Simulation of thermal hydraulic behavior of dry storage cask cooling during convection phenomena : parametric study

Abstract EN

This paper is concerned with the investigations of the thermal hydraulic behavior during the cooling process of the spent nuclear fuel discharged from power reactors, which is stored in a dry storage cask containing 21 fuel assemblies during normal and accident conditions.

An experimental test rig has been designed and constructed to simulate this case.

The test rig is equipped with twenty one verticals electrical heaters made of steel to simulate the spent fuel.

It is equipped with 38 thermocouples to measure surface and coolant temperatures.

The test rig is used to investigate the effect of the decay heat variation on thermal-hydraulic behaveor.

The decay heat changed from 210 to 420, 630, 840 watt.

Scenarios are made for an accident condition by blockage at the inlet and outlet of coolant.

The ANSYS- CFX code has been used to simulate these effects.

Comparisons between experimental and calculated results are performed