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Title: Evaluation of Thin Plate Hydrodynamic Stability through a Combined Numerical Modeling and Experimental Effort

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1365569· OSTI ID:1365569
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  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  2. Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)

An experimental and computational effort was undertaken in order to evaluate the capability of the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation tools to describe the deflection of a Missouri University Research Reactor (MURR) fuel element plate redesigned for conversion to lowenriched uranium (LEU) fuel due to hydrodynamic forces. Experiments involving both flat plates and curved plates were conducted in a water flow test loop located at the University of Missouri (MU), at conditions and geometries that can be related to the MURR LEU fuel element. A wider channel gap on one side of the test plate, and a narrower on the other represent the differences that could be encountered in a MURR element due to allowed fabrication variability. The difference in the channel gaps leads to a pressure differential across the plate, leading to plate deflection. The induced plate deflection the pressure difference induces in the plate was measured at specified locations using a laser measurement technique. High fidelity 3-D simulations of the experiments were performed at MU using the computational fluid dynamics code STAR-CCM+ coupled with the structural mechanics code ABAQUS. Independent simulations of the experiments were performed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) using the STAR-CCM+ code and its built-in structural mechanics solver. The simulation results obtained at MU and ANL were compared with the corresponding measured plate deflections.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) - Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation - Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1365569
Report Number(s):
ANL/RTR/TM-16/9; 136020
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English