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Thermal striping induced fatigue cracking incidents in the vicinity of a T-junction - where coolant streams at different temperatures mix together intensively - has been reported in several Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and is considered a challenge to the safe operation of NPPs. The complex underlying turbulent flow behavior following the T-junction makes it difficult to monitor the extent of fatigue damage using instrumentation. Existing literature predominantly contains mixing experiments where the temperature difference ( T) between the fluids is lower in relation to the Ts in NPPs. Experiments carried out at realistic T between the fluids, on the other hand, lack detailed numerical studies analyzing the different aspects of the flow mixing behavior. This work deals with the coupled experimental and numerical studies of flow mixing occurring in a horizontal T-junction piping from a thermal-hydraulic standpoint. The chosen range of temperature difference ( T) between the mixing fluids lie between 60 °C and 240 °C. Experiments have been conducted in the FSI test loop at University of Stuttgart. Numerical studies were performed using large-eddy simulation (LES) turbulence model.

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selvam, P. Karthick
Coming from India, Dr. Karthick Selvam did schooling in his hometown of Dharmapuri followed by Bachelor´s degree in Mechanical Engg. at College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai. He then did his Masters at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati. After a brief stint with Bosch India, he completed his PhD at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

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