Application of the MiniPanda test case ‘erosion of a stratified layer by a vertical jet’ for CFD validation

• Small-scale experiment with innovative temperature wire mesh field measurements.
• Discussion of benefits and limitations of small-scale setup regarding existing data base.
• Systematic validation of a U-RANS model under consideration of best practice guidelines.
• Quantitative point-to-point and phenomenological field-to-field comparison.

In order to allow development and validation of CFD models for hydrogen mixing and transport in the containment, a comprehensive experimental test campaign was performed at the small scale MiniPanda facility at ETH Zurich. The considered test series aimed at studying the turbulent erosion of a stratified light gas by means of a vertical air jet with different momenta. Due to its new and innovative measurements, e.g., with temperature wire mesh sensors, the global mixing and the local interaction of jet and stratification are characterized in a high resolution in space and time. Both are essential for a detailed model assessment, to identify possible error sources and rate their effect on the global scenario evolution. Consequently, the tests are well suited for CFD model development and validation and complement the data basis gained before, e.g., in the frame of the joint OECD/NEA-SETH-2 Project (2007–2010) (OECD/NEA, 2012).Based on a description of the MiniPanda facility and the ‘layer erosion’ test series, the application of a U-RANS CFD approach, capable to be applied also for large scale application, is discussed. Numerical model uncertainties are minimized according to the best practice guidelines before a systematic comparison against the experimental data is performed and the capability of the model to predict the turbulent mixing at the interface and the inter-compartment mass transfer is successfully validated.