CIRCE-THETIS Facility CFD simulation: Steady State and Transient Compliance

CIRCE is a large scale LBE pool-type facility operated by ENEA (Italy), supporting the development of the Liquid Metal Fast Reactors (LMFR), in particular of the ALFRED design. The H2020 PATRICIA project foresees the installation in the CIRCE facility of a new test section, named THETIS, for the investigation of the transition between forced and natural circulation under different and competitive heat removal mechanism. A CFD model of the THETIS test section able to simulated both steady state and the foreseen experimental transients is built and described. The influence of the thermal radiation wherever relevant is highlighted. Suitable thermal boundary conditions are implemented. The numerical results of the nominal steady-state pre-test simulation are presented and the heat losses towards the environment are evaluated.

@Misc{PM22,
  author       = {Profir, M. and Moreau, V.},
  title        = {CIRCE-THETIS Facility CFD simulation: Steady State and Transient Compliance    },
  year         = {2022},
  note         = {Presented at: The 14th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development through Nuclear Research and Education, 18-20 May},
  keywords     = {CFD simulation,  Liquid Metal Fast Reactors, GEN-IV, pool thermal-hydraulics},
  url          = {https://publications.crs4.it/pubdocs/2022/PM22},
}