Validation of ANSYS CFX for gas and liquid metal flows with conjugate heat transfer within the European project THINS

Highlights: • ANSYS CFX is validated for gas and liquid metal flows. • L-STAR and TALL-3D experiments are simulated. • Complex flow and heat transfer phenomena are modelled. • Conjugate heat transfer has to be considered in CFD analyses. - Abstract: Within the FP7 European project THINS (Thermal Hydraulics of Innovative Nuclear Systems), numerical tools for the simulation of the thermal-hydraulics of next generation rector systems were developed, applied and validated for innovative coolants. The Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH participated in THINS with activities related to the development and validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and coupled System Thermal Hydraulics (STH) – CFD codes. High quality measurements from the L-STAR and TALL-3D experiments were used to assess the numerical results. Two-equation eddy viscosity and scale resolving turbulence models were used in the validation process of ANSYS CFX for gas and liquid metal flows with conjugate heat transfer. This paper provides a brief overview on the main results achieved at GRS within the project.