Texas A&M University is participating in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy’s Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) program to develop instrumentation and tools for a proposed fast spectrum test reactor. Our research project aims to develop and implement techniques to quantify the transport and deposition of fission products in VTR Gas Fast Reactor (GFR) cartridge loop. Prior to applying the techniques to the complicated actual facility, it is essential to verify and validate the performance of developing techniques using numerical simulations and quantify their associated uncertainties. This manuscript presents our numerical study of particle transport and deposition in a proof-of-concept facility.

The proof-of-concept facility has series of three square duct test sections, each has 3-inch square cross-section, 24 inches in length for a combined total length of 72 inches. The numerical simulation domain is built upon the geometrical dimensions of the experimental facility. The main stream in the channel is solved by the Eulerian turbulent model while the motion of particles is interpreted as the Lagrangian framework. It is assumed that a well-mixed air-particle mixture at a constant temperature is injected into the horizontal channel. Lagrangian simulations for surrogate particles allow us to understand their behavior precisely.

Reynolds stress model is selected to reproduce secondary flow and accompanied secondary drag force. The state-of-the-art Lagrangian approach combined with a random walk model is employed to investigate behaviors of surrogate particles within the square channel, coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Gravity settling is also considered.

Deposition velocity and penetration efficiency are estimated to represent characteristics of particle deposition in the proof-of-concept facility. Since conventional method to measure deposition velocity is developed based on Eulerian framework, it is not adequate to be directly adopted in the Lagrangian framework. This study proposes a new numerical technique to measure deposition velocity which can be efficiently used in the Lagrangian framework simulation. This has good agreement with both our experimental measurements and correlations available in the literature. Using this technique, correlations for deposition velocity are established as the functions of normalized channel length, Stokes number and Reynolds number. Finally, relationship between the deposition velocity and penetration efficiency are scrutinized and the correlation is proposed. By doing so, penetration efficiency can be directly compared with many conventional reference data based on the deposition velocity.


Deposition Velocity and Penetration Efficiency in a Square Channel Using a Lagrangian-Based Modeling Approach

Division / Sponsors: 
Power Division & Nuclear Engineering Division (NED)

Power Conference
Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/POWER/POWER2020/volume/83747

International Conference on Nuclear Engineering
Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ICONE/ICONE2020/volume/83761

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