Pages: 352-361

Authors: Philip Babitz, Dongok Choe, Tatjana Jevremovic

Abstract

The thermodynamic conditions of the University of Utah's TRIGA Reactor were simulated using SolidWorks Flow Simulation, Ansys, Fluent and PARET-ANL. The models are developed for the reactor's currently maximum operating power of 90 kW, and a few higher power levels to analyze thermohydraulics and heat transfer aspects in determining a design basis for higher power including the cost estimate. It was found that the natural convection current becomes much more pronounced at higher power levels with vortex shedding also occurring. A departure  from  nucleate  boiling  analysis  showed  that while nucleate boiling begins near 210 kW it remains in this state and does not approach the critical heat flux at powers up to 500 kW. Based on these studies, two upgrades are proposed for extended operation and possibly higher reactor power level. Together with the findings from Part I studies, we conclude that increase of the reactor power is highly feasible yet dependable on its purpose and associated investments.

 

 

Key words: TRIGA, research reactor, heat transfer, FLUENT, SolidWorks, PARET

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