CFD study on inlet flow blockage accidents in rectangular fuel assembly

Three-dimensional transient CFD simulation of 90% inlet flow blockage accidents in rectangular fuel assembly is performed, using the dynamic mesh technique. One-dimensional steady calculation is done for comparison, using Relap5 code. Similar mass flow rate redistributions and asymmetric power redistributions of the plate in the blocked scenario are obtained. No boiling is predicted in both simulations, however, CFD approach provides more in-depth investigations of flow transients and the thermal-hydraulic interaction. The development of flow blockage transients is so fast that the rapid redistribution of mass flow rates occurs in only 0.015 s after the formation of the blockage. As a sequence of the inlet flow blockage, jet-flows and reversed flows occur in the blocked channel. This leads to complex temperature distributions of coolants and fuel plates, in which, the highest coolant temperature no longer occurs around the channel outlet. The present study shows the advantage and significance of the application of three-dimensional transient CFD technique in investigating flow blockage accidents.