Assessment of the interchannel mixing model with a subchannel analysis code for BWR and PWR conditions Original Research Article

The influence of the interchannel mixing model employed in a traditional subchannel analysis code was investigated in this study, specifically on the analysis of the enthalpy distribution and critical heat flux (CHF) in rod bundles in BWR and PWR conditions. The equal-volume-exchange turbulent mixing and void drift model (EVVD) was embodied to the COBRA-IV-I code. An optimized model of the void drift coefficient has been devised in this study as the result of the assessment with the two-phase flow distribution data for the general electric (GE) 9-rod and Ispra 16-rod test bundles. The influence of the subchannel analysis model on the analysis of CHF was examined by evaluating the CHF test data in rod bundles representing PWR and BWR conditions. The CHFR margins of typical light water nuclear reactor (LWR) cores were evaluated by considering the influence on the local parameter CHF correlation and the hot channel analysis result. It appeared that the interchannel mixing model has an important effect upon the analysis of CHFR margin for BWR conditions.