Validation study of finite element thermal-hydraulics analysis code SPIRAL to a large-scale wire-wrapped fuel assembly at low flow rate condition

Yoshikawa, Ryuji  ; Imai, Yasutomo*; Kikuchi, Norihiro  ; Tanaka, Masaaki  ; Gerschenfeld, A.*

A finite element thermal-hydraulics simulation code SPIRAL has been developed in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to analyze the detailed thermal-hydraulics phenomena in a fuel assembly (FA) of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs). The numerical simulation of a large-scale sodium test for 91-pin bundle (GR91) at low flow rate condition was performed for the validation of SPIRAL with the hybrid k-e turbulence model to take into account the low Re number effect near the wall in the flow and temperature fields. Through the numerical simulation, specific velocity distribution affected by the buoyancy force was shown on the top of the heated region and the temperature distribution predicted by SPIRAL agreed with that measured in the experiment and the applicability of the SPIRAL to thermal-hydraulic evaluation of large-scale fuel assembly at low flow rate condition was indicated.