Development and Validation of Multiscale Coupled Thermal-Hydraulic Code Combining RELAP5 and Fluent Code

• Main Authors: Lin Sun, Minjun Peng, Genglei Xia, Xuesong Wang, Mingyu Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-02-01
• Series: Frontiers in Energy Research
• Subjects: coupled RELAP5/fluent code; Edwards blowdown test; function fitting method; mutliscale thermal-hydraulic code; computational fluid dynamics
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2020.613852/full

In nuclear reactor system research, the multiscale coupled thermal-hydraulic (T-H) system code and CFD code is one of the most prevalent research areas, and it could help improve simulation fidelity and optimize nuclear reactor design. Additionally, a new idea known as the function fitting method (FFM) for coupling parameter distribution has been newly proposed for exchanging data on the coupling interface, which uses math equations to present the velocity distribution characteristics at the coupling interface. This method could improve the simulation error and numerical instability. To verify and validate the abovementioned FFM, a comparison between the velocity function shape by FFM and real velocity distribution was completed. Besides, the Edwards pipe blowdown test results were used to verify the coupled code. The results showed good agreement with experiment results, and a better simulation accuracy compared to previous work. The current work will establish the ability to explore multiscale coupled thermal-hydraulic operation characteristics which permit precise local parameter distribution.