The recent GO-VIKING project meeting, held at Framatome GmbH in Erlangen, Germany, was a vibrant two-day event that showcased significant advancements in nuclear reactor safety experimentation and simulation. Partners from various sectors including academia, industry, and research institutions gathered to share scientific progress, and to foster the collaboration within the project.
Day One: Insights and Advances in Simulation and Modeling
The day began with welcoming remarks from both, the organizational team and the managing director of Framatome GmbH, Carsten Haferkamp, who emphasized the importance of the GO-VIKING project's goals. Following the introductions, the Project Management Team from LGI, GRS and NRG presented a detailed report on the current project matters and overall progress, setting the stage for the discussions that followed on the project’s tasks, which are divided in work packages.
Presentations on Work Package 6 "Education, training and dissemination" highlighted innovative approaches to broadening the project's impact through community engagement, such as the new GO-VIKING Zenodo Community, and knowledge sharing with the recent GO-VIKING Open Lecture. The session on Work Package 5 then took a deep dive into the technical aspects of GO-VIKING, with a focus on fast-running methods, uncertainty quantification, and best practice guidelines, which are important for the industry as well as for the regulatory acceptance of the safety demonstration cases.
The afternoon featured intense technical discussions, beginning with updates from GRS on the utilization of a structural reduced-order model (MOR) coupled to a CFD code for the simulation of the AMOVI cross-flow vibration experiment and a presentation on projection-based Reduced Order Models (ROMs) for the fluid domain by TUD. Updates were provided on the Synthetic Turbulence Approach (IPP Centre) and the AniPFM (NRG) developments. These talks demonstrated the cutting-edge methodologies being developed to enhance simulation efficiency and accuracy. Further two presentations demonstrated the preparations for the validation of the uncertainty quantification method, based on Polynomial Chaos Expansion (PCE), developed by UGENT on the two-phase flow experiment TITAN, while TUD presented their approach for the quantification of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence closure error on the output in numerical simulations.
One of the largest project achievements in this period is the construction of VKI’s GOKSTAD experimental facility. Fig. 2 shows the ready for operation test section of the experimental loop that will provide high-quality vibration and flow measurements in a tube bundle, exposed to a cross-flow. The day concluded with some insights into the simulation of similar configurations, relevant for steam generators, as well as discussions on the upcoming numerical challenges for the involved partners in this task.
Fig 2: Ready for operation test section of the GOKSTAD facility at VKI.
Fig 2: Ready for operation test section of the GOKSTAD facility at VKI.
The second day started with a technical tour, giving participants a hands-on look at the mechanical testing, material analysis, and corrosion studies pertinent to nuclear safety. This was followed by updates on the ALAIN fuel assembly benchmark. The results of very detailed RANS and scale-resolving simulations (Fig. 2) with up to 450 million elements were presented by CEA and Framatome, proving the applicability of such sophisticated numerical methods for the analysis of complex turbulence-induced vibrations in nuclear reactor cores.
The focus then shifted to Work Package 4, which dealt with the advancements in the simulation of flow-induced vibrations in two-phase flow environment. EDF presented encouraging results from their, multiphase simulations on the TITAN and the Cantilever Rod experiments. IRSN presented measurements taken in the TREFLE facility and their comparison with analytical models. The presented experimental and numerical work highlighted the significant progress in the analysis and the understanding of flow-induced vibrations in multiphase flows—a key challenge in the safe operation of steam generators in nuclear power plants.
The second day concluded with a project management board meeting, which focused on the upcoming steps and challenges of the project. Furthermore, the progress made over the past year was acknowledged, as well as the excellent achievement that halfway the project all deliverables and milestones are still in time and no delays are currently expected.
Fig. 2 Turbulent kinetic energy in the ALAIN rod bundle simulated by CEA with RANS approach (left) and Large Eddy Simulation (right).
Key Takeaways
The GO-VIKING project meeting not only highlighted the technical achievements, but also reinforced the collaborative framework, essential for advancing nuclear reactor safety. The integration of diverse expertise from various partners enhanced the project’s scope and depth, with significant progress in simulation technologies, such as the development of fast-running methods and detailed uncertainty quantifications. Discussions on experimental designs and their practical applications demonstrated a strong link between theoretical research and real-world implications for reactor safety. As the project progresses, it continues to set benchmarks in the field of flow-induced vibrations and nuclear safety, with the community eagerly anticipating future developments.
Stay up to date with the GO-VIKING project and follow us on LinkedIn, X (twitter) and subscribe to our newsletter.
