Analysis of coolant flow at the outlet of the physical model of the fuel assembly II. of the nuclear reactor VVER 440 / V213

To safely and efficiently load the fuel assemblies of the VVER 440 / V 213 nuclear reactor, the relation between the temperature of the coolant at the outlet of the fuel assembly, measured by a thermocouple in the assembly’s axis, and the mean coolant temperature, present in the plane of the thermocouple, must be analysed. Based on the analysis of the coolant flow at the output of the physical model of the fuel assembly I. [1] and published CFD simulations [2,3,4] it was shown, that a special attention has to be paid to the influence of the water flow in the central tube on the temperature and velocity profile of the coolant at the thermocouple’s plane in the fuel assembly. For this reason, an experimental device with a physical model of the fuel assembly II. of the nuclear reactor VVER 440 / V 213 was designed, manufactured, and operated at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering STU in Bratislava.