Abstract
Modifications to the Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software ANSYS Fluent were done to quantify and characterize tritium transport in gas-liquid contactors (GLCs). A double-slit, Ergun-like equation was employed for the porous media model, with Ergun coefficients validated with Sulzer's Sulcol software. Tritium transport from PbLi within the GLC was verified against analytical models. The geometry of the CFD model was based on the MELODIE GLC experiment. The hydrodynamic CFD pressure drop results align well with Sulcol estimations and fall between the predictions of the analytical Delft-Olujić and Billet and Schultes models. In terms of mass transfer efficiency, traditional mass transfer models showed a significant deviation from experimental results when using varying values of H solubility in PbLi. A saturation phenomenon occurred when utilizing high solubility values for hydrogen in PbLi. A modified film theory mass transfer coefficient incorporating either the Delft-Olujić or Billet and Schultes wettability model yielded CFD-predicted extraction efficiencies that closely matched experimental measurements.
Recommended Citation
A. G. Bowers et al., "Implementation of Tritium Transport in a Gas-liquid Contactor CFD Simulation of Tritium Extraction from Lead-lithium in ANSYS Fluent," Fusion Engineering and Design, vol. 222, article no. 115479, Elsevier, Jan 2026.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2025.115479
Department(s)
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science
Publication Status
Full Text Access
Keywords and Phrases
Computational fluid dynamics, Porous media approach, Eulerian-Eulerian, Ergun; Fusion; Gas-liquid contactor (GLC); Tritium extraction from Pbli
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0920-3796
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2026
Comments
Office of Science, Grant DE-SC0023674