Investigation of Turbulence and Turbulent Prandtl Number Models for He-Xe Thermal Hydraulics in Quasi-Triangular Channel

Yue Xie, Wei Zeng (), Zonglan Wei, Junlong Li and Rui Li
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Yue Xie: National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Reactor Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610213, China
Wei Zeng: National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Reactor Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610213, China
Zonglan Wei: National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Reactor Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610213, China
Junlong Li: National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Reactor Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610213, China
Rui Li: National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Reactor Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610213, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-19

Abstract: Compact nuclear reactor systems usually use helium–xenon (He-Xe) mixtures as coolants. Tight-lattice rod-bundled channels, serving as primary core configurations in compact nuclear reactor designs, exhibit quasi-triangular cross-sections where fluid dynamics substantially deviate from circular tube behavior. This study evaluates the applicability of turbulence models and turbulent Prandtl number (Pr t ) models in quasi-triangular channels through systematic numerical simulations. The results demonstrate that the Transition SST model accurately resolves flow dynamics and turbulence development in helium–xenon mixtures, while implementing Pr t models significantly enhances temperature prediction accuracy. Among the evaluated models, the Weigand model achieves optimal performance by dynamically adapting Pr t values across flow regimes. Further refinements targeting parameters governing near-wall Pr t distribution are identified as critical pathways for improving numerical simulation precision of low-Prandtl-number fluids in geometrically complex nuclear systems.

Keywords: helium–xenon gas mixture; low-Prandtl-number fluid; turbulence model; turbulent Prandtl number model; CFD (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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