Analysis of Turbulence Induced Thermal Mixing Effects on T-Junction Fluid-Structure Degradation

Thermal striping generally is recognized as a significant long-term degradation mechanism in the primary cooling water circuit of nuclear power plants (NPPs). This phenomenon occurs by mixing of hot and cold water streams in the primary coolant loop. Depending on the flow configuration, the turbulent mixing process can lead to thermal striping, temperature fluctuations in the T-junction region, thermal fatigue, and crack generation in the associated structure. The objective of this study is to provide an in-depth look into the underlying physics for thermal fatigue to determine appropriate screening criteria and risk significance for the regulatory safety evaluation process. In addition, the structure of turbulence in the T-junction also is investigated. The computational method comprised of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) modeling to simulate turbulence and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) analysis to capture the coherent structures and turbulence scales. In addition, Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) analyses have been performed to predict the thermal field and temperature distribution in the solid piping material of the T-junction. Finally, the corresponding thermal stress in the solid pipe is estimated based on a simplified one-dimensional model to assess the thermal-structure degradation.