Complex Geometry Creation and Turbulent Conjugate Heat Transfer Modeling

I. Bodey[1], R. Arimilli[1], and J. Freels[2]
[1]Dept. of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Eng., The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
[2]Research Reactors Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
Published in 2011

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is an 85 MW, light-water moderated, research reactor that operates at low temperature and high pressure. The HFIR is presently scheduled to convert from a high enriched uranium fuel (HEU) to a low enriched uranium fuel (LEU) in 2019.

Due to cost constraints, not all experiments will be repeated for the LEU fuel and as a result simulations will have an increasing role in the research and development process. The nuclear safety group at the HFIR has chosen COMSOL to replace the legacy Steady State Heat Transfer Code (SSHTC) for safety analysis simulations of the new LEU fuel.