The findings of this research have brought to the development of a cohesive system that generates hydrogen and power via the utilization of a thermochemical copper-chlorine cycle, a small lead-cooled fast reactor, and a Brayton cycle. As part of this study, the system that was developed is investigated from a thermodynamic perspective, and the performance of the system is evaluated based on its energy and exertion efficiency. Thermochemical water splitting produces hydrogen in a four-stage thermoelectric copper-chlorine cycle, which is followed by the Brayton cycle producing energy and compression of the produced hydrogen to lower its storage volume. Chemical and energy process simulation software (Aspen Plus) was used for modeling and simulation in order to develop a cycle system that effectively uses the heat produced by the thermo-chemical cycle. We also looked into how various energy conversion technologies were affected by important characteristics. It is determined that the subsystem reheat Brayton cycle has the maximum overall efficiency. In addition, the improved Brayton cycle for each device exergy is analyzed to vary the parameters to control the inflow into the system exergy.

Helical Cruciform Fuel (HCF) embodies advancement in the fusion of unique geometric design with state-of-the-art metallic alloy materials. This innovative design leverages the optimized heat transfer characteristics of its distinctive geometry to potentially achieve elevated power output levels. Additionally, the employment of U-50Zr fuel contributes significantly to reducing the risk of potential accidents. The operation of nuclear fuel is a typical multi physics process, and accurate evaluation and prediction require advanced research methods. The open-source, parallel finite element framework MOOSE, a renowned software platform, is integral to the effective modeling and simulation of these intricate processes. Based on the MOOSE framework, simulate the operational behavior of HCF under high burnup conditions in pressurized water reactor environment and challenging scenarios of loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The calculation results indicate that U-10Zr experiences excessive swelling during the initial burnup period, and stress will concentrate at the concave arc position of the cladding. The swelling of U-50Zr gradually increases with stress, rendering it a more suitable alternative fuel for HCF. During LOCA accidents, the mechanical behavior of the fuel assembly, particularly the cladding, undergoes a sharp decrease in stress after an increase. Notably, the minimum axial stress post-cladding stress drop occurs near the central height. Furthermore, the two axial helices of the concave and convex arcs of the cladding exhibit opposing characteristics during such accidents. A comparative analysis between LB-LOCA and SB-LOCA reveals a significant lag in the reduction of cladding stress in the case of SB-LOCA.

A framework is presented for the spectral-element code Nek5000, which has been, and still is, widely used in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) community to perform high-fidelity numerical simulations of transitional and high Reynolds number flows. Despite the widespread usage, there is a deficiency in having a comprehensive set of tools specifically designed for conducting simulations using Nek5000. To address this issue, we have created a unique framework that allows, inter alia, to perform stability analysis and compute statistics of a turbulent flow. The framework encapsulates modules that provide tools, run-time parameters and memory structures, defining interfaces and performing different tasks. First, the framework architecture is described, showing its non-intrusive approach. Then, the modules are presented, explaining the main tools that have been implemented and describing some of the test cases. The code is open-source and available online, with proper documentation, to-run instructions and related examples.

During severe core meltdown accidents of a light water reactor (LWR), the core melt (molten corium) may fall into a water pool, resulting in molten fuel coolant interactions (FCI). Quantitative understanding of FCI phenomena is paramount to corium risk assessment of LWRs such as Nordic boiling water reactors which employ reactor cavity flooding as severe accident management strategy (SAMS). Melt jet breakup and droplet fragmentation play an important role in FCI, affecting debris coolability and steam explosion energetics which are considered in ex-vessel corium risk assessment. The present study is concerned with numerical simulation of melt jet breakup in a water pool using a multiphase computational fluid dynamics (MCFD) approach where a coupled Level Set and Volume of Fluid (CLSVOF) method is used to capture melt-coolant interfaces. The focus is placed on the prediction of interface instabilities and jet breakup length, and their influential factors (melt materials, jet diameter, fall height, in-pool structures, multiple jets and pitch/diameter ratio). The simulation results are compared with the data of the DEFOR-M tests carried out at KTH. There is a good agreement between simulation and experiment, in terms of jet deformation pattern and jet breakup length. It is also found that the jet breakup length is different from the values predicted by well-known correlations (e.g., Taylor's, Epstein Fauske's and Matsuo's). Based on the experimental and numerical data, a new correlation for the jet breakup length is developed in the similar formula of the Satio's correlation.

The melt infiltration in porous debris is of importance to severe accident prediction and mitigation in nuclear power plants (NPPs), but its mechanism remains elusive. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is proposed to simulate the evolution of melt infiltration within porous media, incorporating both solidification and melting processes. The CFD model is validated against the experiment (REMCOD facility) and Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) simulation results. Building upon this validated model, the influence of the melt superheat, the initial particle temperature, and its surface wettability on melt infiltration dynamics are mainly analyzed. It is found that increased initial melt superheat enhances melt infiltration length and rate; higher initial particle temperatures promote deeper and faster infiltration, while lower temperatures may result in solidification that blocks further infiltration. Additionally, the wettable particulate bed can enhance melt relocation and heat transfer, but it also accelerates the solidification of the melt, which complicates the infiltration process. Furthermore, phase changes could intensify melt flow instability. This work may expand our understanding of melt infiltration dynamics and pave the way to severe accident modeling in NPPs. 

An experimental study on multi-nozzle spray cooling of a downward-facing heater surface has been carried out in the SPAYCOR facility at KTH, to provide data assessing the feasibility of spray cooling for in-vessel melt retention (IVR) in light water reactors. To help understand the characteristics and influential factors of the liquid film formed on the heater surface in spray, a numerical study on the dynamics of an isothermal liquid film on the heater surface has also been performed by adopting the OpenFOAM platform, and Eulerian and Lagrangian methods for liquid film and droplets, respectively. The present study is an extension of the previous modeling from hydrodynamics to thermal-hydraulics of the spray cooling problem, via adding heat flux of the heater and two convective heat transfer models between the heater wall and the liquid film. Moreover, droplets-film interaction model is modified. The SPAYCOR experiment is simulated by the numerical models, and the simulation results show a good agreement between the numerical and experimental data, in particular when the modified droplets-film interaction model is applied. After the validation of the numerical models against the SPAYCOR experiment, the numerical models are employed to investigate influential factors on heat transfer, such as mass flux, nozzle-to-surface distance, and nozzle matrix layout. The results indicate that heat transfer is enhanced by increasing mass flux and decreasing nozzle-to-surface distance, and the change of nozzle matrix from inline to staggered layout has little impact on heat removal capacity or temperature distribution of the multi-nozzle spray cooling.

Motivated by the interest in steam explosion in chemical solutions and seawater, a series of tests were carried out in the MISTEE facility at KTH to investigate steam explosion characteristics as multiple molten droplets of tin were falling through a coolant pool containing deionized water, boric acid solution, neutral solution of boric acid and sodium phosphate, and seawater, separately. The experimental results revealed distinct and complex characteristics of steam explosion of multiple droplets, which were not observed in previous single-droplet steam explosion experiments. The tin melt samples of 5 g and 20 g were employed to formulate different numbers of multiple droplets. In the test with 5 g melt, steam explosion was more energetic at a deeper explosion location − a similar trend found in the single-droplet steam explosion test with 1 g melt. However, the test of 20 g melt did not show a clear trend in a wide range of explosion depth. The peak pressure and impulse increased with increasing mass of melt sample. The steam explosion occurred more closely to the coolant pool surfaces in the seawater and chemical solutions than in deionized water. Steam explosion intensity was significantly reduced in a neutral solution containing 1.2 wt.% boric acid and sodium phosphate. The influence of the chemical solutions on steam explosion was diminishing in the tests with multiple droplets.

In assessment of severe accident risk in light water reactors (LWRs), steam explosion is a nonnegligible phenomenon following a relocation of core melt (corium) into coolant, and thus various research efforts have been paid to steam explosion. There had been numerous studies showing that the occurrence of steam explosions is influenced by several factors such as melt and coolant temperatures, melt materials, non-condensable gasses, etc. However, most of the existing experiments used deionized (DI) water or tap water as coolant, with little consideration of the effect of chemicals (e.g. boric acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium phosphate) commonly applied in reactor coolant. To examine the effect of the chemical additives in coolant on steam explosion, the present study performs a series of molten Tin droplet-coolant interaction tests using DI water and different chemical solutions, including H3BO3 solutions, NaOH + H3BO3 neutral solutions, and Na3PO4 + H3BO3 neutral solutions. The experimental results show that adding NaOH and Na3PO4 in boric acid solution significantly affects the occurrence probability of spontaneous steam explosion, because of the presence of PO43− and H+ ions. When different solutions have equivalent concentrations of H3BO3, the peak pressure values of the spontaneous steam explosion of Sn droplets are similar among various solutions. Compared with those in DI water, steam explosion in the chemical solutions occurs predominantly within a narrow range of depth from 28 mm to 40 mm and produces a much higher peak pressure. This implies that more energetic steam explosions may occur in the chemical solutions.

The steam explosion plays an essential role in the safety analysis of light water reactors (LWRs). Some studies have demonstrated that the occurrence of steam explosions is dependent on many factors such as melt and coolant temperatures, melt and coolant properties, non -condensable gases, etc. After the Fukushima accident, seawater as an emergency coolant and its impact on fuel coolant interactions are receiving attention. However, there is still little knowledge on the impact of seawater on steam explosion. The present study is intended to examine the effect of coolant salinity on steam explosion through a series of tests with single molten droplet falling in different coolant pools (DI water, and seawater at different salinities from 7.7 g/kg to 35 g/kg). The experimental results reveal that the salinity of coolant significantly influences the probability of spontaneous steam explosion of molten tin droplets. The probability of steam explosion generally increases with increasing salinity from 0 to 17.5 g/kg. The molten droplet in seawater experiences more pronounced deformation at same depth before the vapor film of the droplet collapses. What's more, the peak pressure generated by steam explosion in seawater is notably higher than that in DI water. The fragmentation of molten tin droplet after the explosion is enhanced accordingly.