THINS

Thermal-Hydraulics of Innovative Nuclear Systems.

For the long-term development of nuclear power, innovative nuclear systems such as Gen-IV reactors and transmutation systems need to be developed for meeting future energy challenges. Thermal-hydraulics is recognized as a key scientific subject in the development of innovative reactor systems. This project is devoted to important crosscutting thermal-hydraulic issues encountered in various innovative nuclear systems, such as advanced reactor core thermal-hydraulics, single phase mixed convection and turbulence, specific multiphase flow, and code coupling and qualification.
The main objectives of the project are: Generation of a data base for the development and validation of new models and codes describing the selected crosscutting thermal-hydraulic phenomena. This data base contains both experimental data and data from direct numerical simulations (DNS). Development of new physical models and modeling approaches for more accurate description of the crosscutting thermal-hydraulic phenomena such as heat transfer and flow mixing, turbulent flow modeling for a wide range of Prandtl numbers, and modeling of flows under strong influence of buoyancy. Improvement of the numerical engineering tools and establishment of a numerical platform for the design analysis of the innovative nuclear systems.
This platform contains numerical codes of various classes of spatial scales, i.e. system analysis, sub-channel analysis and CFD codes, their coupling and the guidelines for their applications. The project will achieve optimum usage of available European resources in experimental facilities, numerical tools and expertise. It will establish a new common platform of research results and research infrastructure.
The main outcomes of the project will be a synergized infrastructure for thermal-hydraulic research of innovative nuclear systems in Europe.

Coordinator
Karlsruher Institut Fuer Technologie (Germany)

Other participants
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM-UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA
- Dip. di Ingegneria Industriale-DIN
- Resp. Scientifico: Prof. Sandro Manservisi 
Universita Degli Studi Di Modena E Reggio Emilia (Italy)
Computational Dynamics Limited (UK)
TEES-Texas Engineering Experiment Station (USA)
Technische Universiteit Delft (Netherlands)
Centro Di Ricerca, Sviluppo E Studi Superiori In Sardegna (Italy)
Ascomp Gmbh (Switzerland)
Agenzia Nazionale Per Le Nuove Tecnologie,L'Energia E Lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile (Italy)
Ansaldo Nucleare Spa (Italy)
Commissariat A L Energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives (France)
Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto (Finland)
Institut De Radioprotection Et De Surete Nucleaire (France)
Nuclear Research And Consultancy Group (Netherlands)
Studiecentrum Voor Kernenergie (Belgium)
Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Ev (Germany)
Universita Di Pisa (Italy)
Institut Jozef Stefan (Slovenia)
Universite Catholique De Louvain (Belgium)
Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan (Sweden)
Imperial College Of Science, Technology And Medicine (UK)
Paul Scherrer Institut (Switzerland)
Gesellschaft Fuer Anlagen- Und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) Mbh (Germany)
Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Germany)

Start date 01/02/2010
End date 31/01/2015
Duration 60 months
Project Reference 249337
Project cost 10.454.294,80 EURO
Project Funding 5.941.810,80 EURO  
Area FP7- EURATOM-FISSION
Subprogramme Area Fission-2009-2.3.1: Thermal-hydraulic issues and development of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes for advanced reactor systems
Contract type Collaborative project. Large-scale integrating project