Development of a single-channel multi-physics model

for lead fast reactors

Manuele Aufiero, Antonio Cammi, Carlo Fiorina, Lelio Luzzi

Politecnico di Milano - Department of Energy

Nuclear Engineering Division - CeSNEF
Via La Masa, 34 - 20156 Milano, Italy
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
In this work, an extension of the Multi-Physics Modelling (MPM) approach developed at
the Politecnico di Milano for the nuclear reactor analysis is presented, with reference to the
lead-cooled ELSY reactor. Within the same computing platform (represented by COMSOL
R
Multiphysics
), the Multi-Physics (MP) scheme of analysis is based on the simultaneous solution of the fully coupled and time-dependent partial differential equations describing heat
transfer, fluid dynamics and neutronics in a fuel pin, and in the surrounding lead. The MPM
approach aims at intrinsically coupling the different phenomena occurring in a nuclear reactor,
without requiring data-passing between different platforms (i.e., through the conventional coupled code techniques). In such scheme of analysis, the main development of present work is
represented by the explicit consideration of the point-wise temperature and density dependence
of neutron cross-sections as well of the thermal expansion effects. Throughout the paper, the
features of the extended MPM approach are investigated, with reference to a single-channel representative of the active core average conditions of the ELSY reactor, at beginning of life. The
extended-MP model proves itself capable of describing the reactor behaviour both in steadystate and transient conditions, with reasonable computational requirements and good degree of
convergence.

INTRODUCTION

The Lead Fast Reactor (LFR) has been selected as one of the innovative nuclear power
plants able to meet the Generation IV International Forum (GIF-IV) goals [1]: sustainability,
economics, safety and reliability, proliferation-resistance and physical protection. This fission
nuclear reactor has been the subject of several studies up to now, and numerous investigations
have been carried out to assess its effective potentialities [2].
In this context, the Multi-Physics Modelling (MPM) approach [3] is a promising tool for
analysing the reactor system, both in operative and accidental conditions. The MPM approach consists of a set of non-linear and time-dependent coupled partial differential equations,
which are simultaneously solved in the same simulation environment and are descriptive of the
805.1

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different physics (neutronics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, etc.) occurring in the nuclear reactor. This approach is expected to provide a better description of the couplings among different
phenomena.
The Multi-Physics (MP) model herein presented is an extension of a previous work carried
out at the Politecnico di Milano [4], and represents a new building block in the realization
of a more complete simulation tool for the LFR core analysis. In particular, the treatment of
solid mechanics for the evaluation of the thermal expansion effects is introduced in the MPM
scheme. Moreover, a different treatment of the neutron cross-sections is considered, which
takes into account their dependence on the local temperature and density fields inside the system
(represented by a single-channel of the core).
Because of the availability of detailed core design specifications, the European Lead-cooled
SYstem (ELSY) [2] is chosen as test case to assess the simulation capability of the extended
MP model, both in steady-state and transient conditions. Currently, two ELSY core layout
options are available [2]. The present work refers to the Open Square Fuel Assembly (OSFA)
configuration, whose details can be found in Ref. [5].
The paper is organised as follows. Section 2 introduces the geometry and the parameters
of the analysed single-channel, and provides a brief description of the extended MPM scheme
of analysis as well as of its numerical implementation. In Section 3, the results obtained by
the present model are shown in terms of steady-state spatial distribution of some quantities of
interest, and two case studies are presented to exemplify the MPM capabilities for simulating
the dynamic behaviour during accidental scenarios.

MULTI-PHYSICS MODELLING APPROACH

In this section, the multi-physics scheme of analysis is presented by describing the different
equations governing fluid dynamics, heat transfer and neutronics, which are solved in the same
simulation environment. The inclusion of thermal expansion effects in such scheme is achieved
by adopting the equations of solid mechanics and combining them to the other physics, by
means of the moving mesh technique [6]. The work focuses on the potentialities of the
MPM approach to catch the couplings between the various physics in the time scales typical
of operational/accidental transients. The details of the actual geometry of the channel, as well
as the treatment of irradiation induced and other mechanical effects, are out of the scope of the
present paper.

2.1

Analysed geometry

In the proposed MP model, a two-dimensional, axial-symmetric representation (r, z) of a

single-channel of the ELSY OSFA reactor is considered. Reference is made to the active core
average conditions, at beginning of life (BOL). The main parameters of the analysed channel
are listed in Table 1. Figure 1 shows the geometry of the fuel pin.

2.2

Neutronics

In the neutronic model of the ELSY single-channel, the multi-group diffusion theory is
adopted [7]. Integrating over a finite set of energy intervals (six) the continuous neutron diffusion equation, along with the balance equations for six groups of precursors, the following set
of partial differential equations is obtained:
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805.3

Table 1: Main parameters of the analysed core

single-channel
Average linear power
Inlet lead temperature
Outlet lead temperature
Inlet lead velocity
Pu enrichment
Fuel density
Fuel pin active height
Fuel pellet hole diameter
Fuel pellet outer diameter
Cladding inner diameter
Cladding outer diameter
Pin-pitch
a

23.5
400
480
1.6
17
95
900
2.0
9.0
9.3
10.5
13.9

kW m1
C
C
m s1
V ol.%
%T D a
mm
mm
mm
mm
mm
mm

Figure 1: Analysed fuel pin and surrounding

lead. Radial sizes at nominal conditions (room
temperature), expressed in mm

Theoretical Density

X
X
1 g
= Dg g a,g g
s,gg0 g +
s,g0 g g0 +
vg t
g 0 6=g
g 0 6=g

+ (1 ) p,g

6
X

(f )g0 g0 +

g 0 =1

6
X

d,g i ci

(1)
g =16

i=1

6
X
ci
(f )g g
= i ci + i
t
g=1

i=16

(2)

The group constants (i.e., the macroscopic cross-sections and the diffusion coefficients) are
calculated solving the neutron transport equation for an infinite lattice of cells by means of
the deterministic neutronics code ERANOS [8], using the nuclear data library JEF 2.2 [9] (the
upper boundaries adopted for the six group neutron energy structure are: 20 M eV , 2.23 M eV ,
0.82 M eV , 67.38 keV , 15.03 keV , 0.75 keV ). The different constants (vg , Dg , a,g , f,g ,
s,gg0 ) are computed for a discrete range of temperatures for the fuel and the coolant region. In
the case of the macroscopic cross-sections, the following functional form is adopted:
f uel, lead :

(T, ) =

!

T
0 + log
T0




(3)

representing a first attempt to allow for the heterogeneity of temperature and density fields inside
the core channel. Such relations are then introduced in the MP scheme as input parameters.

2.3

Fluid dynamics and heat transfer

The model of the fluid flow (liquid lead) is based on the incompressible form of the ReynoldsAveraged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, considering in particular the standard k turbulence model (the empirical constants are given as C1 = 1.44, C2 = 1.92, C = 0.9, k = 1.0,
= 1.3):



v
2
T
+ (v ) v = pI + ( + T ) v + (v) kI
(4)
t
3
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805.4

v=0
(5)



h

i
k
T

+ v k = +
k + T v : v + (v)T
(6)
t
k




i

T
h
C2 2
+ v = +
+ C1 T v : v + (v)T
(7)

t

k
k
As to the heat transfer modelling, the energy balance equations (8) and (9) are adopted:
T
+ (KT ) = Q
(8)
Cp
t
T
Cp
+ [ (K + Kt ) T ] = Q + Cp v T
(9)
t
Eq. (8) is used in the pellet hole, fuel, gap and cladding materials with the corresponding
values of thermal conductivity, density and specific heat, while Eq. (9) is adopted in the lead
domain. The turbulent heat transfer is modelled using the Kays-Crawford model [6] for the
turbulent Prandtl number. The heat source is explicitly computed, by means of the calculated
neutron fluxes:
Q=

6
X

(qg g )

(10)

g=1

where the coefficients qg , which take into account the energy released by events of radiative
capture, scattering and fission, are calculated by means of ERANOS [8]. The heat is considered
to be released instantaneously and locally (i.e., disregarding gamma transport and delayed nuclear decay). In order to speed up and simplify the calculations, effective and constant values
of the thermo-physical properties Cp and K are adopted for the considered materials (Helium,
MOX, T91 steel and lead) [10].

2.4

Solid mechanics and moving mesh

In order to take into account the fuel and cladding thermal expansion effects, the following
equations of linear elasticity are introduced into the MP model:
2u
=
t2
i
1h
(u) + (u)T
=
2
= C : ( th (T Tref )I)

(11)
(12)
(13)

The coefficient of thermal expansion, as well as the Young modulus and the Poisson coefficient (used to derive the stiffness tensor C under the isotropic material hypothesis), are kept
constant with the temperature in order to simplify the solution of the problem. The column of
fuel pellets is modelled as a unique continuous structure, and neglecting cracking, irradiation
induced and other mechanical (e.g., creep) effects. For the sake of simplicity, the gravitational
volume force is disregarded.
The moving mesh technique offered by COMSOL [6] allows to dynamically deform the
mesh of the simulated domain. In the present work, the mechanical deformations are used to
redefine the geometry, at each solver iteration. In this way, the different physics are influenced
by the displacement field of the fuel and the cladding. Hence, the coupled effects due to thermal
expansion (e.g., gap thermal resistance reduction, fuel expansion feedbacks on neutronics) are
explicitly considered.
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805.5

2.5

Boundary conditions

Axial-symmetric conditions are applied to all equations, at r = 0.

Neutronics. As far as neutronics is concerned, the albedo boundary condition [7] is imposed at the upper, lower and radial boundaries of the active height, in order to achieve a proper
spatial characterization of the neutron fluxes without burdening the computation, namely:
n (Dg ) = z g

n (Dg ) = r g

(14)

The z coefficient is calculated from full-core ERANOS [8] simulations, while the r coefficient is iterated to bring the system to criticality, verifying that the effective neutron multiplication factor (kef f ) is equal to 1 by means of an eigenvalue calculation.
Fluid dynamics and heat transfer. A condition of thermal insulation is applied to the upper
and lower boundaries of the pellet hole, fuel, gap and cladding domains:
T 
=0
z z=0


T 
=0
z z=H


(15)

In the fluid domain, at the outer radius, a symmetry condition is considered, while at the
lower boundary the inlet velocity and temperature are imposed (Tin , vin ). For the sake of simplicity, the radial profile of the inlet lead velocity is considered flat (i.e., disregarding the effect
of the fluid flow development in the core channel section below the active height) and the mass
flow rate is kept constant.
Solid mechanics. A condition of no axial displacement is applied to the fuel and cladding
domain, at z = 0. The moving mesh is forced to follow axially the fuel thermal expansion at
the upper boundary, while at the outer radius of the channel no radial displacement of the mesh
is allowed.

2.6

Numerical solution

The set of partial differential equations described above has been simultaneously solved by
R
means of the general-purpose finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics
[6].
The geometry described in subsection 2.1 is meshed so as to achieve a good compromise
between numerical accuracy and computational requirements. In particular, as shown in Figure
2, a mapped mesh is judged suitable for the gap, cladding and lead domains. A progressive
mesh refinement near the wall is adopted in the lead domain (in green), while the fuel (in red) is
meshed with triangular elements in order to allow the connection to the coarser mesh chosen for
the pellet hole. The adopted elements are Lagrangian and quadratic-order. In order to reduce the
computational cost of the simulation, the segregated solver is adopted. The equations referring
to the variables of segregated groups 1 to 4 of Table 2 are solved using the direct MUMPS
method [6]. The equations of the RANS k turbulence treatment are solved by means of the
Pardiso direct solver [6].

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805.6

Figure 2: Meshed geometry

Table 2: Segregated groups

Group
1
2
3
4
5

3
3.1

1 ... 6
c1 ... c6
T, u
p, v
k,

Variables
neutron fluxes
precursors density
temp. and displacement
pressure and velocity
turbulence variables

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Steady-state behaviour of the system

In this subsection, the capability of the proposed MP model to evaluate, in the same computational environment, the most relevant variables of the coupled physics is exploited to
analyse the nominal steady-state behaviour of the system.
In the sequel, some results concerning neutronics, thermo-fluid dynamics and solid mechanics are presented. In Figure 3, the neutron fluxes (E > 0.82M eV and E < 0.82M eV ), and the
spatial descriptions of temperature (Figure 3(b)) and velocity (Figure 3(c)) fields in the lead are
depicted. In Figure 4, the effects of the thermal expansions of fuel and cladding, leading axially
to a different gap reduction, are clearly visible. This feature is typically neglected when simulations are performed by means of the conventional coupling of neutronic and thermo-hydraulic
codes. In Figure 5, the axial profile of the cladding surface temperature and the channel temperature field are reported as examples of other relevant quantities, achievable through the MPM
approach, and useful for assessing the respect of the fuel pin design limits.

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 3: Steady-state analysis: (a) neutron fluxes (E > 0.82M eV , in black, and
E < 0.82M eV , in red); (b) temperature and (c) velocity field of lead

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805.7

Figure 4: Steady-state analysis: outer fuel radius and inner cladding radius, as a function of the axial coordinate
cold conditions (at room temperature)
nominal power conditions

(a)

(b)

Figure 5: Steady-state analysis: (a) cladding surface temperature, (b) channel temperature field

3.2

Dynamic behaviour of the system

In this subsection, two accidental scenarios are considered as examples of the MPM capabilities to investigate the reactor dynamic behaviour, namely: an unprotected transient overpower
(UTOP) and an unprotected loss of heat sink (ULOHS).
The MPM simulations of the dynamic behaviour were able to intrinsically face the coupling
of all the considered physics, within a computational domain featured by a moving mesh,
showing good capabilities in terms of numerical convergence (as in the case of steady-state
analysis), without consuming excessive computational resources.
Unprotected transient overpower. A step-wise insertion of reactivity (80 pcm) has been
simulated. Figure 6 shows the system response to the reactivity insertion in terms of power and
fuel temperature. The solid lines represent the simulation without the thermal expansion effects
(i.e., with dimensions at nominal conditions), while the dashed lines represent the simulation in
presence of these effects. The power rise (Figure 6(a)) has a prompt effect on the fuel temperature (Figure 6(b)), whose increase corresponds to a negative feedback limiting the power to a
maximum value (35% greater than the nominal value). As expected, the axial expansion of the
fuel acts as a further negative feedback, by lowering both the maximum peak and the stationary
power level.
Unprotected loss of heat sink. A simplified simulation of an unprotected loss of heat sink
accident has been performed by raising the inlet lead temperature to 435 C. The results are
presented in Figure 7. Initially, a positive reactivity is inserted by the hot lead entering the
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805.8

(a)

(b)

Figure 6: System response during the UTOP case study with a reactivity insertion of 80 pcm:
(a) power, (b) maximum fuel temperature
channel, and causing a rise in the power level (Figure 7(a)). After few seconds, the increase
of the fuel temperature and the core axial expansion (only considered in the simulation marked
with dashed lines) smoothly reduce the reactivity and stabilise the power level to a value lower
than the initial one.

(a)

(b)

Figure 7: System response during the ULOHS case study with an inlet lead temperature increase
of 35 C: (a) power, (b) maximum fuel temperature

CONCLUSIONS

In the present work, an extension of the MPM scheme of analysis for simulating the nuclear reactor core behaviour of the GIF-IV LFR has been presented. Reference is made to a
single-channel of the ELSY OSFA design, representative of the average BOL conditions of the
active core. In particular, the capability of the MP model to reproduce the effects of thermal
expansion of fuel and cladding has been investigated. Thanks to the flexible numerical structure
offered by COMSOL, the equations related to solid mechanics have been introduced in the set
of non-linear, time-dependent and coupled partial differential equations describing the neutronics, the heat transfer and the fluid dynamics inside the core channel. This refined MP model has
been applied to study the steady-state operation as well as some transients (UTOP, ULOHS)

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805.9

of importance from the safety point of view. The capacity of the MPM approach to catch important coupled effects, in the same computational environment, has been shown. In particular,
benefitting from the moving mesh technique of COMSOL, the extended MP model revealed
itself able to simulate the spatial distribution as well as the time evolution of different physical
quantities, exhibiting good features in terms of numerical convergence.
Further steps are needed to achieve a better description of the LFR core behaviour, which
should include improvements in the modelling of neutronics (e.g., through more refined evaluation of the heterogeneity effects inside the channel and multi-group neutron energy discretization) as well as in the thermo-mechanical description of the fuel pins (e.g., to handle
the contact between fuel and cladding, to incorporate the constitutive relations for other mechanical and irradiation-induced effects). To this purpose, several efforts are currently carried
out at the Politecnico di Milano towards the development and validation of a more complete
MPM simulation tool, able to offer a reliable and intrinsic evaluation of the couplings among
the different physical phenomena in a nuclear reactor, without any claim to perform detailed
neutronic, thermo-mechanical and fluid-dynamic simulations, for which dedicated and wellassessed codes already exist.

NOMENCLATURE
Latin symbols
C
ci
Cp
C1
C2
C
D
E
H
I
k
kef f
K
Kt
n
p
Q
qg
r
t
T
Tin
Tref
T0
u
v
vg
vin
z

stifness tensor [P a]
concentration of the ith precursor group
[m3 ]
specific heat [J kg 1 K 1 ]
k model empirical constant [-]
k model empirical constant [-]
k model empirical constant [-]
neutron diffusion coefficient [m]
neutron energy [M eV ]
active height [m]
identity matrix [-]
turbulent kinetic energy [m2 s2 ]
effective neutron multiplication factor [-]
thermal conductivity [W m1 K 1 ]
lead
turbulent
thermal
conductivity
[W m1 K 1 ]
surface normal unit vector [-]
fluid pressure [P a]
volumetric heat source [W m3 ]
coefficients used in Eq. (10) [J m1 ]
radial coordinate [m]
time [s]
temperature [K]
inlet lead temperature [K]
reference temperature used in Eq. (13) [K]
reference temperature used in Eq. (3) [K]
displacement vector [m]
velocity vector [m s1 ]
neutron speed of the g th group [m s1 ]
inlet lead velocity [m s1 ]
axial coordinate [m]

Greek symbols
th

i
r
z

T
i

a
f
s,gg0
s,g0 g
0

d,g
p,g

linear thermal expansion coefficient [K 1 ]

coefficient used in Eq. (3) [-]
total delayed neutron fraction [-]
delayed neutron fraction of the ith precursor
group [-]
radial albedo coefficient used in Eq. (14) [-]
axial albedo coefficient used in Eq. (14) [-]
turbulent dissipation rate [m2 s3 ]
strain tensor [-]
lead dynamic viscosity [P a s]
lead eddy viscosity [P a s]
dacay constant of the ith precursor group
[s1 ]
average number of neutron emitted per fission [-]
density [kg m3 ]
reference density used in Eq. (3) [kg m3 ]
Cauchy stress tensor [P a]
k model empirical constant [-]
k model empirical constant [-]
macroscopic cross-section [m1 ]
macroscopic absorption cross-section [m1 ]
macroscopic fission cross-section [m1 ]
macroscopic group transfer cross-section
(from group g to g 0 ) [m1 ]
macroscopic group transfer cross-section
(from group g 0 to g) [m1 ]
reference macroscopic cross-section used in
Eq. (3) [m1 ]
neutron flux [m2 s1 ]
fraction of delayed neutrons generated in the
g th group [-]
fraction of prompt neutrons generated in the
g th group [-]

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805.10

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[6] COMSOL Multiphysics
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Proceedings of the International Conference Nuclear Energy for New Europe 2011, Bovec, Slovenia, Sept.12-15, 2011