INFLUENCE OF DISTURBANCES IN THE GEOMETRY OF THE ELEMENTS OF A REGULARLY POROUS SYSTEM ON THE HYDRODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CLUSTERS OF FUEL ELEMENTS OF A NUCLEAR REACTOR
E. K. D'yakov,a G. V. Konyukhov,b and V. G. Konyukhovc UDC 621.039.517 The results of an experimental investigation of the hydraulic characteristics of clusters of twisted self-spaced rods on initiation of possible damages of their integrity are presented. For some probable breakdowns of clusters in their flow region the influence of these disturbances on the coefficient of hydraulic resistance of a packet of rods and on the distribution of velocities of the working body in the cross section of a cluster are investigated. The data obtained can be used for predicting the change in the thermal state of the active zone of the reactor, in particular, of the reactor of power plants under conditions of possible failure of fuel elements. aFederal State Unitary Enterprise at the Scientific-Research Institute of the Scientific-Production Association "Luch," 24 Zheleznodorozhnaya Str., Podol'sk, Moscow Region, 142100, Russia; b"M. V. Keldysh Research Center" Federal State Unitary Enterprise, 8 Onezhskaya Str., Moscow, 125438, Russia; email: kerc@elnet.msk.ru; cRussian State University of Physical Culture, Moscow. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 365-372, March-April, 2008. Original article submitted June 21, 2007.