Article: Thermal performance characteristics of liquid sodium as a coolant flowing past a rectangular nuclear fuel element Journal: International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology (IJNEST) 2016 Vol.10 No.1 pp.11 - 27 Abstract: The objective of this work is to numerically investigate the effect of various design parameters on the steady state thermal performance characteristics of liquid sodium which flows as a coolant over a rectangular nuclear fuel element having non-uniform volumetric energy generation. Accordingly, the stream function-vorticity formulation of the full Navier Stokes equations governing flow and thermal fields in the fluid domain (coolant) are solved simultaneously along with energy equation of fuel element, using finite difference schemes. The results obtained are presented in the form of variation of mean coolant temperature at the exit, average Nusselt number and average skin friction coefficient for a wide range of parameters - aspect ratio, Ar, conduction-convection parameter Ncc, total energy generation parameter Qt, and flow Reynolds number ReH. It is concluded that out of the various parameters studied, the flow Reynolds number, ReH considerably influences the mean exit temperature, whereas Ar has the least influence on it. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Thermal performance characteristics of liquid sodium as a coolant flowing past a rectangular nuclear fuel element

Authors: Abdul Razak Kaladgi; A.D. Mohammed Samee; M.K. Ramis

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, P.A. College of Engineering, Mangalore 574153, Karnataka, India ' Mechanical Engineering Department, P.A. College of Engineering, Mangalore 574153, Karnataka, India ' Mechanical Engineering Department, P.A. College of Engineering, Mangalore 574153, Karnataka, India

Abstract: The objective of this work is to numerically investigate the effect of various design parameters on the steady state thermal performance characteristics of liquid sodium which flows as a coolant over a rectangular nuclear fuel element having non-uniform volumetric energy generation. Accordingly, the stream function-vorticity formulation of the full Navier Stokes equations governing flow and thermal fields in the fluid domain (coolant) are solved simultaneously along with energy equation of fuel element, using finite difference schemes. The results obtained are presented in the form of variation of mean coolant temperature at the exit, average Nusselt number and average skin friction coefficient for a wide range of parameters - aspect ratio, A_r, conduction-convection parameter N_cc, total energy generation parameter Q_t, and flow Reynolds number Re_H. It is concluded that out of the various parameters studied, the flow Reynolds number, Re_H considerably influences the mean exit temperature, whereas A_r has the least influence on it.

Keywords: conjugate heat transfer; Thomas algorithm; ADI scheme; forced convection; thermal performance; liquid sodium; coolants; rectangular fuel elements; nuclear fuel elements; finite difference method; mean exit temperature; nuclear energy; nuclear power.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNEST.2016.076347

International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, 2016 Vol.10 No.1, pp.11 - 27

Received: 17 Oct 2015
Accepted: 13 Jan 2016
Published online: 04 May 2016 *

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Title: Thermal performance characteristics of liquid sodium as a coolant flowing past a rectangular nuclear fuel element

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