16.11. Nomenclature

Symbol

Description

Units

Ak,i

Cross sectional area of component \(k\), in the coolant channel in the axial cell \(i\)

m2

Ak,ca,i

Cross sectional area of component \(k\), in the fuel-pin cavity, in axial cell \(i\).

m2

Aj,k,i

Contact lateral area between component \(j\) and component \(k\) in the axial cell \(i\)

m2

AXMX

Reference cross-sectional area which determines the volume AXMX ⨉ Δzi, over which all component densities are smeared to yield the generalized smeared densities

m2

AFRV

Input, sodium vapor friction coefficient

BFRV

Input, exponent of vapor friction coefficient

CAREA

Coefficient used to define the contact area between two components. Has values between 0 and 1

C’D,Mi,fu,i

Generalized drag coefficient between the gas mixture and the molten fuel in the axial cell \(i\)

Kg/m4

C’in,Mi,fu,i

Generalized inertial force coefficient, used in the definition of the inertial force exerted between the gas mixture and the molten fuel in the axial cell \(i\)

Kg/m3

Cff,cl,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the cladding perimeter covered by the solid fuel crust in the axial cell \(i\)

Cff,sr,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the hexcan wall perimeter covered by the solid fuel crust in the axial cell \(i\)

Cfu,cl,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the cladding perimeter covered by the molten and frozen fuel in the axial cell \(i\)

Cfu,sr,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the hexcan wall covered by the molten and frozen fuel in the axial cell \(i\)

Cfu,ff,cl,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the frozen fuel crust on the cladding covered by molten fuel

Cfu,ff,sr,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the frozen fuel crust on the hexcan wall covered by molten fuel

Cmfu,cl,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the cladding perimeter covered by molten fuel only, in cell \(i\)

Cmfu,sr,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the hexcan wall covered by molten fuel only, in cell \(i\)

Cp,fu

Specific heat for the fuel

J/(kg·K)

Cse,ff,cl,i

Coefficient defining the fraction of the frozen fuel crust on the cladding covered by molten steel

Cse,ff,sr,I

Coefficient defining the fraction of the frozen fuel crust on the canwall covered by molten steel

CMNL

Input, liquid sodium compressibility

Pa-1

CMFU

Input, liquid fuel compressibility

Pa-1

DH,Mi,i

Hydraulic diameter for the gas mixture in the coolant channel in cell \(i\)

m

fMi,i

Friction coefficient used to characterize the friction between the gas mixture and the channel walls in cell \(i\)

Farea,bd,lu,i

Fraction of lateral chunk area in contact with the channel

boundaries in cell \(i\)

hk,i

Enthalpy of component k in the axial cell \(i\)

J/kg

Hj,k,i

Heat-transfer coefficient between components \(j\) and \(k\) in cell \(i\).

J/(m2s-K)

H’j,k,i

Generalized heat transfer coefficient, similar otherwise to Hj,k,i

\({H'}_{j,k,i} = H_{j,k,i} \cdot \frac{A_{j,k,i}}{AXMX\ \ \cdot \ \ \Delta zi}\)

J/(m3s-K)

hNa,liq,i

Enthalpy of liquid sodium at saturation in cell \(i\)

J/kg

hNa,vap,i

Enthalpy of sodium vapor at saturation in cell \(i\)

J/kg

hNa,lg,i

Heat of vaporization for sodium in cell \(i\)

J/kg

hfv,lg,i

Heat of vaporization for fuel

J/kg

kMi,I

Conductivity of the sodium and fission-gas mixture in the axial cell \(i\)

J/(M-s-K)

Lcl,I

Perimeter of all pins in a subassembly in the axial cell \(i\)

m

Lsr,i

Same as above, for the canwall

m

Lff,cl,I

Perimeter of the cladding fuel crust in a subassembly in the axial cell \(i\)

m

Lff,sr,i

Same as above, for the canwall fuel crust

m

lff,cl,i

Thickness of the fuel crust on cladding in the axial cell \(i\)

m

lff,sr,i

Same as above for the canwall fuel crust

m

Mk,i,ic

Mass of component k is the axial cell \(i\) of one subassembly of channel \(\text{ic}\)

kg

Mk,i,ico

Same as above, but referring to the initial conditions

kg

Npins

Number of fuel pins in the subassembly

Pch,i

Total pressure in the coolant channel in the axial cell \(i\)

Pa

Pk,i

Partial pressure of component \(k\) in cell \(i\)

Pa

Pk,sat,i

Saturation pressure for component \(k\) in the cell \(i\), e.g.,

PNa,sat,i = Psat (TNa,i)

Pa

Qk,i

Energy source in the component \(k\) in cell \(i\)

J/(kg-s)

Qcl,i

Energy source in the cladding in the axial cell \(i\) of one subassembly

J/s

R

Universal gas constant

Rk

Gas constant specific for the component \(k\), \(R_{k} = \frac{R}{M_{k}}\) where \(M_{k}\) is the molar mass of the component \(k\).

Rca,k

Radius of cavity in the axial cell \(k\)

m

Rcl,os,i

Outer radius of the cladding in the axial cell \(i\)

m

Rlu,i

Radius of the fuel/steel chunks in cell \(i\)

m

Re

Reynolds number

Tk,i

Temperature of component \(k\) in cell \(i\)

K

uk,i

Velocity of component \(k\) in the coolant channel at the boundary \(i - 1/2\)

m/s

vNa,i

Specific volume of sodium in cell \(i\)

m3/kg

vNa,liq,i

Specific volume of the liquid sodium at saturation in cell \(i\)

m3/kg

vNa,vap,i

Specific volume of the sodium vapor at saturation in cell \(i\)

m3/kg

Vk,i

Volume occupied by component \(k\) in cell \(i\)

m3

XNa,i

Quality of the two-phase sodium in cell \(i\)

z

Axial coordinate

m

Δzi

Length of axial cell \(i\)

m

ΔTj,k,i

Temperature difference between components \(j\) and \(k\) in the axial cell \(i\)

K

Δt

Time increment

s

ΔRcl,i

Current thickness of the cladding in the axial cell \(i\)

m

ΔRcl0

Thickness of the original cladding in cell \(i\)

m

ρk,i

Physical density of component \(k\) in the cell \(i\).

kg/m3

ρ’k,i

Generalized density of component \(k\) in cell \(i\),

\({\rho'}_{k,j} = \rho_{k,i}\ \ \cdot \ \ \frac{A_{k,i}}{\text{AXMX}}\)

Kg/m3

σfu

Liquid fuel surface tension

J/m2

σse

Liquid steel surface tension

J/m2

θk,i

Volume fraction of component k in the axial cell \(i\) \(\theta_{k,i} = \frac{Q_{K,i}}{\text{AXMX}}\)

Subscripts

bd

Refers to a quantity defined at the cell boundary

ca

Cavity

ch

Coolant channel

cl

Cladding

ch,op

Open channel. The open channel at any axial location can become smaller than the original coolant channel due to fuel and steel freezing. It can also increase due to the ablation of the cladding and hexcan wall and to the disruption of the fuel pins

ff

Frozen fuel

ffc

Frozen fuel on cladding

ffs

Frozen fuel on structure

fi

Fission gas

fu

Molten fuel

fv

Fuel vapor

fl

Fuel chunks

i

Cell number, on the channel grid

is

Inner cell of cladding or structure

IN

Inertial

J

Other components in the coolant channel, exchanging mass, momentum or energy with component \(k\)

k

Component subscript, referring to the component being described. Also used as cell number on the fuel-pin grid

liq

Indicates a physical property for the saturated liquid, e.g., hNa,liq,i

lq

Indicates a physical property at liquidus

lu

Solid fuel/steel chunks

lv

Indicates a physical property that characterizes the transition from liquid to gas, e.g. hlv

Mi

Mixture of sodium vapor, fission gas, fuel vapor, steel vapor, and liquid sodium

Mo

Momentum

Na

Sodium

Nl

Liquid sodium

Nv

Sodium vapor

Os

Outer cell of cladding or structure. The “outer” surface is always the surface facing the coolant channel

pin

Fuel pin

sat

Indicates a physical property at saturation, e.g., Tsat (Pk,i)

se

Molten steel

sl

Steel chunks

so

Indicates a physical property at solidus

sr

Structure, i.e., hexcan wall or wall of the experimental loop

st

Refers to a stationary component, such as the solid fuel in the pin

sv

Steel vapor

vap

Indicates a physical property for the saturated dry vapor, e.g., hNa,vap,i

vg

Vapor/gas mixture

Superscripts

cond

Condensation

L

Used to indicate a lateral area, as opposed to a cross-sectional area

N

The value of any quantity at the beginning of the current time step

\(n + 1\)

The value of any quantity at the end of the current time step. If no superscript is present, the default is n

N

Used in relation to the cylindrical chunks, to indicate the area of the lower and upper base

vap

Vaporization