Multiphase Flow Experiments and Modeling on Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems

with Shanbin Shi, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Friday, October 14, 2022
10:10 am

Webinar registration

This talk will highlight research activities and capabilities on advanced nuclear energy systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering. I will first talk about a heat pipe test facility that has been constructed to investigate transients important for heat pipe applications in nuclear microreactors. Fluid-to-fluid scaling analysis on using surrogate fluids for experiments in the test facility will be discussed, followed by performance analysis along with preliminary test data. I will then present another ongoing project on the development of Solids Transport Module (STM) to characterize fuel dispersion behavior under accidental conditions, also known as Fuel Fragmentation, Relocation, and Dispersal (FFRD) studies. We started from treating solid particles as discrete while the continuum gas-liquid flow field was modeled through a Eulerian two-fluid model. Although the discrete phase model approximation for the fuel dispersion is acceptable, efforts are also made to develop a Eulerian STM, which could be more suitable for its coupling with other nuclear codes, such as the fuel performance analysis code (BISON) and the reactor thermal hydraulics code.

Dr. Shanbin Shi is an assistant professor of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Shi received his Ph.D. degree in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University in 2015. From September 2015 to December 2016, Dr. Shi was a postdoctoral researcher in the Nuclear Engineering Program of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University. Prior to Joining RPI, Dr. Shi was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan from 2017 to August 2018. Dr. Shi’s research interest areas include light water reactor thermal-hydraulics and safety, two-phase flow experiments and modeling, small modular reactor design, and thermal-hydraulics for advanced high-temperature nuclear reactors.