Numerical Simulation of Water Flow through the Bottom End Piece of a Nuclear Fuel Assembly

An experimental and numerical study was conducted on the pressure loss of flows through the bottom end piece of a nuclear fuel assembly. To determine an optimized numerical methodology using the commercial CFD code, CFX 10.0, a series of preliminary simulations of water flows through perforated plates in a square ducts were performed. A perforated plate is a predominant geometry of the bottom end piece, responsible for the majority of the flow’s pressure drop. The numerical pressure loss applying an optimized mesh and the k-e turbulence model showed good agreement when compared with a conventional methodology (Idelchik). Numerical results for the standard bottom end piece were obtained applying the previously determined mesh criteria and the k-e turbulence model with some geometric simplifications. The agreement between the numerical simulations and experimental results can be considered satisfactory but suggests further numerical investigations with the bottom piece under real conditions of the experiment, without the geometric simplifications and with a gap between the piece and the wall of the flow channel. Additionally, other turbulence models should be appraised for this complex geometry.