Demonstration of Pronghorn’s Subchannel Code Modeling of Liquid-Metal Reactors and Validation in Normal Operation Conditions and Blockage Scenarios

Vasileios Kyriakopoulos (), Mauricio E. Tano and Aydin Karahan
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Vasileios Kyriakopoulos: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA
Mauricio E. Tano: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA
Aydin Karahan: Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-31

Abstract: Pronghorn-SC is a subchannel code within the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). Initially designed to simulate flows in water-cooled, square lattice, subchannel assemblies, Pronghorn-SC has been expanded to simulate liquid-metal-cooled flows in triangular lattices, hexagonal subchannel assemblies. For this purpose, the algorithm of Pronghorn-SC was adapted to solve the subchannel equations as they are applicable to a hexagonal wire-wrapped sodium-cooled fast reactor. Cheng–Todreas models for pressure drop and cross-flow models were adopted and a coolant heat conduction term was added. To solve these equations, an improved implicit algorithm was developed robust enough to deal with the numerical issues, associated with low flow and recirculation phenomena. To confirm the prediction capability of Pronghorn-SC, calculations and comparisons with available experimental data of 19- and 37-pin assemblies were performed, as well as other subchannel codes. Finally, a flow blockage modeling feature was added. This capability was validated for both water-cooled square sub-assemblies and sodium-cooled hexagonal sub-assemblies, using experimental data of partially and fully blocked cases.

Keywords: subchannel; Pronghorn; MOOSE; SFR; LMFR; validation; blockage (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: 2023
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