scholarly journals RELAP5-3D Three-Dimensional Analysis Based on PHÉNIX Dissymmetric Transient Test

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Narcisi ◽  
Fabio Giannetti ◽  
Andrea Subioli ◽  
Alessandro Del Nevo ◽  
Gianfranco Caruso

Abstract Before the final shutdown of the PHÉNIX fast reactor, the CEA carried out a final set of experimental tests to gather data and additional knowledge on relevant sodium fast reactors (SFR) operation and safety aspects. One of these experiments conducted was the dissymmetrical configuration test, which was selected as benchmark transient within the H2020 SESAME project. ENEA and Sapienza University of Rome are participating in the benchmark using the RELAP5-3D© code. The thermal hydraulic analysis focuses on adequate core cooling prediction in accidental scenario. With the goal of investigating asymmetric thermal hydraulic behavior inside of the reactor pool, two different nodalization approaches have been applied for the RELAP5-3D model, which adopt the same geometrical scheme for the primary flow path, with the exception of the hot and cold pools and the core bypass. The first scheme has been developed using vertical parallel pipes with cross junctions for the hot and cold pools and an equivalent pipe to reproduce the core bypass. The second model includes a multidimensional (MULTID) component, which simulates the pools and provides a detailed nodalization of the core bypass. This study aims at assessing whether the two modeling approaches are equally capable to predict the asymmetrical temperature evolution over the test, caused by the azimuthal asymmetry of the boundary conditions. Blind calculation results are presented and discussed. The paper will be a first step toward the RELAP5-3D code assessment against the experimental results collected as part of the PHÉNIX dissymmetric test.

Author(s):  
F. Giannetti ◽  
V. Narcisi ◽  
A. Subioli ◽  
A. Del Nevo

Before the definitive shutdown of Phénix fast reactor, a pool-type sodium-cooled prototype, occurred in the year 2009, the French Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) decided to carry out a final set of experimental tests, in order to gather data and additional knowledge on relevant Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) operation and safety aspects. One of these experiments was the dissymmetrical configuration test, which has been selected as a benchmark transient on H2020 SESAME project. ENEA and Sapienza University of Rome are participating, in collaboration, in the benchmark using RELAP5-3D© code, developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The analysis of the thermal hydraulic characteristics and the plant behavior focuses on the accurate core cooling prediction in natural circulation, by assessing the flow and the temperatures in the various reactor components. Aiming to investigate the asymmetric thermal hydraulic behavior inside the pool, the nodalization scheme has been developed using a detailed parallel pipe with cross-junctions for the hot and cold pool and the core has been simulated assembly per assembly, including blanket and reflector, in the first seven rings, ready for a proficient coupling with a three-dimensional neutron kinetic analysis code. The scope of the present study is to verify if a detailed thermal–hydraulics pool model could add useful data to show the differences which occur in each loop and into the pools, caused by the azimuthal asymmetry of the boundary conditions. Blind calculations results are here presented and discussed, highlighting the details added with the multidimensional nodalization scheme, compared to a mono-dimensional model. The paper will be a first step on the comparison of a Phénix mono-dimensional and three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic nodalization and on the RELAP5-3D© code assessment against the dissymmetrical experimental results.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109963622110338
Author(s):  
Yury Solyaev ◽  
Arseniy Babaytsev ◽  
Anastasia Ustenko ◽  
Andrey Ripetskiy ◽  
Alexander Volkov

Mechanical performance of 3d-printed polyamide sandwich beams with different type of the lattice cores is investigated. Four variants of the beams are considered, which differ in the type of connections between the elements in the lattice structure of the core. We consider the pantographic-type lattices formed by the two families of inclined beams placed with small offset and connected by stiff joints (variant 1), by hinges (variant 2) and made without joints (variant 3). The fourth type of the core has the standard plane geometry formed by the intersected beams lying in the same plane (variant 4). Experimental tests were performed for the localized indentation loading according to the three-point bending scheme with small span-to-thickness ratio. From the experiments we found that the plane geometry of variant 4 has the highest rigidity and the highest load bearing capacity in the static tests. However, other three variants of the pantographic-type cores (1–3) demonstrate the better performance under the impact loading. The impact strength of such structures are in 3.5–5 times higher than those one of variant 4 with almost the same mass per unit length. This result is validated by using numerical simulations and explained by the decrease of the stress concentration and the stress state triaxiality and also by the delocalization effects that arise in the pantographic-type cores.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6972
Author(s):  
Lihua Cui ◽  
Fei Ma ◽  
Tengfei Cai

The cavitation phenomenon of the self-resonating waterjet for the modulation of erosion characteristics is investigated in this paper. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to analyze the unsteady characteristics of the self-resonating jet. The numerical model employs the mixture two-phase model, coupling the realizable turbulence model and Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model. Collected data from experimental tests were used to validate the model. Results of numerical simulations and experimental data frequency bands obtained by the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) method were in very good agreement. For better understanding the physical phenomena, the velocity, the pressure distributions, and the cavitation characteristics were investigated. The obtained results show that the sudden change of the flow velocity at the outlet of the nozzle leads to the forms of the low-pressure zone. When the pressure at the low-pressure zone is lower than the vapor pressure, the cavitation occurs. The flow field structure of the waterjet can be directly perceived through simulation, which can provide theoretical support for realizing the modulation of the erosion characteristics, optimizing nozzle structure.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 581
Author(s):  
Andrés Felipe Cuspoca ◽  
Laura Lorena Díaz ◽  
Alvaro Fernando Acosta ◽  
Marcela Katherine Peñaloza ◽  
Yardany Rafael Méndez ◽  
...  

The coronavirus pandemic is a major public health crisis affecting global health systems with dire socioeconomic consequences, especially in vulnerable regions such as Latin America (LATAM). There is an urgent need for a vaccine to help control contagion, reduce mortality and alleviate social costs. In this study, we propose a rational multi-epitope candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Using bioinformatics, we constructed a library of potential vaccine peptides, based on the affinity of the most common major human histocompatibility complex (HLA) I and II molecules in the LATAM population to predict immunological complexes among antigenic, non-toxic and non-allergenic peptides extracted from the conserved regions of 92 proteomes. Although HLA-C, had the greatest antigenic peptide capacity from SARS-CoV-2, HLA-B and HLA-A, could be more relevant based on COVID-19 risk of infection in LATAM countries. We also used three-dimensional structures of SARS-CoV-2 proteins to identify potential regions for antibody production. The best HLA-I and II predictions (with increased coverage in common alleles and regions evoking B lymphocyte responses) were grouped into an optimized final multi-epitope construct containing the adjuvants Beta defensin-3, TpD, and PADRE, which are recognized for invoking a safe and specific immune response. Finally, we used Molecular Dynamics to identify the multi-epitope construct which may be a stable target for TLR-4/MD-2. This would prove to be safe and provide the physicochemical requirements for conducting experimental tests around the world.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2233
Author(s):  
Loïc Pougnault ◽  
Hugo Cousillas ◽  
Christine Heyraud ◽  
Ludwig Huber ◽  
Martine Hausberger ◽  
...  

Attention is defined as the ability to process selectively one aspect of the environment over others and is at the core of all cognitive processes such as learning, memorization, and categorization. Thus, evaluating and comparing attentional characteristics between individuals and according to situations is an important aspect of cognitive studies. Recent studies showed the interest of analyzing spontaneous attention in standardized situations, but data are still scarce, especially for songbirds. The present study adapted three tests of attention (towards visual non-social, visual social, and auditory stimuli) as tools for future comparative research in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), a species that is well known to present individual variations in social learning or engagement. Our results reveal that attentional characteristics (glances versus gazes) vary according to the stimulus broadcasted: more gazes towards unusual visual stimuli and species-specific auditory stimuli and more glances towards species-specific visual stimuli and hetero-specific auditory stimuli. This study revealing individual variations shows that these tests constitute a very useful and easy-to-use tool for evaluating spontaneous individual attentional characteristics and their modulation by a variety of factors. Our results also indicate that attentional skills are not a uniform concept and depend upon the modality and the stimulus type.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1559
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Khosravani ◽  
Jonas Schüürmann ◽  
Filippo Berto ◽  
Tamara Reinicke

Application of Additive Manufacturing (AM) has significantly increased in the past few years. AM also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing has been currently used in fabrication of prototypes and end-use products. Considering the new applications of additively manufactured components, it is necessary to study structural details of these parts. In the current study, influence of a post-processing on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts has been investigated. To this aim, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material was used to produce test coupons based on the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process. More in deep, a device was designed and fabricated to fix imperfection and provide smooth surfaces on the 3D-printed ABS specimens. Later, original and treated specimens were subjected to a series of tensile loads, three-point bending tests, and water absorption tests. The experimental tests indicated fracture load in untreated dog-bone shaped specimen was 2026.1 N which was decreased to 1951.7 N after surface treatment. Moreover, the performed surface treatment was lead and decrease in tensile strength from 29.37 MPa to 26.25 MPa. Comparison of the results confirmed effects of the surface modification on the fracture toughness of the examined semi-circular bending components. Moreover, a 3D laser microscope was used for visual investigation of the specimens. The documented results are beneficial for next designs and optimization of finishing processes.


Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaping Tao ◽  
Ligang Han ◽  
Andong Sun ◽  
Kexi Sun ◽  
Qian Zhang ◽  
...  

Methyl-3-aminothiophene-2-carboxylate (matc) is a key intermediate in organic synthesis, medicine, dyes, and pesticides. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that matc crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system P21/c space group. Three matc molecules in the symmetric unit are crystallographically different and further linked through the N–H⋯O and N–H⋯N hydrogen bond interactions along with weak C–H⋯S and C–H⋯Cg interactions, which is verified by the three-dimensional Hirshfeld surface, two-dimensional fingerprint plot, and reduced density gradient (RDG) analysis. The interaction energies within crystal packing are visualized through dispersion, electrostatic, and total energies using three-dimensional energy-framework analyses. The dispersion energy dominates in crystal packing. To better understand the properties of matc, electrostatic potential (ESP) and frontier molecular orbitals (FMO) were also calculated and discussed. Experimental and calculation results suggested that amino and carboxyl groups can participate in various inter- and intra-interactions.


Metals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Sayed

The perforated steel sheets have many uses, so they should be studied under the influence of the uniaxial tensile load. The presence of these holes in the steel sheets certainly affects the mechanical properties. This paper aims at studying the behavior of the stress-strain engineering relationships of the perforated steel sheets. To achieve this, the three-dimensional finite element (FE) model is mainly designed to investigate the effect of this condition. Experimental tests were carried out on solid specimens to be used in the test of model accuracy of the FE simulation. Simulation testing shows that the FE modeling revealed the ability to calculate the stress-strain engineering relationships of perforated steel sheets. It can be concluded that the effect of a perforated rhombus shape is greater than the others, and perforated square shape has no effect on the stress-strain engineering relationships. The efficiency of the perforated staggered or linearly distribution shapes with the actual net area on the applied loads has the opposite effect, as it reduces the load capacity for all types of perforated shapes. Despite the decrease in load capacity, it improves the properties of the steel sheets.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengzhi Wang ◽  
Chunling Zhu

In view of the rotor icing problems, the influence of centrifugal force on rotor blade icing is investigated. A numerical simulation method of three-dimensional rotor blade icing is presented. Body-fitted grids around the rotor blade are generated using overlapping grid technology and rotor flow field characteristics are obtained by solving N-S equations. According to Eulerian two-phase flow, the droplet trajectories are calculated and droplet impingement characteristics are obtained. The mass and energy conservation equations of ice accretion model are established and a new calculation method of runback water mass based on shear stress and centrifugal force is proposed to simulate water flow and ice shape. The calculation results are compared with available experimental results in order to verify the correctness of the numerical simulation method. The influence of centrifugal force on rotor icing is calculated. The results show that the flow direction and distribution of liquid water on rotor surfaces change under the action of centrifugal force, which lead to the increasing of icing at the stagnation point and the decreasing of icing on both frozen limitations.


1988 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 949-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN P. PRIESTLE ◽  
HANS-PETER SCHÄR ◽  
MARKUS G. GRÜTTER

Summary The three-dimensional structure of human recombinant interleukin-1β has been determined at 0.24 nm resolution by X-ray crystallographic techniques. The partially refined model has a crystallographic R-factor of just under 19%. The structure is composed of 12 β-strands forming a complex network of hydrogen bonds. The core of the structure can best be described as a tetrahedron whose edges are each formed by two antiparallel β-strands. The interior of this structure is filled with hydrophobic side-chains. There is a 3-fold repeat in the folding of the polypeptide chain. Although this folding pattern suggests gene triplication, no significant internal sequence homology between topologically corresponding residues exists. The folding topology of interleukin-1β is very similar to that described by A. D. McLachlan [(1979) J. Mol. Biol. 133, 557–563] for soybean trypsin inhibitor.


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