Experimental Study on the Effect of Localized Blockages on the Friction Factor of a 61-Pin Wire-Wrapped Bundle

Childs, Mason; Muyshondt, Robert; Vaghetto, Rodolfo; Nguyen, Duy Thien; Hassan, Yassin

doi:10.1115/1.4048140

Experimental Study on the Effect of Localized Blockages on the Friction Factor of a 61-Pin Wire-Wrapped Bundle

Journal Article · 04 September 2020 · Journal of Fluids Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4048140· OSTI ID:1850519

Childs, Mason ^[1]; Muyshondt, Robert ^[2]; Vaghetto, Rodolfo ^[3]; Nguyen, Duy Thien ^[3]; Hassan, Yassin ^[4]

Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845; OSTI
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845
Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845
Department of Nuclear Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845

Abstract

The thermal-hydraulic behavior of the flow in rod bundles has motivated numerous experimental and computational investigations. Previous studies have identified potential for accumulation of debris within the small subchannels of typical wire-wrapped assemblies with subsequent total or partial blockage of subchannel coolant flow. A test campaign was conducted to study the effects of localized blockages on the bundle averaged friction factor of a tightly packed wire-wrapped rod bundle. Blockages were installed within the bundle, and fluid pressure drop was measured across one wire pitch for a Reynolds number range of 500–17,200. The Darcy–Weisbach friction factor of the perturbed rod bundle geometry was compared with that of the unblocked bundle, as well as with the predictions of a well-established friction factor correlation. Differing effects based on blockage size and location for various flow regimes were studied. A number of conclusions can be made about the effects of the blockages on the friction factor, such as an increasing effect of the blockage on friction factor with an increase in Reynolds number, a change in flow behavior in the turbulent transition flow regime near Reynolds number 3000, differences in effect on friction factor for different types of subchannel blockage, and a nonlinear trend in friction factor variation with flow area impeded for edge subchannels. To this end, all data and quantified uncertainty produced in this study are made available for comparison and validation of advanced computational tools.

Research Organization:: Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Texas A & M Engineering Experiment Station

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

DOE Contract Number:: NE0008652

OSTI ID:: 1850519

Journal Information:: Journal of Fluids Engineering, Journal Name: Journal of Fluids Engineering Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 142; ISSN 0098-2202

Publisher:: ASME

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (34)

PIV measurements of turbulent flows in a 61-pin wire-wrapped hexagonal fuel bundle Nguyen, Thien; Goth, Nolan; Jones, Philip International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 65 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2017.03.007	journal	June 2017
Pressure drop performance of rod bundles in hexagonal arrangements Rehme, K. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 15, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1016/0017-9310(72)90143-3	journal	December 1972
Simulating fuel assemblies with low resolution CFD approaches Roelofs, F.; Gopala, V. R.; Chandra, L. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 250 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2012.05.029	journal	September 2012
High-fidelity velocity measurements in a totally blocked interior subchannel of a wire-wrapped 61-pin hexagonal fuel bundle Nguyen, Thien; White, Lance; Vaghetto, Rodolfo Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 353 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.110234	journal	November 2019
Fluid flow investigations within a 37 element CANDU fuel bundle supported by magnetic resonance velocimetry and computational fluid dynamics Piro, M. H. A.; Wassermann, F.; Grundmann, S. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 66 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2017.04.010	journal	August 2017
Understanding migratory flow caused by helicoid wire spacers in rod bundles: An experimental and theoretical study Bertocchi, F.; Rohde, M.; Kloosterman, J. L. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 80 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2019.108491	journal	December 2019
Measurement of Pressure Drop in a Full-Scale Fuel Assembly of a Liquid Metal Reactor Choi, Seok Ki; Choi, Il Kon; Nam, Ho Yun Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, Vol. 125, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1565076	journal	May 2003
Blockage fuel pin simulator experiments and simulation Marinari, R.; Di Piazza, I.; Tarantino, M. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 353 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.110215	journal	November 2019
An investigation of matched index of refraction technique and its application in optical measurements of fluid flow Amini, Noushin; Hassan, Yassin A. Experiments in Fluids, Vol. 53, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-012-1398-x	journal	November 2012
Thermal hydraulic investigations on porous blockage in a prototype sodium cooled fast reactor fuel pin bundle Raj, M. Naveen; Velusamy, K.; Maity, Ram Kumar Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 303 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2016.04.008	journal	July 2016
Numerical investigation of flow blockage accident in SFR fuel assembly Chai, Xiang; Zhao, Lei; Hu, Wenjun Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 359 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.110437	journal	April 2020
Pressure Drop Correlations for Fuel Element Spacers Rehme, Klaus Nuclear Technology, Vol. 17, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.13182/NT73-A31250	journal	January 1973
Turbulent transport in wall subchannels and in finite rod clusters Sahoo, K. M.; Mohanty, A. K. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 12, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0142-727X(91)90041-S	journal	June 1991
Stereoscopic PIV measurements of near-wall flow in a tightly packed rod bundle with wire spacers Nguyen, Thien; Goth, Nolan; Jones, Philip Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 92 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2017.11.009	journal	April 2018
Flow Distribution and Pressure Loss in Subchannels of a Wire-Wrapped 37-pin Rod Bundle for a Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor Chang, Seok-Kyu; Euh, Dong-Jin; Choi, Hae Seob Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2015.12.013	journal	April 2016
CFD analysis of flow blockage phenomena in a LBE-cooled 19-pin wire-wrapped rod bundle Chai, Xiang; Liu, Xiaojing; Xiong, Jinbiao Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 344 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.01.019	journal	April 2019
An experimental study and assessment of existing friction factor correlations for wire-wrapped fuel assemblies Chun, Moon-Hyun; Seo, Kyong-Won Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 28, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4549(01)00023-8	journal	November 2001
The Tait equation: 100 years on Dymond, J. H.; Malhotra, R. International Journal of Thermophysics, Vol. 9, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01133262	journal	November 1988
Turbulent Transverse Plane PIV Measurements on a Wire-Wrapped 61-Pin Hexagonal Fuel Bundle Goth, Nolan E.; Jones, Philip; Nguyen, Thien D. 2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Volume 6A: Thermal-Hydraulics and Safety Analyses https://doi.org/10.1115/ICONE26-81462	conference	October 2018
Numerical prediction of flow and heat transfer in a loosely spaced bare rod bundle Shams, A.; Mikuž, B.; Roelofs, F. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 73 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2018.07.006	journal	October 2018
Numerical implementation of the Cheng and Todreas correlation for wire wrapped bundle friction factors-desirable improvements in the transition flow region Chen, S. K.; Petroski, R.; Todreas, N. E. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 263 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2013.06.012	journal	October 2013
Hydrodynamic models and correlations for bare and wire-wrapped hexagonal rod bundles — Bundle friction factors, subchannel friction factors and mixing parameters Cheng, Shih-Kuei; Todreas, Neil E. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 92, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0029-5493(86)90249-9	journal	April 1986
The upgraded Cheng and Todreas correlation for pressure drop in hexagonal wire-wrapped rod bundles Chen, S. K.; Chen, Y. M.; Todreas, N. E. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 335 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2018.05.010	journal	August 2018
Blocked Flow Subchannel Simulation Comparison With Single-Phase Flow Data Teyssedou, A.; Tapucu, A.; Camarero, R. Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 114, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2910017	journal	June 1992
A CFD analysis of flow blockage phenomena in ALFRED LFR demo fuel assembly Di Piazza, Ivan; Magugliani, Fabrizio; Tarantino, Mariano Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 276 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2014.05.033	journal	September 2014
Turbulent flow and vortex characteristics in a blocked subchannel of a helically wrapped rod bundle Nguyen, Thien; White, Lance; Vaghetto, Rodolfo Experiments in Fluids, Vol. 60, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-019-2778-2	journal	July 2019
PTV/PIV measurements of turbulent flows in interior subchannels of a 61-pin wire-wrapped hexagonal fuel bundle Goth, Nolan; Jones, Philip; Duy Nguyen, Thien International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 71 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2018.03.021	journal	June 2018
Experimental Study of the Diversion Crossflow Caused by Subchannel Blockages. Part I: Experimental Procedures and Mass Flow Rates in the Channels Genc¸ay, S.; Tapucu, A.; Troche, N. Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 106, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3243143	journal	December 1984
URANS prediction of flow fluctuations in rod bundle with split-type spacer grid Mikuž, Blaž; Tiselj, Iztok International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 64 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2017.01.008	journal	April 2017
Mean Pressure Distribution and Drag Coefficient of Wire-Wrapped Cylinders Yang, E. E.; Rahai, H. R.; Nakayama, A. Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 116, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2910285	journal	June 1994
Evaluation of existing correlations for the prediction of pressure drop in wire-wrapped hexagonal array pin bundles Chen, S. K.; Todreas, N. E.; Nguyen, N. T. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 267 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2013.12.003	journal	February 2014
Analysis of flow and heat transfer through a partially blocked fuel subassembly of fast breeder reactor Sarkar, Madhusree; Velusamy, K.; Munshi, P. Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 118 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2019.103142	journal	January 2020
Experimental Study of the Diversion Crossflow Caused by Subchannel Blockages. Part II: Pressures in the Channels and the Comparison of the COBRA III-C Predictions With Experimental Data Tapucu, A.; Genc¸ay, S.; Troche, N. Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 106, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3243144	journal	December 1984
Experimental investigation on the influence of gap vortex streets on fluid-structure interactions in hexagonal bundle geometries Bertocchi, F.; Rohde, M.; Kloosterman, J. L. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 79 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2019.108443	journal	October 2019

Similar Records

Turbulent flow and vortex characteristics in a blocked subchannel of a helically wrapped rod bundle

Journal Article · 2019 · Experiments in Fluids · OSTI ID:1570696

Experimental investigation of turbulent wake flows in a helically wrapped rod bundle in presence of localized blockages

Journal Article · 2020 · Physics of Fluids · OSTI ID:1801264

Related Subjects

Engineering

Experimental Study on the Effect of Localized Blockages on the Friction Factor of a 61-Pin Wire-Wrapped Bundle

Citation Formats

References (34)

Similar Records

Related Subjects