Preliminary hydraulic analysis of the distribution zone in the dual fluid reactor concept

This paper focuses on the validation of the basic design of the distribution zone of the Dual Fluid Reactor, which is a molten salt fast reactor based on the Generation IV Molten-Salt Reactor concept and the Liquid-Metal Cooled Reactor. The distribution zone locates under the core and joints the core and input pipes of both fluids. On the top of the core another distribution zone for output specified is also symmetrically set up, however it will not be mentioned in the paper. This distribution zone partitions the inlet flow of the salt and determines the pressure and velocity distribution of the core inlet and influences the neutronic behaviors in the core. COMSOL is used for developing model to study the pressure and velocity distributions in various configurations/designs of the inlet plenum in the dual fluid reactor concept. This tool is also used to determine the initial/boundary conditions of configuration variations of the distribution zone by hydraulic modelling and calculations. The simulation results will be analyzed and the optimized design will be delivered.