Search

• The empirical formula of Remhe and Novendstern can better evaluate the pressure drop along the rod bundle section of the fuel assembly in CiADS. • The mixing effect of spacer wires may enhance the LBE flow velocity and heat transfer coefficiency. • The winding pattern has a noticeable effect on the temperature distribution at the assembly outlet. • When the winding angle of spacer wires is set at 30°, the temperature distribution at the outlet of the assembly will be more uniform. Spacer wires are frequently applied as the positioning components of fuel rods in lead-based fast reactors. It is extremely important to carry out the research of the impacts from spacer wires on coolant flow within fuel assemblies, and therefore the safety performances of reactor core. In this paper, the open source CFD calculation software OpenFOAM was adopted to perform the refined numerical simulation on the rod bundle of the fuel assembly in CiADS. The results show that spacer wires will increase the pressure drop along the rod bundle section of the fuel assembly. The empirical formula of Remhe and Novendstern can better evaluate the pressure drop along the rod bundle section of the fuel assembly in CiADS. The mixing effect of spacer wires may enhance the LBE flow velocity and heat transfer coefficiency. The winding pattern has a noticeable effect on the temperature distribution at the assembly outlet. When the winding angle of spacer wires is set at 30°, the temperature distribution at the outlet of the assembly will be more uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• At the steady state, the stress assessment of the reactor vessel in CiADS satisfies the requirements of ASME Code. • Adding a thermal insulation layer outside the reactor vessel may reduce the stress on vessel. • During the postulated ULOF accidents, the reactor vessel will not experience plastic deformation. • During the postulated UTOP accidents, the limit reactivity insertion to protect the reactor vessel from plastic deformation is 400 pcm. The China Initiative Accelerator Driven System (CiADS) was proposed by China Academy of Science since 2015. The subcritical reactor in CiADS is a liquid Lead Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) cooled fast reactor. When the reactor core is in operation, the LBE coolant will directly contact and corrode the inner surface of reactor vessel. Due to the high temperature, the corrosion will be more severe. If the stress on the reactor vessel exceeds the limit, the plastic deformation will occur, leading to the generation and expansion of defects and cracks, and the safety of the reactor will be affected. Therefore, evaluating the stress field of the reactor vessel under different operating conditions is a very important research project. In this paper, the finite element analysis software ADINA was applied to analyze the reactor vessel in CiADS, and the ASME Code was used as stress assessment standards. We can preliminarily prove that the stress assessments of the vessel during the postulated Unprotected Loss of Flow (ULOF) accidents satisfy the requirements of ASME Code. The limit reactivity insertion to protect the vessel from plastic deformation is 0.58$ in the postulated Unprotected Transient over Power (UTOP) accidents based on our current results. Therefore, we can preliminarily conclude that the current material selection and structural design of the reactor vessel in CiADS could survive most of the postulated transient accidents considering the stress effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]