective IES implementation emerge.

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Section: Light Water Reactors (Lwrs) and Boiling Water Reactors (Bwrs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear-Driven Integrated Energy Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

2023

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“…The study of thermal hydraulics and mechanics focuses on the physics and mechanics of liquid flow, energy transmission, and interactions with surrounding structures in big, intricate systems like nuclear reactors. The study of fluid flow, energy (such as heat) transfer, and interactions between fluid flow, energy, and supporting structures is known as thermal hydraulics, [6], [7], [41]. Material interactions with radioactive radiation are occasionally another crucial factor in nuclear systems.…”

Section: Need For Thermal-hydraulic Analysis In Nuclear Reactormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The new design of the reactors, particularly the reactor core and its accompanying systems, must take into account the lessons discovered through the studies, tests, and accidents of nuclear systems in the past. The thermal hydraulic analysis can primarily guarantee the safety of the nuclear reactor system under all core conditions, [6], [7], [8], [9]. To prevent core damage, heat must be removed from the reactor core structure at the same rate that it is generated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Computational Convective Heat Transfer Study in a Sub-Channel for Nuclear Power Reactor and Future Directions

Mollah

2023

1790-5044

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A nuclear power reactor's primary use is to generate thermal energy, which in turn produces electricity. The primary heat source is a nuclear fission event occurring inside the fuel rod. The convection heat is transmitted through the coolant by the heat energy generated at the fuel rod wall boundary. Better heat transfer is produced in the flow area by turbulence and irregularity. As a result, turbulent flow heat transfer may present a significant challenge when predicting and assessing the thermal performance of nuclear power reactors. Computational techniques in convective heat transfer have become indispensable for solving challenging issues in the fields of science and engineering thanks to the development of current sophisticated numerical methods and high-performance computer hardware. The development of novel computational techniques and models for complicated transport and multi-physical phenomena is constantly in demand throughout applicable disciplines. This chapter's objective is to provide some recent developments in computational techniques for convective heat transfer, taking into account research interests in the community of mass and heat transfer, and to showcase relevant applications in nuclear power plant engineering domains including future directions. This study describes the most recent advancements in nuclear reactor convective heat transfer research utilizing the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, particularly at Ansys Fluent. This work examines the convective heat transfer and fluid dynamics fluid dynamics for turbulent flows across three rod bundle sub-channels that are typical of those employed in the PWR-based VVER type reactor. In this paper, CFD analysis is carried out using the software tool Ansys Fluent. Temperature distribution profile, velocity profile, pressure drop, and turbulence properties were investigated in this study. Boundary conditions i.e. temperature, velocity, pressure, heat flux, and heat generation rate were applied in the sub-channel domain. The main obstacles and bright spots for the CFD methods in nuclear reactor engineering are discussed, which helps to further its further uses. We intend to research a full-length fuel bundle model for VVER-1200 in the future to gather specific fluid characteristic data and use the findings to analyze safety and operate nuclear power facilities in Bangladesh. This paper presents a thorough analysis of the sub-channel thermal hydraulic codes used in nuclear reactor core analysis. This review discusses several facets of previous experimental, analytical, and computational work on rod bundles and identifies potential future directions based on those earlier studies.

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“…Despite that, accidents like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster created challenges for the nuclear energy sector (Wheatley et al, 2016). Although, the nuclear industry rebounded with reactor systems that incorporated innovated, enhanced, and passive safety measures (Nian and Chou, 2014;Bhowmik, 2016;Alam et al, 2019;Buongiorno et al, 2019;Yeoh, 2019). The PRIS (2019) data shows a rise of about 15% from the current electricity capacity with 55 new reactors (with average capacities of 1,000-1,200 MW(electric) under construction for a net installed capacity of 56.6 GW(electric).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CFD validation of condensation heat transfer in scaled-down small modular reactor applications, Part 2: Steam and non-condensable gas

Bhowmik

Schlegel

Kalra

et al. 2021

Exp. Comput. Multiph. Flow

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This paper presents the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validation and scaling assessment of the condensation heat transfer (CHT) models in the presence of non-condensable gas for the passive containment cooling system (PCCS) of the small modular reactor (SMR). The STAR-CCM+ software with 3D scaled-down SMR containment geometries was used in CFD simulations with steam and non-condensable gas (NCG). The limitations and approximations of the previous studies were resolved to avoid scaling distortion and uncertainties. Air was used as the NCG gas with steam. The multi-component gas model was used to define the steam-NCG mixture, and the condensation-seed parameter was used as the source term for the fluid film model. Three different turbulence models were used to check the heat flux performances and temperature distributions on the coolant side. The heat flux was estimated from the axial coolant bulk temperature, which was identical to the test data reduction method. An implicit-unsteady numerical solver was applied to the conjugate heat transfer models between the gas, liquid, and solid regions. Detailed simulations were performed, and simulation results were validated with the measured parameters experimentally. The condensation heat transfer performance was quantified using non-dimensional numbers and compared for different scaled geometries to identify the scaling distortions.

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Thermal hydraulic considerations of nuclear reactor systems: Past, present and future challenges

Cited by 66 publications

References 153 publications

Nuclear-Driven Integrated Energy Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

Nuclear-Driven Integrated Energy Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

Recent Advances in Computational Convective Heat Transfer Study in a Sub-Channel for Nuclear Power Reactor and Future Directions

CFD validation of condensation heat transfer in scaled-down small modular reactor applications, Part 2: Steam and non-condensable gas

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