Thermal Hydraulics for Boiling and Passive Systems
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Mechanical Engineering
Abstract
New nuclear power stations are likely to be a major contributor to energy security and reduction of carbon emissions. Such reactors will almost certainly be water-cooled. Whilst water is a very good coolant, steam is not, and the water coolant can become steam under certain conditions. The three themes of this project are each aimed at developing a better understanding of when this transition occurs, and developing better techniques to predict this. This project is an international collaboration, between scientists at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in India, and groups at three UK universities. The better techniques will be based on experimental measurements of boiling systems to be conducted at BARC, in conjunction with the UK participants, and the development of computational models based on these.
Planned Impact
The main impact of the work will be in the provision of better models of the boiling, 'critical heat flux' phenomena and heat transfer to fluids at supercritical pressure. These will be important because they will allow designs to be proposed with greater confidence, and to have less conservative margins applied, improving both the safety and economics of the plant. This impact will be achieved by making sure the work is widely disseminated, via journal papers and conference presentation, but also by the extensive direct research-based interactions between the investigators and the nuclear industry.
Publications
Chandraker, D.
Validation of the Dryout Modelling Code, FIDOM
in Nuclear Engineering and Design (In Press)
Colombo M
(2016)
Accuracy of Eulerian-Eulerian, two-fluid CFD boiling models of subcooled boiling flows
in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Colombo M
(2016)
26th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering
Colombo M
(2015)
Prediction of bubble departure in forced convection boiling: A mechanistic model
in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Colombo M
(2016)
RANS simulation of bubble coalescence and break-up in bubbly two-phase flows
in Chemical Engineering Science
Colombo M
(2015)
Multiphase turbulence in bubbly flows: RANS simulations
in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
Colombo M.
(2017)
CFD Simulation of boiling flows with an eulerian-eulerian two-fluid model
in 17th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics, NURETH 2017
| Description | The work has contributed to the ability to understand and predict natural circulation and critical heat flux in nuclear reactors. |
| Exploitation Route | Further phenomenological methods development could be undertaken, to widen the scope of applicability. Further validation, to provide confidence for nuclear application, is needed. |
| Sectors | Energy |
| Description | EPSRC Indo-UK Civil Nuclear (Grace Time) |
| Amount | £681,131 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2016 |
| End | 02/2020 |
| Description | EPSRC Indo-UK Civil Nuclear (Network) |
| Amount | £204,533 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/M018296/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2015 |
| End | 10/2018 |
| Description | Indo-UK Civil Nuclear III (OICHF) |
| Amount | £112,729 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/M018261/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2016 |
| End | 01/2018 |
| Description | Collaboration with Indian DAE BARC |
| Organisation | Bhabbha Atomic Research Centre |
| Country | India |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We are collaborating in a series of projects under the Indo-UK Civil Nuclear Programme |
| Collaborator Contribution | We and BARC work together on developing measurements associated with various aspects of nuclear thermal hydraulics, and in the development and validation of models of these phenomena |
| Impact | Multiple publications, multiple visits to BARC, multiple hostings of Indian scientists in the UK |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Invited Lecture on the boiling, DNB, and its prediction, at BARC, Mumbai, February 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An invited lecture on boiling, DNB, and its prediction, to scientists from the Indian DAE laboratory BARC, and the associated HBNI University Institute |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited lecture to Westinghouse (Sweden) Meeting og BWR fuel users |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a lecture on BWR fuel Critical Heat Flux prediction methods |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |