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THINKLAB
KOEN

THINKLAB

Innovative SMR Design Laboratory·Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University

Designing and analysing next-generation reactors with thermal-hydraulics and AI

THINKLAB at the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University develops components and design concepts for small modular reactors (SMRs). We validate designs through CFD analysis, flow visualization experiments, and thermal-hydraulic system calculations.

Explore researchMembers
Research areas 8
8
Journal papers 21
21
Conference talks 29
29
Lab members 7
7

Research Vision

We turn simulation and experiment into design guidance

Simulation alone cannot justify a design, and experiments alone cannot cover every condition.

  1. 01

    Design Concept

    설계 개념

    We define the geometry and operating conditions of an SMR component, then turn the open thermal-hydraulic questions into design variables.

  2. 02

    Numerical Analysis

    수치 해석

    We compute the flow and temperature fields with CFD and system codes, and quantify the numerical uncertainty from mesh and model choices.

  3. 03

    Experimental Validation

    실험 검증

    We measure the real velocity field in visualization experiments, check the simulation against it, and trace the cause wherever the two disagree.

Validation results feed back into the design variables and start the next cycle.

Live Simulation

When the pumps stop, heat still drives the flow

This is a layer of fluid, hot below and cold above. Warmed fluid turns light and rises; cooled fluid turns heavy and sinks. That pumpless flow is natural convection, and it is the force a passive safety system relies on to carry heat away.

Not a recording. Your browser is solving the flow and heat-transfer equations right now.

Passive safety research
Cold wallT = Tc
Hot wallT = Th
ColderHotter
RaRayleigh number
107
How strongly buoyancy beats viscosity and heat diffusion
PrPrandtl number
7
How fast momentum spreads compared with heat. 7 is water at room temperature
NuNusselt number
14.9
How many times more heat crosses the layer than by conduction alone
Figure. 2D Rayleigh–Bénard convection, 256 × 128 grid. Colour is temperature. A demonstration of the principle, not a lab result.

Research

Research areas

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TConcept
01

SMR Components & Design Concepts

We work on the dynamic loads on the emergency depressurization and recirculation valves of the i-SMR, the flow characteristics inside and outside helical coil tubes, and two-phase flow.

i-SMREmergency valve dynamic loadsHelical coil tube
UConcept
02

Computational Fluid Dynamics & Validation

We compute velocity and temperature fields where measurement is impractical, and establish how far those numbers hold by putting them against experiment. The longest thread runs through wire-wrapped fuel bundles for sodium-cooled fast reactors.

RANS · URANSLES · DESWire-wrapped bundles
|U|Concept
03

Flow Visualization Experiments

We match the refractive index of the working fluid to a transparent model of a reactor internal, making the walls optically vanish, and measure the velocity field inside. Those measurements become the reference against which simulations are checked.

Matched index of refraction (MIR)Particle image velocimetry (PIV)Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF)

Five results, written out in full

Publications

Selected papers

All publications

2020

Investigation on subchannel flow distribution in wire-wrapped 37 and 61-pin bundle using computational fluid dynamics

M. Song, J. H. Jeong, E. S. Kim

Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 370, pp. 110904

Lab Tools

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Affiliation

THINKLAB is part of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Hanyang University.

Department of Nuclear Engineering원자력공학과Admissions, curriculum, and faculty information are on the department website.nuclear.hanyang.ac.krVisitHanyang UniversityHanyang University main websitehanyang.ac.kr

Join Us

The world is waiting for stronger, safer SMRs and MMRs

New manufacturing and materials technologies are opening the way. We are looking for people to develop it with us.

We accept graduate students and undergraduate researchers interested in nuclear thermal-hydraulics, CFD, and flow visualization experiments year-round. A different major is fine as long as you have the fundamentals of fluid mechanics and heat transfer.

Read the callBrowse research areas

Talk to us

For a conversation about careers, coursework or university life, email any time.

Contact

Email
hysms [at] hanyang.ac.kr
Office
Room 312-2, International Building, Hanyang University
Address
222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea