Computational study of the influence of some systematic factors on the fuel temperature in a very high temperature gas-cooled reactor with prismatic fuel assemblies

The influence of the main systematic factors of overheating (such as nonuniformity of power density and cold leaks of coolant) on the fuel temperatures in a very high temperature gas-cooled reactor NGNP (Next Generation Nuclear Plant) with prismatic fuel blocks is studied. The results of computations show a high sensitivity of the fuel temperatures to systematic factors of overheating. This circumstance indicates the necessity of high-precision three-dimensional modeling of the gas dynamics and heat transfer in the core when designing this type of reactor.