Development of the MATRA-LMR-FB for Flow Blockage analysis in a LMR

Abstract

The Multichannel Analyzer for Transient and steady-state in Rod Array - Liquid Metal Reactor for Flow Blockage analysis (MATRA-LMR-FB) code for the analysis of a subchannel blockage has been developed and evaluated through several experiments. The current version of the code is improved here by the implementation of a distributed resistance model which accurately considers the effect of flow resistance on wire spacers, by the addition of a turbulent mixing model, and by the application of a hybrid scheme for low flow regions. Validation calculations for the MATRA-LMR-FB code were performed for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) 19-pin tests with wire spacers and Karlsruhe 169-pin tests with grid spacers. The analysis of the ORNL 19-pin tests conducted using the code reveals that the code has sufficient predictive accuracy, within a range of 5 °C, for the experimental data with a blockage. As for the results of the analyses, the standard deviation for the Karlsruhe 169-pin tests, 0.316, was larger than the standard deviation for the ORNL 19-pin tests, 0.047.