INTERFACE TRACKING SIMULATION OF TWO-PHASE BUBBLY FLOW IN A PWR SUBCHANNEL

摘要

Advances in high performance computing and numerical methods for direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent flows and interface tracking methods (ITM) have allowed conducting large scale simulations of bubbly flow turbulence in simple geometries. The presented research utilizes massively parallel finite-element based code, PHASTA, for subchannel geometry simulations of bubbly flow turbulence. The main objective for this research is to demonstrate the ITM/DNS capabilities in gaining new insight into bubble/turbulence interactions and assisting the development of improved closure laws for computational multiphase fluid dynamics (CMFD). We study the subchannel flow turbulence, and compare it with previously obtained parallel plate flow results for friction velocity based Reynolds number of 400. In addition, we analyze the law of the wall behavior in the subchannel geometry for single-phase flow.