Study on Periodicity of Cross Flow in Gaps of a Lead-based Fast Reactor Fuel Assembly

Cross flow of a coolant in fuel assembly had a great impact on the heat transfer of a reactor core. In order to study the characteristics of the cross flow in lead-based fast reactor assemblies, the CiADS fuel assemblies were used as research object. Fine geometric models and CFD simulation of 7 and 19 pin bundle and multi-pitch length assemblies based on CiADS fuel assemblies were carried out. The distribution of the cross flow velocity in several geometric models was compared and analyzed. The results show that the distribution of the cross flow velocity in gaps of interior and corner channel in 19 pin bundle has obvious periodicity in both axial and horizontal direction. In the horizontal direction, the results of one gap can be translated by a certain phase angle to obtain another gap distribution result according to the positional relationship of the translational rotations of the two internal channel gaps. The distribution of cross flow velocity is uniform in each pitch length of multi-pitch model in the axial direction. And the distribution of transverse flow in gaps of 7 pin bundle is similar to the distribution in the same kind of gaps in 19 pin bundle. The results of fewer pin bundle with single pitch length can be periodically extended in axial and transverse direction to obtain the characteristics of cross flow in geometric models with multi-pitch length and more rods.