Gas Entrainment Simulation for Fast Reactors using Freesurface Lattice Boltzmann Method

In fast reactor designs, preventing gas entrainment (GE) caused by free-surface vortices is crucial. Numerical analysis is typically used to identify scenarios with and without GE and speedup the design process. However, conventional numerical methods based on incompressible Navier-Stokes solvers are often inefficient and inaccurate. To address this, we explore the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) as an alternative, known for its computational efficiency and ability to simulate complex flows. In this study, we employ freesurface LBM to accelerate GE analysis, greatly reducing computational costs. Our LBM simulations show good agreement with experimental data, suggesting a promising approach for faster analysis in future fast reactor designs.