Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

The thermal-hydraulic analysis of Spent Fuel Pool accident scenarios is predominantly carried out using one-dimensional system or severe accident codes. Within these codes, very simplified assumptions are made for the flow paths around the storage racks and inside the reactor building. This work presents CFD simulations which deliver a more detailed insight into these convective phenomena, given the scenario of partially uncovered fuel assemblies. It is shown that the spatial distribution of the fuel assemblies in the pool with respect to their decay heat production plays a subordinate role in the development of the large scale flow paths in the pool atmosphere.