Development of a CFD model for the SAfety Rod Demonstration of INsertion Experiment (SARDINE)

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK CEN, is currently designing the fast research reactor MYRRHA, which will be cooled by Lead–Bismuth Eutectic (LBE). In order to obtain measurements on full-scale MYRRHA reactor components, SCK CEN has developed the Safety Rod Demonstration of Insertion Experiment (SARDINE) project, which constitutes the framework of this thesis. SARDINE is a test section designed to representatively replicate the MYRRHA safety rod, with the objective of validating the proof of principle of the design through the measurement of the rod insertion time during a SCRAM event. The focus of this thesis is to investigate the behaviour of LBE through a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model under steady-state conditions. The thesis begins with an introduction outlining the objectives of the work, followed by a literature review on the use of liquid metals as coolants in nuclear reactors. The characteristics of control and safety rods in fast reactors are then described. Subsequently, the experimental facility at SCK CEN is presented and the instrumentation used for experimental validation. Finally, the CFD models are introduced: first the model of the inlet subassembly, and then the model of the entire LBE domain. The numerical results obtained will be compared with experimental data in a later stage of the project.