Search

• An innovative three-dimensional thermal–hydraulic code, CorTAF, was developed based on OpenFOAM. • The CorTAF is more computationally efficient with the spatial resolution of subchannel level. • The CorTAF is validated against experiment benchmarks and subchannel analysis codes. • The steady state and transient simulations of a full scale PWR core were carried out using CorTAF. In this paper, a thermal hydraulic analysis method based on open source CFD platform OpenFOAM was proposed. The models of coolant flow and heat transfer, fuel rod heat conduction and coupled heat transfer were established according to the bundle structure characteristics of PWR core, and then a nuclear reactor three-dimensional thermal–hydraulic characteristics analysis code CorTAF was developed based on finite volume method with the spatial resolution of subchannel level. The international benchmarks, including GE3 × 3, Weiss and PNL2 × 6 fuel assembly flow and heat transfer experiments, were selected to carry out the validation. The calculation results were basically consistent with the experimental data, illustrating that CorTAF is suitable for predicting the flow and heat transfer characteristics of coolant in the rod bundle fuel assembly. The thermal–hydraulic characteristics of fuel assembly and PWR core under full power operation and blockage accident conditions were simulated using CorTAF. The steady-state and transient spatial distribution of physical quantities in subchannel-scale including coolant and fuel rod temperature were obtained, and the influence of blockage condition on flow and heat transfer characteristics was analyzed. This work has reference significance for the development of core thermal hydraulic analysis tools for PWR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]