The AP1000™ PWR reactor vessel upper plenum contains numerous control rod guide tubes and support columns. Below the upper plenum are the upper core plate and the top core region of the fuel assemblies. Before detailed CFD simulations of the flow in the entire upper plenum and top core regions are performed, conducting local simulations for smaller sections of the domain can provide crucial and detailed physical aspects of the flow. These sub-domain models can also be used to perform mesh sensitivities and to assess what geometrical details may be eliminated from the larger model in order to reduce mesh size and computational requirements. The study discussed in this paper focuses on the sections of the domain related to the control rod guide tubes. The commercial CFD code STAR-CCM+ is employed to generate the computational mesh, to solve the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow with a Realizable k-epsilon turbulence model, and to post-process the results. Two sub-domains are modeled and analyzed: (1) a 1/4 section of one control rod guide tube by itself and (2) a representative unit cell containing two sections of adjacent control rod guide tubes and one 1/4 section of a neighboring support column. For the 1/4 guide tube model (sub-domain 1), trimmed meshes of up to 16 million cells are generated to compute the flow and pressure fields in both complete and simplified (without chamfers and narrow gaps) models. Comparisons of the results lead to the conclusion that the simplified geometry model might be used when developing larger domain models in the future. The representative unit cell (sub-domain 2) is assumed to be positioned in the center of the upper plenum where the global lateral flow effects are minimal. At this position, the lateral flows are generated mainly by the flow as it exits the guide tubes. After flow enters the unit cell from the bottom, there are three potential locations for flow to leave the unit cell: (1) lower locations near the support column and the upper core plate, (2) side windows in the lower portion of the guide tubes, and (3) upper locations near the guide plates positioned inside the guide tubes. Both trimmed and polyhedral meshes are generated as part of the mesh sensitivity studies. Predicted flow rates at each of the outflow locations in conjunction with results from the mesh sensitivity studies provide guidance on (1) what geometry to preserve or remove, (2) what geometry can be simplified to reduce the required mesh, and (3) an estimate of the total mesh required to model the control rod guide tube and support column geometry in the much larger simulation of the entire upper plenum and top fuel domain.Copyright © 2010 by ASME