Simulation of helium release in the Battelle Model Containment facility using OpenFOAM

The open source CFD code OpenFOAM has been validated against an experiment of jet release phenomena in the Battelle Model Containment facility (BMC), a 560 m3 multi-compartment experimental facility. In the selected test, HYJET Jx7, helium was released into the containment at a speed of 42 m/s over a time of 200 s. The SST turbulence model and two grids (a coarse and a finer hexahedral grid) are considered to model helium release and dispersion. Simulation results are also compared with analogous calculations performed with the commercial CFD code CFX 5.7. The overall behaviour is captured adequately. However, there are still some noticeable differences between the CFX and OpenFOAM solutions. It is therefore likely that the two turbulence models are not exactly the same. This may be due to differences in the used version of the model or their coefficients.. The study confirms the potentiality of using open source OpenFOAM CFD code for nuclear safety applications. Nevertheless further investigations and improvements are needed.

WILKENING Heinz;  AMMIRABILE Luca; 

2013-11-26

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA

JRC74134

0029-5493,   

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0029549313005013,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC74134,   

10.1016/j.nucengdes.2013.08.070,