Current status of thermal/hydraulic feasibility project for reduced-moderation water reactor (2) - development of two-phase flow simulation code with advanced interface tracking method

We start to develop a predictable technology for thermal-hydraulic performance of the RMWR core using an advanced numerical simulation technology. As a part of this technology development, we are developing the advanced interface tracking method to improve the conservation of volume of fluid. The present paper describes a part of the development of the two-phase flow simulation code TPFIT with the advanced interface tracking method. The numerical results applied to large-scale water-vapor two-phase flow in tight lattice rod bundles are shown and compared with experimental results. In the results of numerical simulation, a tendency of the predicted void fraction distribution in horizontal plane agreed with the measured values obtained by the advanced neutron radiography technique including the bridge formation of the liquid at the position of adjacent fuel rods where an interval is the narrowest