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The wall effect is known to present difficulties when attempting to predict the pressure drop over randomly packed beds. The Nuclear Safety Standard Commission, “Kerntechnischer Auss-chuss" (KTA), made considerable efforts to develop an equation which predicts the pressure drop over cylindrical randomly packed beds consisting of mono-sized spheres. The KTA was able to estimate a limiting line, which defines the region for which the wall effect is negligible, however the theoretical basis for this line is unclear. The goal of this investigation was to determine the validity of the KTA limiting line, using an explicit approach. Packed beds were generated using Discrete Element Modelling (DEM), and the flow through the beds simulated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). STAR-CCM+R was used for both DEM and CFD operations, and the methods developed for this explicit approach were validated with empirical data. The KTA correlation predictions for friction factors were com- pared with the CFD results, as well as the predictions from a few other correlations. The KTA correlation predictions for friction factors did not correspond well with the CFD results at low aspect ratios and low modified Reynolds numbers, due to the influence of the wall effect. The KTA limiting line was found to be valid, but not exact. A new limiting line for the KTA correlation was suggested, however the new limiting line improved little on the existing line and was the result of some major assumptions. In order to improve the determination of the position of the KTA limiting line further, criteria need to be established which determine how small the error in predicted friction factor must be before the KTA correlation can be accepted as accurate. / MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The wall effect is known to present difficulties when attempting to predict the pressure drop over randomly packed beds. The Nuclear Safety Standard Commission, “Kerntechnischer Auss-chuss" (KTA), made considerable efforts to develop an equation which predicts the pressure drop over cylindrical randomly packed beds consisting of mono-sized spheres. The KTA was able to estimate a limiting line, which defines the region for which the wall effect is negligible, however the theoretical basis for this line is unclear. The goal of this investigation was to determine the validity of the KTA limiting line, using an explicit approach. Packed beds were generated using Discrete Element Modelling (DEM), and the flow through the beds simulated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). STAR-CCM+R was used for both DEM and CFD operations, and the methods developed for this explicit approach were validated with empirical data. The KTA correlation predictions for friction factors were com- pared with the CFD results, as well as the predictions from a few other correlations. The KTA correlation predictions for friction factors did not correspond well with the CFD results at low aspect ratios and low modified Reynolds numbers, due to the influence of the wall effect. The KTA limiting line was found to be valid, but not exact. A new limiting line for the KTA correlation was suggested, however the new limiting line improved little on the existing line and was the result of some major assumptions. In order to improve the determination of the position of the KTA limiting line further, criteria need to be established which determine how small the error in predicted friction factor must be before the KTA correlation can be accepted as accurate. / MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The newest European high performance material testing reactor, the Jules Horowitz Reactor, is under construction at CEA Cadarache research center in France. The reactor will support existing and future nuclear reactor technologies, with the first criticality expected at the end of this decade. The current/reference CEA methodology for simulating the thermalhydraulic behavior of the reactor gives reliable results. The CATHARE2 code simulates the full reactor circuit with a simplified approach for the core. The results of this model are used as boundary conditions in a three-dimensional FLICA4 core simulation. However this procedure needs further improvement and simplification to shorten the computational requirements and give more accurate core level data. The reactor’s high performance (e.g. high neutron fluxes, high power densities) and its design (e.g. narrow flow channels in the core) render the reactor modeling challenging compared to more conventional designs. It is possible via thermal-hydraulic or solely hydraulic Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to achieve a better insight of the flow and thermal aspects of the reactor’s performance. This approach is utilized to assess the initial modeling assumptions and to detect if more accurate modeling is necessary. There were no CFD thermal-hydraulic publications available on the JHR prior to the current PhD thesis project. The improvement process is split into five steps. In the first step, the state-of-the-art CEA methodology for thermal-hydraulic modeling of the reactor using the system code CATHARE2 and the core analysis code FLICA4 is described. In the second and third steps, a CFD thermal-hydraulic simulations of the reactor’s hot fuel element are undertaken with the code STAR-CCM+. Moreover, a conjugate heat transfer analysis is performed for the hot channel. The knowledge of the flow and temperature fields between different channels is important for performing safety analyses and for accurate modeling. In the fourth step, the flow field of the full reactor vessel is investigated by conducting CFD hydraulic simulations in order to identify the mass flow split between the 36 fuel elements and to describe the flow field in the upper and lower plenums. As a side study a thermal-hydraulic calculation, similar to those performed in previous steps is undertaken utilizing the outcome of the hydraulic calculation as an input. The final step culminates by producing an improved, more realistic, purely CATHARE2 based, JHR model, incorporating all the new knowledge acquired from the previous steps. The primary outcome of this four year PhD research project is the improved, more realistic, CATHARE2 model of the JHR with two approaches for the hot fuel element. Furthermore, the project has led to improved thermal-hydraulic knowledge of the complex reactor (including the hot fuel element), with the most prominent findings presented. / <p>QC 20161208</p> / DEMO-JHR

Este trabalho apresenta o resultado da aplicação do Método dos Volumes Finitos, adotado pelo software comercial Star-CCM+ na simulação para o regime permanente de escoamentos turbulentos incompressíveis e compressíveis sobre seções de aerofólios. Para o caso incompressível modelam-se seções do aerofólio NACA 0012 com ângulo de ataque zero. Para o caso compressível, uma seção do aerofólio supercrítico OAT15A em pequeno ângulo de ataque é modelada. Os domínios computacionais são discretizados por malhas não estruturadas de células poliédricas ou por malhas estruturadas de geração hiperbólica para diferentes topologias e parâmetros construtivos determinados pela estimativa de grandezas do fenômeno físico, como a altura da primeira camada de células quadrilaterais junto à parede. A qualidade e adequação dessas malhas para as simulações são verificadas por estudo de dependência quanto ao nível de refinamento e também quanto à posição do contorno onde o escoamento é livre no caso de escoamento compressível. Na metodologia de verificação, o índice de convergência de malha GCI e a ordem observada de convergência do método (dos Volumes Finitos) são obtidos para três níveis de refinamento com o propósito de selecionar uma malha de trabalho que concilie precisão e esforço computacional com os recursos disponíveis. As simulações são conduzidas para dois modelos de turbulência – o modelo Spalart-Allmaras e o modelo k-ω/SST. Os resultados obtidos pela aplicação desses modelos são interpretados sob o ponto de vista fenomenológico e comparados com os resultados experimentais disponíveis em literatura. / The Finite Volumes Method adopted by the commercial software Star-CCM+ is applied to the simulation of the steady state regime of incompressible and compressible turbulent flows over selected airfoil’s sections. The physical model used with the incompressible flow case is a NACA 0012 airfoil section at zero angle of attack. The ONERA’s OAT15A supercritical airfoil section at small angle of attack applies to the compressible flow case. The computational domains are discretized by structured and unstructured meshes for different topologies and far field configurations. The structured meshes are of the quadrilateral type with hyperbolic node distribution whilst the unstructured meshes use polyhedral cells. The grids are generated by applying a methodology where estimates of the flow variables are used as input for the grid’s constructive parameters like the near wall cell thickness. Grid dependency studies are carried out in order to verify the grid’s quality and suitability to represent the physical phenomena. The grid’s asymptotic convergence index GCI and its observed order of convergence are evaluated for three refinement levels and far field position for the compressible flow cases. The objective is to select the most suitable grid taking into account the accuracy requirements and the computational resources available. The one-equation Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model and the two-equation k-ω/SST turbulence models are used. The numerical results are discussed from the physical point of view and compared with the experimental ones available in literature.

Este trabalho apresenta o resultado da aplicação do Método dos Volumes Finitos, adotado pelo software comercial Star-CCM+ na simulação para o regime permanente de escoamentos turbulentos incompressíveis e compressíveis sobre seções de aerofólios. Para o caso incompressível modelam-se seções do aerofólio NACA 0012 com ângulo de ataque zero. Para o caso compressível, uma seção do aerofólio supercrítico OAT15A em pequeno ângulo de ataque é modelada. Os domínios computacionais são discretizados por malhas não estruturadas de células poliédricas ou por malhas estruturadas de geração hiperbólica para diferentes topologias e parâmetros construtivos determinados pela estimativa de grandezas do fenômeno físico, como a altura da primeira camada de células quadrilaterais junto à parede. A qualidade e adequação dessas malhas para as simulações são verificadas por estudo de dependência quanto ao nível de refinamento e também quanto à posição do contorno onde o escoamento é livre no caso de escoamento compressível. Na metodologia de verificação, o índice de convergência de malha GCI e a ordem observada de convergência do método (dos Volumes Finitos) são obtidos para três níveis de refinamento com o propósito de selecionar uma malha de trabalho que concilie precisão e esforço computacional com os recursos disponíveis. As simulações são conduzidas para dois modelos de turbulência – o modelo Spalart-Allmaras e o modelo k-ω/SST. Os resultados obtidos pela aplicação desses modelos são interpretados sob o ponto de vista fenomenológico e comparados com os resultados experimentais disponíveis em literatura. / The Finite Volumes Method adopted by the commercial software Star-CCM+ is applied to the simulation of the steady state regime of incompressible and compressible turbulent flows over selected airfoil’s sections. The physical model used with the incompressible flow case is a NACA 0012 airfoil section at zero angle of attack. The ONERA’s OAT15A supercritical airfoil section at small angle of attack applies to the compressible flow case. The computational domains are discretized by structured and unstructured meshes for different topologies and far field configurations. The structured meshes are of the quadrilateral type with hyperbolic node distribution whilst the unstructured meshes use polyhedral cells. The grids are generated by applying a methodology where estimates of the flow variables are used as input for the grid’s constructive parameters like the near wall cell thickness. Grid dependency studies are carried out in order to verify the grid’s quality and suitability to represent the physical phenomena. The grid’s asymptotic convergence index GCI and its observed order of convergence are evaluated for three refinement levels and far field position for the compressible flow cases. The objective is to select the most suitable grid taking into account the accuracy requirements and the computational resources available. The one-equation Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model and the two-equation k-ω/SST turbulence models are used. The numerical results are discussed from the physical point of view and compared with the experimental ones available in literature.

Este trabalho apresenta o resultado da aplicação do Método dos Volumes Finitos, adotado pelo software comercial Star-CCM+ na simulação para o regime permanente de escoamentos turbulentos incompressíveis e compressíveis sobre seções de aerofólios. Para o caso incompressível modelam-se seções do aerofólio NACA 0012 com ângulo de ataque zero. Para o caso compressível, uma seção do aerofólio supercrítico OAT15A em pequeno ângulo de ataque é modelada. Os domínios computacionais são discretizados por malhas não estruturadas de células poliédricas ou por malhas estruturadas de geração hiperbólica para diferentes topologias e parâmetros construtivos determinados pela estimativa de grandezas do fenômeno físico, como a altura da primeira camada de células quadrilaterais junto à parede. A qualidade e adequação dessas malhas para as simulações são verificadas por estudo de dependência quanto ao nível de refinamento e também quanto à posição do contorno onde o escoamento é livre no caso de escoamento compressível. Na metodologia de verificação, o índice de convergência de malha GCI e a ordem observada de convergência do método (dos Volumes Finitos) são obtidos para três níveis de refinamento com o propósito de selecionar uma malha de trabalho que concilie precisão e esforço computacional com os recursos disponíveis. As simulações são conduzidas para dois modelos de turbulência – o modelo Spalart-Allmaras e o modelo k-ω/SST. Os resultados obtidos pela aplicação desses modelos são interpretados sob o ponto de vista fenomenológico e comparados com os resultados experimentais disponíveis em literatura. / The Finite Volumes Method adopted by the commercial software Star-CCM+ is applied to the simulation of the steady state regime of incompressible and compressible turbulent flows over selected airfoil’s sections. The physical model used with the incompressible flow case is a NACA 0012 airfoil section at zero angle of attack. The ONERA’s OAT15A supercritical airfoil section at small angle of attack applies to the compressible flow case. The computational domains are discretized by structured and unstructured meshes for different topologies and far field configurations. The structured meshes are of the quadrilateral type with hyperbolic node distribution whilst the unstructured meshes use polyhedral cells. The grids are generated by applying a methodology where estimates of the flow variables are used as input for the grid’s constructive parameters like the near wall cell thickness. Grid dependency studies are carried out in order to verify the grid’s quality and suitability to represent the physical phenomena. The grid’s asymptotic convergence index GCI and its observed order of convergence are evaluated for three refinement levels and far field position for the compressible flow cases. The objective is to select the most suitable grid taking into account the accuracy requirements and the computational resources available. The one-equation Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model and the two-equation k-ω/SST turbulence models are used. The numerical results are discussed from the physical point of view and compared with the experimental ones available in literature.

This thesis deals with CFD simulation of platooning vehicles and their aerodynamic characteristics, created in Star CCM+ software. The main focus is on their aerodynamic drag dependency on different spacing between vehicles which allowed to evaluate the most energy efficient distance for platoon of vehicles. Furthermore, the procedure how to calculate the fuel consumption is described for set of variables.

This project deals with the CFD modelling of a free surface flow. The aim is to develop and validate a fast and accurate numerical model for stratified two-phase flows. Volume of Fluid (VOF) multiphase model is employed. The purpose is to use the developed numerical model for the design of an element within a compact nuclear reactor.Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations are conducted. Two free surface test cases are simulated to verify and ensure robustness of the model: a dam break and a vertical cylindrical obstacle set in a channel. From there, an optimization is performed in order to find the best compromise between accuracy and rapidity with the solver. The proper set of parameter models is found by carrying out extensive sensitivity studies and compare the solutions with available measurements.The obtained numerical results show a reasonable good agreement with the experimental data for the dam-break. Significant time savings are achieved thanks to the implemented optimization process while maintaining accuracy. The optimized model is then applied to the second test case and comparisons with experimental measurements are carried out. The same physical behavior of the flow as in experiments is captured with the simulations. The differences found between the simulation data and experiments are partly due to the difficulty to monitor experimentally with a high accuracy the highly non uniform regions within the flow.

<p>Supercritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) is a Generation-IV nuclear reactor design that operates on a direct energy conversion cycle above the thermodynamic critical point of water (374⁰C and 22.1 MPa), and offers higher thermal efficiency and considerable design simplification. As an essential step in the design of SCWR safety systems, the accident behaviour of the reactor is evaluated to ensure that the safety systems can achieve safe shutdown for all the design basis accidents. Unfortunately, the computational tools and computer codes that are currently employed for safety analysis have little application in the supercritical region, and faces significant challenges in simulating the transitions from subcritical to supercritical conditions.</p> <p>This thesis examines the predictive capabilities of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CCM+ by evaluating critical flow (or choked flow) due to accidental release of coolant from supercritical fluid systems. The biggest challenge of this research is that the current version of STAR-CCM+ does not support supercritical simulations because the steam tables included in the package are only limited to the subcritical subset of the thermodynamic fluid properties.</p> <p>The research was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the CFD code STAR-CCM+ was customized to simulate supercritical conditions by, (i) Generating updated steam tables to include subcritical and supercritical fluid properties and using more pressure and temperature points in the pseudo critical region (22 – 25 MPa, 645 -660 K) to handle the rapid changes in the fluid properties, and (ii) Implementing a multi-dimensional steam table interpolation scheme to access the fluid property data at any thermodynamic state during the simulation. In the second stage, the customized CFD code was extensively evaluated by simulating several accidental release scenarios from supercritical conditions using rounded-edge and sharp-edge nozzles and the model results were validated with experimental data. To overcome the solution stability (or convergence) issues encountered during the supercritical simulations, a fine tuning procedure was proposed that guaranteed convergence for all the case studies considered in this thesis.</p> <p>The simulation results revealed that the CFD model produced results that were in good agreement with experimental data and only about 10% prediction error was noticed for most cases considered in the thesis. Considering the sensitivity of the CFD model for upstream temperatures and pressures, these results appear to be quite reasonable. From the computational experience gained in this research , we believe that the CFD code STAR-CCM+ is a very useful tool to perform thermal hydraulic simulations for supercritical systems. However, an appropriate customization and extensive validation of the code is required before it can be exclusively used for safety analysis.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)