Nek5000: improvements in the available RANS models, meshing, tutorials, and training

Abstract

This year, the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling Simulation program (NEAMS) thermal-hydraulics report for Nek5000 NRC- and verification and validation (V&V)-driven development focuses on following areas of code application and improvement. First we have continued improvements of RANS modeling capabilities in Nek5000 including improved k-tau model focusing mostly on wallfunction initial implementation with spectral element method (SEM) and initiating investigation of an alternative approach XSEM that greatly reduces discretization errors.