Hybrid medium model for conjugate heat transfer modeling in the core of sodium-cooled fast reactor

Core-wide temperature distribution in sodium-cooled fast reactor plays a key role in its decay heat removal process, however the prediction for temperature distribution is quite complex due to the conjugate heat transfer between the assembly flow and the inter-wrapper flow. Hybrid medium model has been proposed for conjugate heat transfer modeling in the core. The core is modeled with a Realistic modeled inter-wrapper flow and hybrid medium modeled assembly flow. To validate present model, simulations for a three-assembly model were performed with Realistic modeling, traditional porous medium model and hybrid medium model, respectively. The influences of Uniform/Non-Uniform power distribution among assemblies and the Peclet number within the assembly flow have been considered. Compared to traditional porous medium model, present model shows a better agreement with in Realistic modeling prediction of the temperature distribution and the radial heat transfer between the inter-wrapper flow and the assembly flow. (C) 2019 Korean Nuclear Society, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC.