Comparison of 2D and 3D FEM Models of Eddy Current Pressure Tube to Calandria Tube Gap Measurement

G. Klein [1], J. Morelli [1], T. Krause [2],
[1] Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
[2] Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, Canada
Published in 2016

Two different Finite Element Method (FEM) models of the CANDU® nuclear fuel channels were compared against experimental data to determine if the curvature of the fuel channels is necessary to consider for measurements of the pressure tube to calandria tube gap. The different models were compared against experimental measurements under variations in the wall thickness of the pressure tube. For pressure tube to calandria tube gaps less than 10 mm the curved model was able to estimate different gaps within ~0.1 mm, whereas the flat plate model was able to estimate those same gaps within ~0.5 mm. This demonstrates that the curvature of the fuel channels needs to be taken into account for accurate measurements of the pressure tube to calandria tube gap.