NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES, Volume. 48, Issue 3, 030605(2025)

Flow field characteristics of the mixing vane in the fuel rod bundle region of a pressurized water reactor

Xiaoqing CHEN1... Guangliang CHEN1,2,*, Hao QIAN2, Lin SUN3, Qian LI4, Yi HU4, Teng YI5 and Dalin ZHANG1 |Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiao tong University, Xi'an 710049, China
  • 2School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
  • 3China Academy of Atomic Energy Sciences, Beijing 101100, China
  • 4China Three Gorges Group Co., Ltd., Wuhan 430010, China
  • 5China Changjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd., Wuhan 430014, China
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    Background

    The mixing vane plays an important role in reducing the hot-spot factor of the core, and the current studies are mostly aimed at analyzing the heat transfer performance, flow characteristics, and mixing performance under different mixing wing types and deflection angles. There are fewer studies on the correlation and quantitative effects of the fine structure of the mixing wing on the flow field.

    Purpose

    This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of mixing vane structure characteristics on the thermal hydraulic performance of the reactor core, and analyze the correlation between mixing vane structure and flow fields.

    Methods

    Firstly, the parameterized and automated construction of the split vane structure was realized through the geometric automated configuration and calculation technology based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations. Secondly, through the orthogonal design of the split vane structure parameters and the analysis of the simulation results, the influence of the split vane structure on the thermal parameters such as the flow field pressure drop and cross-flow velocity was clarified. Simultaneously, the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) method was used to compare the importance of different stirred wing parameters. Finally, the optimal mixing vane structure was obtained by direct analysis and its flow field characteristics were calculated. The flow field downstream of the churning wing was further calculated and analyzed.

    Results

    Under the geometric structure of split mixing vane adopted in this article, the maximum difference in outlet pressure of different churning wings is 1.1 kPa, which is 41% of the average pressure drop in the whole computational fluid domain, and the maximum difference in cross-flow velocity under different churning wings is 1.1 m·s-1, with the maximum cross-flow velocity being 173% of the average cross-flow velocity. The angle of the mixing vane is strongly correlated with the flow field that has the greatest impact on the mixing effect, followed by the shape and length of the mixing vane. The setting of the thermal boundary conditions has less influence on the flow field results with the optimal design of churning wing.

    Conclusions

    The method proposed in this provides a design basis for subsequent research and engineering application of the mixing wing structures.

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    Xiaoqing CHEN, Guangliang CHEN, Hao QIAN, Lin SUN, Qian LI, Yi HU, Teng YI, Dalin ZHANG. Flow field characteristics of the mixing vane in the fuel rod bundle region of a pressurized water reactor[J]. NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES, 2025, 48(3): 030605

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    Paper Information

    Category: NUCLEAR ENERGY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

    Received: Jul. 17, 2024

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Apr. 15, 2025

    The Author Email: CHEN Guangliang (陈广亮)

    DOI:10.11889/j.0253-3219.2025.hjs.48.240292

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