Development of a RELAP5/MOD3.3 Module for MHD Pressure Drop Analysis in Liquid Metals Loops: Verification and Validation

Lorenzo Melchiorri, Vincenzo Narcisi, Fabio Giannetti, Gianfranco Caruso and Alessandro Tassone
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Lorenzo Melchiorri: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy
Vincenzo Narcisi: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy
Fabio Giannetti: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy
Gianfranco Caruso: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Tassone: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-29

Abstract: Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) phenomena, due to the interaction between a magnetic field and a moving electro-conductive fluid, are crucial for the design of magnetic-confinement fusion reactors and, specifically, for the design of the breeding blanket concepts that adopt liquid metals (LMs) as working fluids. Computational tools are employed to lead fusion-relevant physical analysis, but a dedicated MHD code able to simulate all the phenomena involved in a blanket is still not available and there is a dearth of systems code featuring MHD modelling capabilities. In this paper, models to predict both 2D and 3D MHD pressure drop, derived by experimental and numerical works, have been implemented in the thermal-hydraulic system code RELAP5/MOD3.3 (RELAP5). The verification and validation procedure of the MHD module involves the comparison of the results obtained by the code with those of direct numerical simulation tools and data obtained by experimental works. As relevant examples, RELAP5 is used to recreate the results obtained by the analysis of two test blanket modules: Lithium Lead Ceramic Breeder and Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead. The novel MHD subroutines are proven reliable in the prediction of the pressure drop for both simple and complex geometries related to LM circuits at high magnetic field intensity (error range ± 10 %).

Keywords: magnetohydrodynamics (MHD); MHD pressure drop; system codes; RELAP5; breeding blanket; liquid metal technology (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: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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