Thermal-hydraulic analysis of new generation TVS-2M fuel in VVER-1000 reactor using porous media approach method

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Energy and Physics Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, 424 Hafez Ave., Tehran, Iran

2 Reactor and Nuclear Safety Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The TVS-2M Russian Fuel Assembly (FA) is a newly suggested fuel type that incorporates gadolinium oxide in different concentrations, combined with enriched UO2 at different levels of U-235 enrichment. TVS-2M FA is designed to improve the safety and efficiency of reactor core. In the Porous Media Approach (PMA) method, the porous medium is generally described by parameters such as permeability, porosity, and the tortuosity of the flow paths, which are utilized to represent the resistance to fluid flow and the material's heat transfer properties. The main aim of present paper is to model the hottest FA of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) reactor core using the COBRA-EN code and PMA method to evaluate the thermal-hydraulic parameters such as fuel rod temperature, coolant temperature and density, Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR), and Critical Heat Flux (CHF) in different axial and radial nodes. In such manner, each FA is modeled and broken down into a network of simplified regions. Although detailed geometries are specified, the thermal-hydraulic parameters are computed for each component. Results showed, the average core coolant temperature ranges from 29°C 1 to 322°C. Meanwhile, the coolant temperature in the hottest FA reaches about 328 C. Moreover, the fuel rod temperature varies from about 310°C to 930°C in the hottest FA. On the other hand, the average coolant density into the core changes from 742 kg/m³ to 675 Kg/m3.

Keywords

Advances in Energy Sciences and Technologies
Volume 1, Issue 1
June 2025
Pages 107-118

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History

  • Receive Date: 06 January 2025
  • Revise Date: 23 January 2025
  • Accept Date: 01 February 2025
  • Publish Date: 01 June 2025

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