Mandate of the
WPFC Task Force on Benchmarking of Thermal-hydraulic Loop Models for
Lead-alloy-cooled Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (LACANES)
Chair: Dr. Il-Soon Hwang, Korea
Members: All NEA member countries
Regular Observers (Non-Members): European Commission (Under the NEA Statute)
Russian Federation
Observer (International Organisation): International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (By agreement)
Date of creation: 30 June 2007
Date of expiration: 30 June 2014
Mandate: Approved at the 21st meeting of the Nuclear Science
Committee in June 2010 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2010)3],
Extended at the 11th Meeting of the Working Party on
Scientific Issues of the Fuel Cycle in February 2013
[NEA/SEN/NSC/WPFC(2013)2]
Objectives & Scope
Under the guidance of the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) and the mandate of the Working Party on Scientific Issues of the Fuel Cycle (WPFC), the Task Force on the Benchmarking of Thermal-Hydraulic Loop Models for Lead-Alloy Cooled Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (LACANES) will be directed for developing the best practice guides on thermo-hydraulic modelling of the heavy liquid metal coolant, e.g. lead and lead-bismuth eutectic alloy.
The lead and lead alloys are very attractive nuclear coolant for the next generation systems, e.g. LFR, because of their low melting temperature, high boiling temperature, chemical stability and neutron transparency. In addition, Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) itself is a very efficient spallation target of the accelerator driven systems (ADS). The accurate characterisation of the thermal-hydraulic behaviours of lead alloy-cooled advanced nuclear energy systems (LACANES) under natural circulation as well as steady-state forced convection is of critical importance for the system design. To propose best practice guide of characterising LACANES, the Task Force will perform a benchmark study for both isothermal steady state forced convection and natural circulation cases using the reference of experiment data from HELIOS (Heavy Eutectic Liquid metal Loop for Integral test of Operability and Safety) facility at Seoul National University, the Republic of Korea and from NACIE (Natural Circulation Experiment) facility at ENEA, Italy.
The scope of the Task Force will be focused on the followings:
· Validation of thermal-hydraulic loop models for application to LACANES design analysis in participating organisations, by benchmarking with a set of well-characterised lead-alloy coolant loop test data.
· Establishment of the guidelines for quantifying thermal-hydraulic modelling parameters related to friction and heat transfer by lead-alloy coolant.
· Identification of specific issues, either in modelling and/or in loop testing, that need to be addressed via future work.
The Task Force will work closely with WPFC Expert Group on Heavy Liquid Metal (HLM) Technology, and will provide necessary information for the HLM Handbooks.
Deliverables
- chapter for the HLM handbook (2013)
- report on Phase II Natural Circulation (2014)