Abstract
Simulation models for steady state thermal hydraulics analyses of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) have been developed using the COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software. A single fuel plate and coolant channel of each type of HFIR fuel element was modeled in three dimensions; coupling to adjacent plates and channels was accounted for by using periodic boundary conditions. The standard k-ε turbulence model was used in simulating turbulent flow with conjugate heat transfer. The COMSOL models were developed to be fully parameterized to allow assessing impacts of fuel fabrication tolerances and uncertainties related to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel design and reactor operating parameters. Heat source input for the simulations was obtained from separate Monte Carlo N Particle calculations for the axially non-contoured LEU fuel designs at the beginning of the reactor cycle. Mesh refinement studies have been performed to calibrate the models against the pressure drop measured across the HFIR core.
