Boundary-Fitted Coordinate Transformations Method for Reactor Thermal Hydraulic Analysis

Abstract

Application of boundary-fitted curvilinear coordinate system to reactor thermal-hydraulic analysis is discussed. The emphasis is given to solutions of the convective heat transfer problems in ducts and rod bundles which have wide applications in heat exchangers, power plant steam generators, and nuclear reactor cores. Specifically, the BODYFIT codes, which were developed for reactor core thermal hydraulic analysis, are introduced. The BODYFIT codes employ the boundary-fitted coordinate transformation technique to handle complex boundaries. As an illustrative example of the code appli cation, heat transfer and fluid flow in eccentric ducts are solved by using the BODYFIT-1FE code and the results are compared with available solutions. The comparisons show excellent agreement.