Development and validation of transient thermal‐hydraulic evaluation code for a lead‐based fast reactor

Abstract

Summary In this paper, development and preliminary validation of an in‐house code LETHAC (lead‐based fast reactor thermal‐hydraulic analysis code) is introduced. LETHAC is developed for predicting the thermal‐hydraulic transient performance of a lead‐bismuth reactor. The mathematical models and module relations of LETHAC are presented in detail. The most‐used LBE (lead‐bismuth eutectic) flow and heat transfer correlations are compared against data from KYLIN‐II 61‐rod wire‐wrapped bundle experiments. Results show little difference between the chosen heat transfer correlations as the relative error of these correlations is all within 2%. Novendstern correlation is recommended for wire‐wrapped bundle frictional resistance coefficient calculation as it fits the experimental data best. Besides, the transient calculation capability of LETHAC is also preliminarily evidenced by TALL transient tests. Good agreements are shown between the calculated temperatures and the experiment ones. Relative errors between calculation results and experimental data are almost within 10% during the whole transient process, which indicates LETHAC can be used for predicting the transient behavior of lead/lead‐bismuth cooled systems.

Liquid metal cooled fast reactor thermal hydraulic research development: A review

“…The thermal-hydraulic code for transient assessment of lead and LBE reactors was developed and validated [ 58 ]. The developed code LETHAC was utilized and the results were compared to information from the KYLIN-II experiment having a 61-fuel pin bundle.…”