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Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Imai, Yasutomo*; Tanaka, Masaaki
JAEA-Research 2025-015, 100 Pages, 2026/03
JAEA-Research-2025-015.pdf:6.94MB
TSG (Three-dimensional Thermal-hydraulics Analysis Code for Steam Generators) has been developed for the numerical simulation of thermal hydraulics in double wall straight tube steam generator (SG) of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). TSG is a thermal hydraulics simulation system for double wall straight tube SG which couples the sodium side three-dimensional simulation with water side multi-channel simulation. The three-dimensional flow field in sodium side is simulated by the CFD code FLUENT with porous media model. The multi-channel two-phase flow in water side is simulated by in-house code with drift-flux model. The sodium side simulation is coupled with water side simulation by the transmission of heat transfer rate through the heat transfer tube, therefore the overall thermal hydraulics in SG can be evaluated transiently. This report presents the sodium-water coupled simulation models of TSG, and the simulation results of fundamental validation of TSG with the steady state results of 1MWt SG tests. Next, the evaluation results of temperature deviation at the heat transfer tube plugging conditions in a straight tube SG of a commercial reactor, and the evaluation results of three-dimensional temperature distribution and structural integrity at the heat transfer tube plugging condition for the large-sized SG including the inlet and outlet plenums are described. In addition, the applicability of TSG to the flow stability analyses for 1MWt SG instability tests is presented in the appendix.
Kikuchi, Norihiro; Imai, Yasutomo*; Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Tanaka, Masaaki; Ohshima, Hiroyuki
JAEA-Data/Code 2025-018, 96 Pages, 2026/03
JAEA-Data-Code-2025-018.pdf:5.54MB
In the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, a detailed thermal-hydraulic analysis code named SPIRAL based on the finite element method (FEM) is being developed to evaluate the detailed thermal-hydraulic properties of fuel assemblies (FAs) in sodium-cooled fast reactors (FBRs). Because the quality of the computational grid (elements) used in the calculations has a significant impact on the prediction accuracy, the allocation of high-quality elements in the wire-spacer-type FA pin bundle region is an important issue for numerical analysis. Although a commercial mesh generation program (mesher) with CAD data of FA's geometric shape can be considered as one measure, it is an extremely complicated task to perform element division of complex FA region. Therefore, to efficiently allocate high-quality elements, we developed a mesher that automatically performs element division in the FA region using the FA's geometric shape (design information) and meshing parameters as input conditions. This report describes the details of the mesher's various meshing models and their usage. To regularly allocate the computational grid for the complex FA region, the mesher first divides the region into multiple blocks using a multi-block method, then generates boundary-fitted curvilinear coordinate grids for each block region, and finally integrates them into a single FA mesh system. In addition, a combination of hexahedral elements and prism-shaped elements is arranged to maintain element continuity between adjacent block regions. Element division for both the normal FAs surrounded by a hexagonal cross-section tube and the irregular FAs, inside which a duct is installed to promote the discharge of molten fuel, is possible. The development of this mesher has made it possible to accurately and efficiently perform element division of complex FA region on various conditions.
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- modelKikuchi, Norihiro; Imai, Yasutomo*; Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Tanaka, Masaaki; Ohshima, Hiroyuki
JAEA-Data/Code 2025-017, 133 Pages, 2026/03
JAEA-Data-Code-2025-017.pdf:3.9MB
In a core design of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), it is necessary to confirm the integrity of fuel assemblies (FAs) in the core over a wide range of operating conditions. To evaluate the velocity and temperature distributions within the FAs in detail, we have been developing a detailed FA thermal-hydraulic analysis code named SPIRAL. In our previous works, we implemented numerical methods for fluid mechanics at isothermal conditions and turbulence models. Subsequently, we implemented turbulent heat transfer models for the evaluation of temperature distribution within the FAs, and validated them through experimental analyses mainly under high flow rate conditions. The thermal-hydraulics within the FAs varies depending on the operating conditions. Furthermore, the local Reynolds (Re) number within the FAs varies widely due to the influence of wire spacers spirally wound around the fuel rod. For this reason, it has been shown that standard and low Re number k-/k- models have difficulty reproducing the thermal-hydraulics in the laminar-turbulent transition region. Therefore, to reproduce the thermal-hydraulics over a wide Re number range, we developed a hybrid k-/k- model that combines the standard k-/k- model with the advantages of the low Re number k-/k- model. This paper describes the governing equations, constitutive equations derived from various turbulence models, their formularizations by the finite element method, their numerical treatment, and the treatment of boundary conditions. We also report the results of analyses conducted to validate the hybrid k-/k- model for predicting pressure drop and temperature distribution.
Matsushita, Kentaro; Ezure, Toshiki; Fujisaki, Tatsuya*; Nakamine, Yoshiaki*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Tanaka, Masaaki
Nihon Kikai Gakkai 2025-Nendo Nenji Taikai Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 5 Pages, 2025/09
In the design of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), it is important to evaluate the transition behavior of non-condensable gas entrained into the primary coolant system due to cover gas entrainment and dissolution. In this study, trajectories of non-condensable gas bubbles in the cold plenum of the pool-type SFR evaluated by three-dimensional CFD analyses applying Discrete Phase Model. As the result of sensitivity analyses regarding bubble radius flowing into the cold plenum, it was clarified that the release rate of bubbles showed an increase according to the increase of bubble radius and an asymptotic increasing behavior in the large bubble radius cases.
Hamase, Erina; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*
Proceedings of 21st International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-21) (Internet), 14 Pages, 2025/08
We have developed the reactor vessel thermal-hydraulic analysis model (RV-CFD) with the subchannel CFD (SC) model for assembly with a low computational cost to evaluate the core-plenum interactions occurred in the natural circulation decay heat removal during the dipped-type direct heat exchanger operation in sodium-cooled fast reactor. In this study, the non-equilibrium thermal model which can consider the heat capacity and thermal load of fuel pins was developed in the SC model. Through the transient analysis simulating the power reduction due to reactor scram using the RV-CFD, the applicability of RV-CFD to the transient analysis was confirmed.
Matsushita, Kentaro; Ezure, Toshiki; Tanaka, Masaaki; Imai, Yasutomo*; Fujisaki, Tatsuya*; Sakai, Takaaki*
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 432, p.113785_1 - 113785_16, 2025/02
Times Cited Count：1 Percentile：22.05(Nuclear Science & Technology)Establishing an evaluation method for the gas entrainment (GE) of argon cover gas due to surface vortices is required in terms of safety design of sodium-cooled fast reactors. To modify the evaluation model in an in-house evaluation tool for GE, StreamViewer, a modified evaluation model on the pressure distribution along the vortex center line (PVL model) was proposed to identify the vortex center lines by connecting continuous vortex center points from the suction port to the surface and evaluate gas core length based on the balance between the hydrostatic pressure and the pressure decrease distribution along the vortex center line. PVL model was applied the three-dimensional numerical analysis results for the experiments where a plate induced unsteady traveling vortices in the open channel flow. Consequently, the GE evaluation using StreamViewer with PVL model could reproduce the relation between the inlet flow velocity and the gas core length in the unsteady vortex flow experiments.
Hamase, Erina; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 432, p.113738_1 - 113738_12, 2025/02
Times Cited Count：0 Percentile：0.00(Nuclear Science & Technology)To enhance the safety of sodium-cooled fast reactors, the natural circulation (NC) decay heat removal systems with a dipped-type direct heat exchanger (D-DHX) have been investigated. During the D-DHX operation, since the core-plenum interaction occurs, the reactor vessel model using a computational fluid dynamics code (RV-CFD) is required to be established. Previously, the CFD model based on the subchannel analysis was developed. In this study, to achieve lower computational cost maintaining the prediction accuracy, the coarse-mesh subchannel CFD (CMSC) model was developed, and was incorporated into the core of RV-CFD. As a result of PLANDTL-1 test analysis, the RV-CFD with the CMSC model can reproduce the core-plenum interaction under NC conditions.
Hamase, Erina; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki
Nihon Kikai Gakkai 2024-Nendo Nenji Taikai Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 5 Pages, 2024/09
In a design study of sodium-cooled fast reactors, we have developed the practical reactor vessel thermal-hydraulic analysis method (RV-CFD) that had a low computational cost about the thermal-hydraulics in the core to evaluate the core-plenum interactions occurred in the natural circulation decay heat removal during the dipped-type direct heat exchanger operation. In this study, the non-equilibrium thermal model which considered the thermal inertia of fuel pins was developed and incorporated into the core of RV-CFD. Through the transient analysis simulating the power reduction due to reactor scram, the applicability of RV-CFD to the transient analysis was confirmed.
Matsushita, Kentaro; Ezure, Toshiki; Fujisaki, Tatsuya*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Tanaka, Masaaki
Nihon Kikai Gakkai 2024-Nendo Nenji Taikai Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 5 Pages, 2024/09
An evaluation method of gas entrainment phenomena due to free surface vortices has been developed for the design of a reactor vessel of sodium-cooled fast reactor. The method predicts vortex dimple using the vortex model to the flow field obtained from three dimensional hydraulic analyses of an evaluation area. In this study, the application of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) method to a water flow experiment in a rectangular channel with advection vortices was examined to create analysis meshes automatically. Transient analyses were conducted using refined meshes obtained by AMR under different initial grid size conditions. Then, the quantities related to vortex formation and the computation cost were compared with the result in a reference mesh with uniformly fine grids. As the result, it was confirmed that the variation of the grid number is possible to use as a criterion to judge the refinement termination in AMR, and the calculated cost of transient analysis can be reduced by AMR.
Hamase, Erina; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*
Proceedings of 14th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Operation, and Safety (NUTHOS-14) (Internet), 12 Pages, 2024/08
We have been developed a thermal-hydraulic analysis model in the reactor vessel using the computational fluid dynamics code with a low computational cost to evaluate core-plenum interactions during a natural circulation decay heat removal using a dipped-type direct heat exchanger in a design of sodium-cooled fast reactors. In this study, we investigate the coarse mesh modeling of interwrapper gap (IWG) using correlations for the purpose of the development of a practical model which can reduce the computational cost maintaining the prediction accuracy. An influence of combinations of the coarse mesh and the correlation for pressure loss in the IWG on the thermal-hydraulics and the core temperature distribution is revealed through the numerical analysis of a sodium experiment.
Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Imai, Yasutomo*; Kikuchi, Norihiro; Tanaka, Masaaki; Ohshima, Hiroyuki
Nuclear Technology, 210(5), p.814 - 835, 2024/05
Times Cited Count：0 Percentile：0.00(Nuclear Science & Technology)In the study of safety enhancement on advanced sodium-cooled fast reactor, it is essential to clarify the thermal-hydraulics under various operation conditions in a fuel assembly (FA) with the wire-wrapped fuel pins to assess the structural integrity of the fuel pin. A finite element thermal-hydraulics analysis code named SPIRAL has been developed to analyze the detailed thermal-hydraulics phenomena in a FA. In this study, the numerical simulations of the 37-pin bundle sodium experiments at different Re number conditions, including a transitional condition between laminar and turbulent flows and turbulent flow conditions, were performed to validate the hybrid turbulence model equipped in SPIRAL. The temperature distributions predicted by SPIRAL was consistent with those measured in the experiments. Through the validation study, the applicability of the hybrid turbulence model in SPIRAL to thermal-hydraulic evaluation of sodium-cooled FA in the wide range of Re number was confirmed.
Matsushita, Kentaro; Ezure, Toshiki; Imai, Yasutomo*; Fujisaki, Tatsuya*; Tanaka, Masaaki
Dai-27-Kai Doryoku, Enerugi Gijutsu Shimpojiumu Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 5 Pages, 2023/09
In design of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), cover gas entrainment phenomena induced by vortex dimple at free surface in upper plena is an important thermal-hydraulic issue. Authors have developed an evaluation method of gas entrainment with an evaluation tool named "StreamViewer". In this study, modification of evaluation model to improve quantitatively prediction accuracy of gas core length was investigated. In this model, vortex center lines which elongated from suction port where entrance of gas to heat transport system, for instance, IHX inlet in pool type SFRs, to free surface in plenum were to be identified, and distribution of pressure decrease along vortex center line was calculated to judge possibility of gas entrainment in comparisons with hydraulic head. This evaluation model was applied to results of water experiment with a rectangular open channel, where unsteady vortices are generated. It was confirmed that this model can identify occurrence of gas entrainment.
Hamase, Erina; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki
Nihon Kikai Gakkai 2023-Nendo Nenji Taikai Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 5 Pages, 2023/09
In sodium-cooled fast reactors, decay heat removal systems under natural circulation with a dipped-type direct heat exchanger (D-DHX) have been investigated. During the D-DHX operation, the cold sodium from the D-DHX flows into the assemblies and the interwrapper gap (IWG) between them. To evaluate such phenomena in design studies, the reactor vessel thermal-hydraulic analysis method (RV-CFD) which has the accuracy required for design studies while reducing the computational cost is required. In this study, with the aim of developing the practical RV-CFD with a low computational cost, the influence of the combination of the mesh number in the IWG and the pressure loss coefficient on the core temperature distribution was investigated through the numerical analysis of a sodium experimental apparatus named PLANDTL-1.
Kikuchi, Norihiro; Imai, Yasutomo*; Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Doda, Norihiro; Tanaka, Masaaki
Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 9(3), p.031401_1 - 031401_11, 2023/07
In the design study of an advanced sodium-cooled fast reactor (Advanced-SFR) investigated in JAEA, the use of a specific fuel assembly with an inner duct structure called FAIDUS has been investigated to enhance safety of Advanced-SFR. Since the fuel rods have an asymmetric layout by the inner duct, the validity confirmation of the numerical results of an in-house subchannel analysis code named ASFRE was required. In this paper, therefore, the code-to-code comparisons was applied with numerical results of ASFRE and those of an in-house CFD code named SPIRAL. The applicability of ASFRE was indicated through the confirmation of the consistency of specific temperature distributions.
Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Imai, Yasutomo*; Kikuchi, Norihiro; Tanaka, Masaaki; Gerschenfeld, A.*
Proceedings of 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2023/05
Removal of core decay heat by utilizing natural circulation is expected as a significant measure to enhance the safety of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). Accurate evaluation of the temperature distribution in the fuel assembly (FA) at the low Re regime in natural circulation operation is demanded. A detailed thermal-hydraulics analysis code named SPIRAL has been developed to clarify thermal-hydraulic phenomena in the FA at various operation conditions. In this study, SPIRAL with the hybrid turbulence model was applied to analyze a large-scale fuel assembly experiment of a 91-pin bundle for two cases at the mixed and the natural convection conditions respectively in low Re regime with heat transfer from outside of the FA. The applicability of the SPIRAL to the thermal-hydraulics evaluation of FA at mixed and natural convection conditions was confirmed by the comparisons of temperatures predicted by SPIRAL with those measured in the experiment.
Hamase, Erina; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki
Proceedings of 13th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Operation and Safety (NUTHOS-13) (Internet), 12 Pages, 2022/09
To enhance the safety of sodium-cooled fast reactors, the natural circulation (NC) decay heat removal systems with a dipped-type direct heat exchanger (D-DHX) have been investigated. During the D-DHX operation, since the core-plenum interaction occurs, development of the reactor vessel model including the more model by using a computational fluid dynamics code (RV-CFD) is required. Previously, the CFD model based on the subchannel analysis was developed. In this study, to achieve much lower computational cost maintaining the prediction accuracy, the coarse-mesh subchannel CFD (CMSC) model has been developed and was incorporated into the core of RV-CFD. As a result of PLANDTL-1 test analysis, the RV-CFD with the CMSC model can reproduce the radial heat transfer under NC conditions.
Hamase, Erina; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Imai, Yasutomo*; Doda, Norihiro; Ono, Ayako; Tanaka, Masaaki
Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 9(4), p.21-00438_1 - 21-00438_15, 2022/08
To enhance the safety of sodium-cooled fast reactors, a dipped-type direct heat exchanger (D-DHX) has been investigated in a natural circulation decay heat removal system. During the D-DHX operation, the core-plenum interactions occurs and the thermal-hydraulics in the reactor vessel (RV) is complicated, the establishment of thermal-hydraulic analysis model in the RV for computational fluid dynamics code (RV-CFD) is required to simulate the thermal stratification in the upper plenum and thermal-hydraulics in the core. In this study, in terms of using RV-CFD for design study, the subchannel CFD model with low computational cost was adopted to the core of RV-CFD and the numerical simulation was carried out in comparison with the measured data in the sodium test facility named PLANDTL-1. As the result, the calculated sodium temperature in the core had good agreement with the experimental result and the applicability of the RV-CFD for the core-plenum interactions was confirmed.
Matsushita, Kentaro; Ezure, Toshiki; Imai, Yasutomo*; Fujisaki, Tatsuya*; Tanaka, Masaaki
Proceedings of 29th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 29) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2022/08
Development of evaluation method for cover gas entrainment (GE) by vortices generated at free surface in upper plenum of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) is required. GE evaluation tool, named StreamViewer, based on method using numerical results of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analysis for loop-type SFRs has been developed. In this study, modification of evaluation method of StreamViewer to rationalize conservativeness in evaluation results was examined by identifying vortex center lines and calculating three-dimensional distribution of pressure decrease along vortex center lines. The applicability of modified method was checked using water experimental result in rectangular open channel where unsteady vortices are generated. As the result, it was indicated that evaluation results on gas core depth which were excessive in current method were improved in modified method, and it is confirmed that modified method may discriminate onset of GE with appropriate criteria.
Matsushita, Kentaro; Ezure, Toshiki; Imai, Yasutomo*; Fujisaki, Tatsuya*; Tanaka, Masaaki
Nihon Kikai Gakkai Kanto Shibu Ibaraki Koenkai 2021-Nendo Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 4 Pages, 2021/08
For evaluation of gas entrainment phenomenon at free surface in reactor vessel of sodium-cooled fast reactor, the gas entrainment evaluation tool named "Stream Viewer" has been developed. In Stream Viewer, depth of surface vortex dimple is predicted by calculating pressure decrease at the vortex center using velocity distribution around the vortex and Burgers vortex model. In this report, a method to identify continuous vortex center lines from a velocity distribution is newly developed. It becomes possible to evaluate three-dimensional distribution of pressure decrease along vortex center line. Then, the method is validated by applying Stream Viewer to an open channel experiment. As the result, it was confirmed that vortex center lines were successfully identified by the improved Stream Viewer. Moreover, it was also shown that the evaluation accuracy of gas entrainment was expected to be improved by considering distribution of pressure decrease along vortex center line.
Kikuchi, Norihiro; Imai, Yasutomo*; Yoshikawa, Ryuji; Doda, Norihiro; Tanaka, Masaaki
Proceedings of 28th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 28) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2021/08
In the design study of an advanced sodium-cooled fast reactor (Advanced-SFR) in JAEA, the use of a specific fuel assembly (FA) with an inner duct structure called FAIDUS has been investigated to enhance safety of Advanced-SFR. Due to the asymmetric layout of fuel rods by the inner duct, it is necessary to estimate the temperature distribution to confirm feasibility of FAIDUS. For the FAIDUS, confirmation of validity of the numerical results by a subchannel analysis code named ASFRE was not enough because the reference data on the thermal hydraulics in FAIDUS have not been obtained by the mock-up experiment, yet. Therefore, the code-to-code comparisons with numerical results of ASFRE and those of a CFD code named SPIRAL was conducted. The applicability of ASFRE was indicated through the confirmation of the consistency of mechanism of the specific temperature and velocity distributions appearing around the inner duct between the numerical results by ASFRE and those by SPIRAL.
