Study on Three-dimensional Thermal-hydraulic Characteristics of a Space Reactor based on Open Lattice Structure

Wang Zhipeng; Zhao Jing; Shi Lei

doi:10.13832/j.jnpe.2023.02.0054

Volume 44 Issue 2

Apr. 2023

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Wang Zhipeng, Zhao Jing, Shi Lei. Study on Three-dimensional Thermal-hydraulic Characteristics of a Space Reactor based on Open Lattice Structure[J]. Nuclear Power Engineering, 2023, 44(2): 54-61. doi: 10.13832/j.jnpe.2023.02.0054

Citation:

Wang Zhipeng, Zhao Jing, Shi Lei. Study on Three-dimensional Thermal-hydraulic Characteristics of a Space Reactor based on Open Lattice Structure[J]. Nuclear Power Engineering, 2023, 44(2): 54-61. doi: 10.13832/j.jnpe.2023.02.0054

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Study on Three-dimensional Thermal-hydraulic Characteristics of a Space Reactor based on Open Lattice Structure

doi: 10.13832/j.jnpe.2023.02.0054

Wang Zhipeng^{1, 2
,},
Zhao Jing¹,
Shi Lei¹

1.
Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Space Utilization, Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100094, China

Received Date: 2022-05-18
Rev Recd Date: 2022-06-30
Publish Date: 2023-04-15

Abstract

Abstract

High temperature gas cooled reactor combined with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation is an efficient space power system. It can meet the requirements in space tasks for high power and high efficiency and thus has broad application prospects. In this paper, a core scheme composed of 217 fuel rods in a triangular arrangement is proposed in accordance with the design conditions to be met for MHD power generation and with the reference to the open lattice scheme in Prometheus Project. The three-dimensional modeling of the space reactor is carried out after determining the flow model through the experimental data. The thermal-hydraulic characteristics are studied on the basis of taking into consideration the gap structure, the fuel rod power distribution and the in-reactor radiation. Finally, sensitivity analysis on thermal parameters is carried out mainly for the ambient temperature and the external surface emissivity. The calculation results show that the thermal design of the core meets the requirements of material temperature and pressure drop limit. The transverse flow of coolant in the fuel area is not obvious and there is no complex vortex structure. The flow phenomenon is relatively simple. The steady-state thermal calculation results are not sensitive to the change of ambient temperature, but the change of emissivity has a relatively large impact.
- Space nuclear power,
- Rod-shaped fuel,
- Thermal-hydraulic characteristics,
- Sensitivity analysis

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References(12)

References

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