Benchmarking of Three Different CFD Codes in Simulating Natural, Forced, and Mixed Convection Flows

Abstract

In this study, three different CFD codes are assessed in simulating two distinct flow problems with heat transfer. The first case consists of an ascending forced and mixed convection flow, a representative flow in the core of gas-cooled nuclear reactors under “post-trip” conditions, and the second case involves natural convection in an enclosed tall cavity that represents the gas-filled cavities around the nuclear reactor cores. Computations are conducted using the standard k-ω-SST model and the nonlinear k–ε model of Suga. Overall, the results were in satisfactory agreement, and, therefore, the present study represents a successful benchmarking exercise for the nuclear community.