Presentation Information
[3E08]CFD model development for ring-type fuel spacers in sleeveless HTGR core design
*Yusuke Yamazaki1, Yosuke Nishimura1, Koji Okamoto1 (1. UTokyo)
Keywords:
CFD,fuel spacers,sleeveless fuel design,HTGRs,V&V
By eliminating the graphite sleeve, a dual-separate direct cooling of fuel compacts is achieved, which improves significantly the thermal output of HTGRs. In this design, fuel spacers hold crucial roles in supporting the fuel compact structure and maintaining open coolant flow channel. This study introduces a ring-type fuel spacer as one of the candidates. To examine the flow characteristics around the fuel spacers, pressure drop in nitrogen gas flow was measured with real-scale prototypes of fuel components fabricated by 3D printing. This work also performed numerical analysis of pressure drop by the commercial CFD software, Star-CCM+. Compared with experimental results, this work has developed a validated fluid model. The models are key tools for future thermal-hydraulics analysis in reactor core.