Development of a numerical simulation method for air cooling of fuel debris by JUPITER

Yamashita, Susumu; Uesawa, Shinichiro; Ono, Ayako; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 10(4), p.22-00485_1 - 22-00485_25, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1299/mej.22-00485

A detailed evaluation for air cooling of fuel debris in actual reactors will be essential in fuel debris retrieval under dry conditions. To understand the heat transfer in and around fuel debris, which is assumed as a porous medium in the primary containment vessel (PCV) mechanistically, we newly applied the porous medium model to the multiphase and multicomponent computational fluid dynamics code named JUPITER (JAEA Utility Program for Interdisciplinary Thermal-hydraulics Engineering and Research). We applied the Darcy-Brinkman model as for the porous medium model. This model has high compatibility with JUPITER because it can treat both a pure fluid and a porous medium phase simultaneously in the same manner as the one-fluid model in multiphase flow simulation. We addressed the case of natural convection with a high-velocity flow standing out nonlinear effects by implementing the Forchheimer model, including the term of the square of the velocity as a nonlinear effect to the momentum transport equation of JUPITER. We performed some simple verification and validation simulations, such as the natural convection simulation in a square cavity and the natural convective heat transfer experiment with the porous medium, to confirm the validity of the implemented model. We confirmed that the result of JUPITER agreed well with these simulations and experiments. In addition, as an application of the updated JUPITER, we performed the preliminary simulation of air cooling of fuel debris in the condition of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station unit 2 including the actual core materials. As a result, JUPITER calculated the temperature and velocity field stably in and around the fuel debris inside the PCV. Therefore, JUPITER has the potential to estimate the detailed and accurate thermal-hydraulics behaviors of fuel debris.

A Numerical simulation method to evaluate heat transfer of fuel debris in air cooling by JUPITER, 1; Project overview and the applicability to the actual reactor system

Yamashita, Susumu; Uesawa, Shinichiro; Ono, Ayako; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 12th Japan-Korea Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS12) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2022/10

no abstracts in English

Analysis of the activities of the website "Question and Answer about radiation in daily life" after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and some lessons learned from it; To pass on this experience to the future

Kono, Takahiko; Tanaka, Masato*; Tanaka, Hitomi*; Shimo, Michikuni*; Torii, Hiroyuki*; Uno, Kazuko*

Journal of Radiation Protection and Research, 47(3), p.167 - 179, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.14407/jrpr.2021.00346

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, artificial radionuclides such as radioactive cesium and iodine were released into the environment. It caused great anxiety not only in the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant but also in other regions of the world. Some members of the Japan Health Physics Society (JHPS), a leading academic society in Japan in the field of radiation protection, volunteered to establish a website called "Question and Answer about radiation in Daily Life" shortly after the accident to help reduce the residents anxiety about the health effects of radiation. In August 2011, Committee for "Question and Answer about radiation in Daily Life" was established in JHPS, making the website-related activities a responsibility of JHPS. The Q&A website continued to respond to the questions from the general public with expertise and sincerity until February 2013 when the Committee members decided to end the activities because the number of questions received had gradually decreased with the passage of time. This paper aims to introduce the following: the activities of the Q&A website during the two years (2011-2013), the stance chosen for the activities, the information related to the website activities and the analysis of Twitter data. Building on the experience and the knowledge obtained from the activities, it also discusses issues and experiences that can be utilized in the initial response to emergencies for radiation protection experts as well as other fields.

Numerical simulation of annular dispersed flow in simplified subchannel of light water cooled fast reactor RBWR

Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Horiguchi, Naoki; Ono, Ayako; Furuichi, Hajime*; Katono, Kenichi*

Proceedings of 29th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 29) (Internet), 7 Pages, 2022/08

Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in fuel assemblies with a spacer grid using a mechanistically based method

Ono, Ayako; Yamashita, Susumu; Suzuki, Takayuki*; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 19th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-19) (Internet), 16 Pages, 2022/03

JAEA is developing the methodology to predict the critical heat flux based on a mechanism in order to reduce the cost for full mock-up test. The evaluation method based on a mechanism is expected to be able to predict in the wide range of parameter under the unexpected conditions including the severe accident. In this study, the JUPITER code developed by JAEA is examined to apply for the two-phase flow simulation of LWR fuel assembly with the spacer grid. The benchmark data of single-phase flow in the bundle with the spacers by KAERI were used to validate the simulation result by JUPITER. Moreover, the single-phase flow simulation was conducted by another simulation method, STAR-CCM+, as a supplemental analysis to consider the effect of the different simulation methods. Finally, the two-phase flow simulation for the bundle with the spacer was conducted by JUPITER. The effect of the spacer with a vane on the bubble behavior is discussed.

Analysis of the radioactivity concentrations in radioactive waste generated from JPDR Facility

Tobita, Minoru*; Haraga, Tomoko; Endo, Tsubasa*; Omori, Hiroyuki*; Mitsukai, Akina; Aono, Ryuji; Ueno, Takashi; Ishimori, Kenichiro; Kameo, Yutaka

JAEA-Data/Code 2021-013, 30 Pages, 2021/12

JAEA-Data-Code-2021-013.pdf:1.47MB

Radioactive wastes generated from nuclear research facilities in Japan Atomic Energy Agency are planning to be buried in the near surface disposal field. Therefore, it is required to establish the method to evaluate the radioactivity concentrations of radioactive wastes until the beginning of disposal. In order to contribute to this work, we collected and analyzed concrete samples generated from JPDR facility. In this report, we summarized the radioactivity concentrations of 21 radionuclides (H, C, Cl, Ca, Co, Ni, Sr, Nb, Ag, Cs, Eu, Eu, Ho, U, U, Pu, Pu, Pu, Am, Am, Cm) which were obtained from radiochemical analysis of the samples in fiscal year 2018-2019.

Impact assessment for internal flooding in HTTR (High temperature engineering test reactor)

Tochio, Daisuke; Nagasumi, Satoru; Inoi, Hiroyuki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ono, Masato; Kobayashi, Shoichi; Uesaka, Takahiro; Watanabe, Shuji; Saito, Kenji

JAEA-Technology 2021-014, 80 Pages, 2021/09

JAEA-Technology-2021-014.pdf:5.87MB

In response to the new regulatory standards established in response to the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011, measures and impact assessments related to internal flooding at HTTR were carried out. In assessing the impact, considering the characteristics of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, flooding due to assumed damage to piping and equipment, flooding due to water discharge from the system installed to prevent the spread of fire, and flooding due to damage to piping and equipment due to an earthquake. The effects of submersion, flooding, and flooding due to steam were evaluated for each of them. The impact of the overflow of liquids containing radioactive materials outside the radiation-controlled area was also evaluated. As a result, it was confirmed that flooding generated at HTTR does not affect the safety function of the reactor facility by taking measures.

Interim activity status report of "the group for investigation of reasonable safety assurance based on graded approach" (from September, 2019 to September, 2020)

Yonomoto, Taisuke; Nakashima, Hiroshi*; Sono, Hiroki; Kishimoto, Katsumi; Izawa, Kazuhiko; Kinase, Masami; Osa, Akihiko; Ogawa, Kazuhiko; Horiguchi, Hironori; Inoi, Hiroyuki; et al.

JAEA-Review 2020-056, 51 Pages, 2021/03

JAEA-Review-2020-056.pdf:3.26MB

A group named as "The group for investigation of reasonable safety assurance based on graded approach", which consists of about 10 staffs from Sector of Nuclear Science Research, Safety and Nuclear Security Administration Department, departments for management of nuclear facility, Sector of Nuclear Safety Research and Emergency Preparedness, aims to realize effective graded approach (GA) about management of facilities and regulatory compliance of JAEA. The group started its activities in September, 2019 and has had discussions through 10 meetings and email communications. In the meetings, basic ideas of GA, status of compliance with new regulatory standards at each facility, new inspection system, etc were discussed, while individual investigation at each facility were shared among the members. This report is compiled with expectation that it will help promote rational and effective safety management based on GA by sharing contents of the activity widely inside and outside JAEA.

High temperature gas-cooled reactors

Takeda, Tetsuaki*; Inagaki, Yoshiyuki; Aihara, Jun; Aoki, Takeshi; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Fukaya, Yuji; Goto, Minoru; Ho, H. Q.; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Imai, Yoshiyuki; et al.

High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors; JSME Series in Thermal and Nuclear Power Generation, Vol.5, 464 Pages, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/C2018-0-05383-9

As a general overview of the research and development of a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in JAEA, this book describes the achievements by the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) on the designs, key component technologies such as fuel, reactor internals, high temperature components, etc., and operational experience such as rise-to-power tests, high temperature operation at 950C, safety demonstration tests, etc. In addition, based on the knowledge of the HTTR, the development of designs and component technologies such as high performance fuel, helium gas turbine and hydrogen production by IS process for commercial HTGRs are described. These results are very useful for the future development of HTGRs. This book is published as one of a series of technical books on fossil fuel and nuclear energy systems by the Power Energy Systems Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Macrolayer formation model for prediction of critical heat flux in saturated and subcooled pool boiling

Ono, Ayako; Sakashita, Hiroto*; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Heat Transfer Engineering, 42(21), p.1775 - 1788, 2021/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/01457632.2020.1826738

In this study, the macrolayer formation model is proposed to predict the critical heat flux in the saturated and subcooled pool boiling based on the macrolayer dryout model. This model concept is based on the results of the previous experiments. In the model, the nucleation site is assumed to distribute based on the Poisson distribution. Combining the proposed macrolayer formation model and macrolayer dryout model, the CHFs up to subcooling 40K were predicted and they are successfully good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the concept of the model was confirmed by the numerical simulation using the TPFIT.