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Thermal-hydraulics of innovative nuclear systems

Activity Code: Fission-2009-2.3.1
Coordinator: Prof. Dr Xu Cheng, Karlsruher Institut für Technolgie (KIT)

Abstract:

For the long-term development of nuclear power, innovative nuclear systems such as Gen-IV reactors and transmutation systems need to be developed for meeting future energy challenges. Thermal-hydraulics is recognized as a key scientific subject in the development of innovative reactor systems. This project is devoted to important crosscutting thermal-hydraulic issues encountered in various innovative nuclear systems, such as advanced reactor core thermal-hydraulics, single phase mixed convection and turbulence, specific multiphase flow, and code coupling and qualification.

The main objectives of the project are: Generation of a data base for the development and validation of new models and codes describing the selected crosscutting thermal-hydraulic phenomena. This data base contains both experimental data and data from direct numerical simulations (DNS). Development of new physical models and modeling approaches for more accurate description of the crosscutting thermal-hydraulic phenomena such as heat transfer and flow mixing, turbulent flow modeling for a wide range of Prandtl numbers, and modeling of flows under strong influence of buoyancy. Improvement of the numerical engineering tools and establishment of a numerical platform for the design analysis of the innovative nuclear systems.

This platform contains numerical codes of various classes of spatial scales, i.e. system analysis, sub-channel analysis and CFD codes, their coupling and the guidelines for their applications. The project will achieve optimum usage of available European resources in experimental facilities, numerical tools and expertise. It will establish a new common platform of research results and research infrastructure.

Project Details:

Start Date: 01.02.2010
End Date: 31.01.2014
EU Contribution: 5.94 Mio. Euro
Total Costs: 10.45 Mio. Euro
Funding Scheme: Large-scale integrating project
Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Dr Xu Cheng, xu.cheng@kit.edu
Project Website:http://www.ifrt.kit.edu/thins/

Partners:

  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
  • University degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy
  • Computational Dynamics Limited, United Kingdom
  • Texas Engineering Experiment Station - TEES, USA
  • Technische Universiteit Delft, Netherlands
  • Centro di Ricerca, Sviluppo e Studi Superiori in Sardegna, Italy
  • Ascomp GmbH, Switzerland
  • Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile, Italy
  • Ansaldo Nucleare SPA, Italy
  • Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France
  • Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto, Finland
  • Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucléaire, France
  • Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group, Netherlands
  • Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie, Belgium
  • Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
  • Universita di Pisa, Italy
  • Institut Jozef Stefan, Slovenia
  • Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
  • Alma Mater Studiorum Universita di Bologna, Italy
  • Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan, Sweden
  • Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, United Kingdom
  • Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland
  • Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS), Germany
  • Technische Universität München, Germany