Computational fluid dynamics investigation of thermal

High-temperature gas-cooled reactor is a kind of advanced nuclear reactor in which the core is packed with spherical fuel elements. In high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, the operating temperature is higher than that in ordinary light water reactors. In an attempt to analyze the flow pattern and heat transfer situation to provide reference for the safe operation of the pebble bed reactors, a segment of simplified high-temperature gas-cooled reactor core is simulated with computational fluid dynamics method. Four kinds of arrangement, including simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, and a combination structure of body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic, are studied, respectively. Based on the simulation results, higher heat transfer capability and lower pebble temperature are obtained in the case with the most compact arrangement. The drag coefficient (Cd) for four arrangements with different inlet Reynolds number (Re) is obtained and relationship between Re and Cd is analyzed. In addition, a simulation with a broken fuel element in the body-centered cubic fluid domain has been performed. The results show that the presence of broken fuel may result in uneven flow, which will change the heat transfer condition. So it is better to avoid broken fuel element in a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor