Laboratory for Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems

Research at NHTS

Research Grants and ContractS Received at TEXAS a&m uNIVERSITY

(external)

Source Investigators Dates Project Title

Sandia National K. Vierow 02/20//07- Thermo-Chemical Generation of

Laboratories/DOE (sole PI) 09/15/07 Hydrogen: Demonstration of

MELCOR-H2 for Usage in the

Simulation of Pebble Bed and

Prismatic Very High Temperature

Reactors

Dept. of Energy - J. Ragusa 07/01/07- Analysis of Advanced Fuel

Nuclear Engr. K. Vierow 06/30/10 Assemblies and Core Designs for

Research Initiative (co-PI) the Current and Next Generations

Program (NERI) of LWRs

Nuclear Regulatory K. Vierow (PI) 10/01/07- Safety Curriculum Development

Commission F. Best 09/30/08 to Facilitate Nuclear Energy in the

(Educational J. Ford 21^st Century

Grant) Y. Hassan

S. McDeavitt

J. Ragusa

W. D. Reece

L. Shao

P. Tsvetkov

Research ContractS TRANSFERRED TO TEXAS a&m uNIVERSITY

Source Investigators Dates Project Title

Dept. of Energy - K. Vierow 07/01/05- Countercurrent Flow Limitation

Nuclear Engr. Edu. (sole PI) 06/30/08 Experiments and Modeling for

Res. Prog. (NEER) Improved Reactor Safety

Dept. of Energy - K. Vierow (PI) 03/13/06- Uncertainty Quantification in the

Nuclear Engr. T. Aldemir 03/12/09 Reliability and Risk Assessment of

Research Initiative The Ohio State Gen IV Reactors

Program (NERI) Univ. (co-PI)

Research Grants and ContractS Received at Purdue UNIVERSITY

(external)

Source Investigators Dates Project Title

U.S. NRC K. Vierow 04/01/01- MELCOR Assessment

(sole PI) 12/31/02 Against SCDAP/RELAP5

Tokyo Electric K. Vierow 07/01/01- Investigation of Horizontal Heat

Power Company (sole PI) 06/30/03 Exchanger Performance for Passive

(Japanese industry) Containment Heat Removal

Institute of Nuclear K. Vierow 09/01/01- Investigation of Condensation Heat

Safety System (sole PI) 03/31/04 Transfer and Fluid Flow in PWR

(Japanese industry) Steam Generator Tubes in the

Presence of Noncondensable Gases

Dept. of Energy - K. Vierow 06/01/02- Horizontal Heat Exchanger Design

Nuclear Engr. Edu. (sole PI) 05/31/05 and Analysis for Passive Contain-

Res. Prog. (NEER) ment Heat Removal Systems

Purdue Research K. Vierow 08/01/02- Investigation of Condensation Heat

Foundation Grant (sole PI) 07/31/04 Transfer and Fluid Flow in PWR

Steam Generator Tubes in the

Presence of Noncondensable Gases

U.S. NRC M. Ishii (PI) 03/01/03- PUMA Test Facility

S. T. Revankar 02/28/08

K. Vierow

U.S. NRC K. Vierow 07/25/03- MELCOR Assessment and

(sole PI) 04/15/06 Application

Sandia National S. T. Revankar 12/13/04 - Development of Design and

Laboratories/DOE K. Vierow 09/23/06 Simulation Model for Large

(co-PI) Scale Hydrogen Production

using Nuclear Power

Dept. of Energy - K. Vierow 07/01/05- Countercurrent Flow Limitation

Nuclear Engr. Edu. (sole PI) 06/30/08 Experiments and Modeling for

Res. Prog. (NEER) Improved Reactor Safety

Dept. of Energy - K. Vierow (PI) 03/13/06- Uncertainty Quantification in the

Nuclear Engr. T. Aldemir 03/12/09 Reliability and Risk Assessment of

Research Initiative The Ohio State Gen IV Reactors

Program (NERI) Univ. (co-PI)

CURRENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS

I established the Laboratory for Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems with the initial goals of investigating condensation heat transfer mechanisms, developing new reactor designs and safety systems, and advancing the state-of-the-art in reactor safety analysis. Recently, I have been expanding into the homeland security area. I am preparing a research proposal with a colleague at Purdue University on nuclear detector improvements, in response to a BAA RFP from the NSF/Domestic Nuclear Detection Organization. I have also been participating in meetings of the Mary K. O’Connor Process Safety Center at TAMU in anticipation of future collaborative efforts with respect to industrial safety.

Uncertainty Quantification in the Reliability and Risk Assessment of Generation IV Reactors

The overall goal of the project is to develop practical approaches and tools by which dynamic reliability and risk assessment techniques can be used to augment the uncertainty quantification process in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methods and PRA applications for Generation IV nuclear reactors. Generation IV reactors will be vastly different than the currently operating Generation III reactors and will feature new capabilities such as hydrogen production and improvements to the current fuel cycles. The expected impacts of this project will include elimination of unnecessary conservatisms in design due to reduced uncertainty in calculated plant performance parameters and timely guidance in the design and PRA-informed licensing and regulation of Generation IV systems.

Specific proposed project objectives include the development of practical approaches and computationally efficient software package(s) to:

· Test event tree completeness for Generation IV reactors

· Integrate nuclear reactor safety codes with PRA

· Assess and propagate uncertainty on the plant state in PRA analysis for Generation IV reactors

Funding is from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Nuclear Engineering Research Initiative (NERI)) program.

Collaborator: Dr. Tunc Aldemir (The Ohio State University)

Countercurrent Flow Limitation Experiments and Modeling for Improved Reactor Safety

This project began in July 2005 and is experimentally investigating the fundamentals of countercurrent flow and “flooding” phenomena in inclined tubes. The initial application is to improve reactor safety of current and future light water reactors, where flooding in the pressurizer surge line and other locations can impair the ability of cooling water to return to the reactor core. The aspects to be better clarified are the effects of condensation and tube inclination on countercurrent flow and flooding. This project consists of experimental investigations and analytical model development for incorporation into thermal hydraulic computer programs.

Funding is from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Nuclear Engineering Education Research (NEER) program.

Thermo-Chemical Generation of Hydrogen: Demonstration of MELCOR-H2 for Usage in the Simulation of Pebble Bed and Prismatic Very High Temperature Reactors

With Professor Shripad Revankar of Purdue University, I received a research award starting in Dec. 2004 to couple a nuclear reactor to the Sulfur Iodine (SI) Hydrogen Production Cycle and develop computational tools for analysis of the entire system. For the nuclear part of the plant, the capabilities of gas-cooled and high-temperature molten salt reactors to provide the high temperature heat were evaluated. I am testing current capabilities of the MELCOR reactor safety computer program to model gas-cooled reactors and extending its capabilities for modeling the future reactors. In collaboration with Professor Revankar and Sandia colleagues, I am coupling models for the nuclear and chemical sides of the plants.

This proposal was ranked number 1 of the proposals submitted to the Sandia National Laboratories Global Nuclear Future Lab Directed Research and Development (LDRD) competition. This project was supported by Sandia National Laboratories/DOE.

Funding under the new contract named above, to the Texas Experimental Engineering Station with me as the sole PI, began in February 2007. Although the contract has expired, I continue to extend MELCOR’s capabilities to model Very High Temperature Reactors with prismatic core designs. I am also striving to correct some code deficiencies with respect to heat exchange between the core components and coolant and other shortcomings that were identified in the first project.

Collaborators: Dr. Randall Gauntt, Dr. Salvador Rodríguez (Sandia National Laboratories)

Prof. Shripad Revankar (Purdue University)

Analysis of Advanced Fuel Assemblies and Core Designs for the Current and Next Generations of LWRs

The objective of this project is to design and analyze advanced fuel assemblies for current and future light water reactors and to assess their ability to reduce the inventory of transuranic elements. In collaboration with Dr. Jean Ragusa, I will analyze various new fuel assembly designs and several core batch loadings in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). Fuel types to be considered are (1) Advanced Mixed Oxides (AMOX) containing various loadings of TRU and minor actinides (MA) with enriched uranium and (2) Inert Matrix Fuels (IMF) containing no uranium. Several geometries will be considered for the fuel pins: reduced cylinder, annulus, filled annulus, and small crosses. My responsibilities with be for the thermal hydraulics subchannel analyses and for neutronic-thermal hydraulic analysis integration, to ensure the safety requirements of these new fuel configurations. During the initial stage of the project, I have acquired the VIPRE subchannel code from the Electric Power Research Institute and am working to developing expertise with the code.

Funding is from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Nuclear Engineering Research Initiative (NERI)) program.

Collaborator: Dr. Jean Ragusa (Texas A&M University)

Safety Curriculum Development to Facilitate Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century

This program will advance education in nuclear safety, a critical component of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) regulatory mission. While not a research project, the curriculum development effort is described here because a successful program will generate future researchers and strengthen relations with industrial and national laboratory partners.

I am leading a group of faculty in the Department of Nuclear Engineering to undertake an ambitious curriculum development program that will prepare a cadre of motivated and capable nuclear safety engineers. Academic instruction will include a unique combination of nuclear safety courses encompassing the major aspects of nuclear safety and including two new areas not traditionally offered in US universities, severe accidents and physics-based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). With the partnership of national laboratories and nuclear utilities, the nuclear safety program will continuously evolve to maintain relevancy to current issues. Programmatic objectives are as below:

• Enhance curricula for the Texas A&M University Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Health Engineering programs with respect to instruction \in nuclear safety

• Nurture a workforce to carry nuclear energy initiatives forward in the 21st century

• Add diversity by developing an educational infrastructure with Big-12 and Texas schools that do not have nuclear engineering instruction (distance learning)

• Strengthen collaborative linkages with partners

Funding is from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Education Grant Program Announcement of Opportunity, Fiscal Year 2007.

Collaborators: Dr. Frederick Best, Dr. John Ford, Dr. Yassin Hassan, Dr. Sean McDeavitt, Dr. Jean Ragusa, Dr. W. Dan Reece, Dr. Lin Shao, Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov (Texas A&M University)

Department of Nuclear Engineering | Dwight Look College of Engineering | Texas A&M University | NHTS Lab Home

Website maintained by Isaac Choutapalli, Last Updated: March 12, 2008