Simulation of Flow in a Pebble-Bed Reactor with a Staggered Pebble Arrangement
Disciplines
Fluid Dynamics | Mechanical Engineering | Nuclear
Abstract (300 words maximum)
In a pebble-bed reactor, optimizing heat transfer involves the analysis of complex flow. Previously, computational fluid dynamics was used to simulate fluid movement in a structured cubic packing arrangement with a purpose in finding an optimal size of pebbles that will yield the fastest rate of heat transfer. However, in this study fluid flow was simulated for a more complex arrangement of pebbles using a center-staggered pattern with no adjustment in the size of pebbles and with no change of fluid. The primary purpose of this work was to observe the effect of pebble arrangement on the temperature, velocity, and pressure distribution around the pebbles. In order to study only the effects from the arrangement of pebbles, the simulations consisted of the standard 6-centimeter pebbles in different arrangements with a fixed inlet velocity and a fixed pebble surface temperature. Helium acted as the coolant fluid, which is the typical gas used in pebble bed reactors. The center-staggered arrangements were compared to the known cubic arrangement characteristics of the 6-centimeter pebbles. The comparisons observed provided more information on the optimization of pebble-bed reactors as well as information in order to estimate the head loss as fluid goes through the two different arrangements for the simulated flow rate.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
SPCEET - Mechanical Engineering
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Tien Yee
Additional Faculty
Eduardo Farfan, Mechanical Engineering, efarfan1@kennesaw.edu Justin Park, Mechanical Engineering, jpark186@kennesaw.edu
Simulation of Flow in a Pebble-Bed Reactor with a Staggered Pebble Arrangement
In a pebble-bed reactor, optimizing heat transfer involves the analysis of complex flow. Previously, computational fluid dynamics was used to simulate fluid movement in a structured cubic packing arrangement with a purpose in finding an optimal size of pebbles that will yield the fastest rate of heat transfer. However, in this study fluid flow was simulated for a more complex arrangement of pebbles using a center-staggered pattern with no adjustment in the size of pebbles and with no change of fluid. The primary purpose of this work was to observe the effect of pebble arrangement on the temperature, velocity, and pressure distribution around the pebbles. In order to study only the effects from the arrangement of pebbles, the simulations consisted of the standard 6-centimeter pebbles in different arrangements with a fixed inlet velocity and a fixed pebble surface temperature. Helium acted as the coolant fluid, which is the typical gas used in pebble bed reactors. The center-staggered arrangements were compared to the known cubic arrangement characteristics of the 6-centimeter pebbles. The comparisons observed provided more information on the optimization of pebble-bed reactors as well as information in order to estimate the head loss as fluid goes through the two different arrangements for the simulated flow rate.