Validation of the integration of CFD and SAS4A/SASSYS-1: Analysis of EBR-II shutdown heat removal test 17

Recent analyses have demonstrated the need to model multidimensional phenomena, particularly thermal stratification in outlet plena, during safety analyses of loss-of-flow transients of certain liquid-metal cooled reactor designs. Therefore, Argonne's reactor systems safety code SAS4A/SASSYS-1 is being enhanced by integrating 3D computational fluid dynamics models of the plena. A validation exercise of the new tool is being performed by analyzing the protected loss-of-flow event demonstrated by the EBR-II Shutdown Heat Removal Test 17. In this analysis, the behavior of the coolant in the cold pool is modeled using the CFD code STAR-CCM+, while the remainder of the cooling system and the reactor core are modeled with SAS4A/SASSYS-1. This paper summarizes the code integration strategy and provides the predicted 3D temperature and velocity distributions inside the cold pool during SHRT-17. The results of the coupled analysis should be considered preliminary at this stage, as the exercise pointed to the need to improve the CFD model of the cold pool tank. (authors)