CFD simulation of vertical seven-rod bundle cooled with supercritical Freon-12

In this paper, a seven-rod bare bundle was simulated using ANSYS Fluent 6.3.26 to accurately predict the fluid flow and heat transfer behaviour under supercritical flow conditions. Seven turbulence models were compared to identify the appropriate model to predict the experiments performed at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering on a vertically oriented seven-rod bare bundle cooled with supercritical Freon-12. It was found that predictions of wall temperatures and heat transfer coefficients are sensitive to the choice of turbulence model as well as to the near-wall treatment. Overall, the CFD simulations were able to predict the measured sheath temperature profiles along the length of the bundle within reasonable accuracy. (author)