Application of COMSOL Multiphysics® Pipe Flow Module to Develop a High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) System Loop Model

P. K. Jain[1], D. Wang[1], J. D. Freels[1]
[1]Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
Published in 2013

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) is the highest flux reactor-based source of neutrons for research in the United States. Thermal and cold neutrons produced by HFIR are used to study physics, chemistry, material science, engineering, and biology. Currently, RELAP5 code is the primary transient safety analysis tool used to perform thermal-hydraulic system safety evaluations. To verify the capability of the COMSOL Multiphysics® Pipe Flow Module, it was decided to develop a HFIR system model using COMSOL while keeping all the input parameters and components exactly the same as the HFIR’s existing RELAP5 model. Steady-state simulations and a postulated pump flow transient simulation were performed using COMSOL and compared against RELAP5. Overall, the COMSOL results yielded good agreement with RELAP5.