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

Cezary Bojanowski (), Ronja Schönecker, Katarzyna Borowiec, Kaltrina Shehu, Julius Mercz, Frederic Thomas, Yoann Calzavara, Aurelien Bergeron, Prashant Jain, Christian Reiter and Jeremy Licht
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Cezary Bojanowski: Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
Ronja Schönecker: Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, Lichtenbergstraße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Katarzyna Borowiec: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 5200, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
Kaltrina Shehu: Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, Lichtenbergstraße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Julius Mercz: Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, Lichtenbergstraße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Frederic Thomas: Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 20156, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
Yoann Calzavara: Institut Laue–Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 20156, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
Aurelien Bergeron: Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
Prashant Jain: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 5200, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
Christian Reiter: Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, Lichtenbergstraße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
Jeremy Licht: Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-21

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.

Keywords: high-flux research reactor; involute-shaped plate; non-proliferation; LEU; CFD; heat transfer (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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