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DOE OSTI · 3002949

Assessing the Heat Transfer Modeling Capabilities of CFD Software for Involute-Shaped Plate Research Reactors

Bojanowski, Cezary [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)]·Schönecker, Ronja [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)]·Borowiec, Katarzyna [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000335911739)·Shehu, Kaltrina [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)] (ORCID:0009000019244775)·Mercz, Julius [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)] (ORCID:0009000826950940)·Thomas, Frederic [Inst. Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble (France)]·Calzavara, Yoann [Inst. Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble (France)]·Bergeron, Aurelien [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)]·Jain, Prashant [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000170552386)·Reiter, Christian [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)] (ORCID:0000000165278140)·Licht, Jeremy [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)]
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Abstract

The ongoing efforts to convert High-Performance Research Reactors (HPRRs) using Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) to Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel require reliable thermal–hydraulic assessments of modified core designs. The involute-shaped fuel plates used in several major HPRRs present unique modeling challenges due to their compact core geometries and high heat flux conditions. This study evaluates the capability of three commercial CFD tools, STAR-CCM+, COMSOL, and ANSYS CFX, to predict cladding-to-coolant heat transfer using Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) methods within the thermal–hydraulic regimes of involute-shaped plate reactors. Broad sensitivity analysis was conducted across a range of reactor-relevant parameters using two turbulence models (k−ϵ and k−ω SST) and different near-wall treatment strategies. The results were benchmarked against the Sieder–Tate correlation and experimental data from historic studies. The codes produced consistent results, showing good agreement with the empirical correlation of Sieder–Tate and the experimental measurements. The findings support the use of these commercial CFD codes as effective tools for assessing the thermal–hydraulic performance of involute-shaped plate HPRRs and guide future LEU core development.

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CFDLEUheat transferhigh-flux research reactorinvolute-shaped platenon-proliferation

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Bojanowski, Cezary [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)], Schönecker, Ronja [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)], Borowiec, Katarzyna [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000335911739), Shehu, Kaltrina [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)] (ORCID:0009000019244775), Mercz, Julius [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)] (ORCID:0009000826950940), Thomas, Frederic [Inst. Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble (France)], Calzavara, Yoann [Inst. Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble (France)], Bergeron, Aurelien [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)], Jain, Prashant [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000170552386), Reiter, Christian [Technische Univ. München, Garching (Germany). Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II)] (ORCID:0000000165278140), Licht, Jeremy [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)]. 2025-07-11. Assessing the Heat Transfer Modeling Capabilities of CFD Software for Involute-Shaped Plate Research Reactors. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18143692

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