Flow and Heat Transfer Simulation in a Complete PWR Fuel Assembly Using Wall-Modelled Rans

Author(s):  
Blaž Mikuž ◽  
Ferry Roelofs

Abstract Reproduction of turbulent flow and heat transfer inside a pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assembly is a challenging task due to the complex geometry and the huge computational domain. Capability of a wall-modelled RANS approach has been examined, which had already been validated against the measurements of the MATiS-H experiment. The method is here expanded to a larger computational domain aiming to reproduce flow and thermal field in the entire PWR fuel assembly. Namely, in the first part of the present study, wall-modelled RANS is performed in a relatively short section of the representative PWR fuel assembly containing one single mixing grid with an array of 15×15 fuel rods. Linear and nonlinear eddy-viscosity turbulence models have been applied, however no significant difference is observed in the predicted pressure drop in the fuel assembly. The obtained predictions revealed an interesting pattern of swirl flow as well as diagonal cross flow downstream the mixing grid, which is driven by the applied design of split-type mixing vanes. In the second part, the computational model is extended to a domain representative of a complete PWR fuel assembly with ten mixing grids, inlet and outlet sections. Pressure drop and flow field are analysed together with the predicted temperature and potential hot spots. In spite of a relatively coarse spatial resolution of the applied approach, the wall-modelled RANS provided promising results at least for the qualitative prediction of the pressure, flow field and location of hot spots.

1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 840-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Dyko ◽  
K. Vafai

A heightened awareness of the importance of natural convective cooling as a driving factor in design and thermal management of aircraft braking systems has emerged in recent years. As a result, increased attention is being devoted to understanding the buoyancy-driven flow and heat transfer occurring within the complex air passageways formed by the wheel and brake components, including the interaction of the internal and external flow fields. Through application of contemporary computational methods in conjunction with thorough experimentation, robust numerical simulations of these three-dimensional processes have been developed and validated. This has provided insight into the fundamental physical mechanisms underlying the flow and yielded the tools necessary for efficient optimization of the cooling process to improve overall thermal performance. In the present work, a brief overview of aircraft brake thermal considerations and formulation of the convection cooling problem are provided. This is followed by a review of studies of natural convection within closed and open-ended annuli and the closely related investigation of inboard and outboard subdomains of the braking system. Relevant studies of natural convection in open rectangular cavities are also discussed. Both experimental and numerical results obtained to date are addressed, with emphasis given to the characteristics of the flow field and the effects of changes in geometric parameters on flow and heat transfer. Findings of a concurrent numerical and experimental investigation of natural convection within the wheel and brake assembly are presented. These results provide, for the first time, a description of the three-dimensional aircraft braking system cooling flow field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.35) ◽  
pp. 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Irmawati Om ◽  
Rozli Zulkifli ◽  
P. Gunnasegaran

The influence of utilizing different nanofluids types on the liquid cold plate (LCP) is numerically investigated. The thermal and fluid flow performance of LCP is examined by using pure ethylene glycol (EG), Al2O3-EG and CuO-EG. The volume fraction of the nanoparticle for both nanofluid is 2%. The finite volume method (FVM) has been used to solved 3-D steady state, laminar flow and heat transfer governing equations. The presented results indicate that Al2O3-EG able to provide the lowest surface temperature of the heater block followed by CuO-EG and EG, respectively. It is also found that the pressure drop and friction factor are higher for Al2O3-EG and CuO-EG compared to the pure EG.


Author(s):  
Alireza Dastan ◽  
Omid Abouali

In this paper pressure drop and particle deposition in a microchannel with a hydraulic diameter of 225 micrometer is investigated numerically. Several hundred micron length fibers caught at the entrance of the channels making a “fiber web” also is modeled in this research. Governing equations for the flow field are solved with an Eulerian approach while the equations of particle motion in the flow are solved by a Lagrangian approach. Assuming the symmetry in the domain, one channel and the corresponding plenum are studied in the computational domain. For studying the effects of fibers in the flow, two fiber webs with four and six solid fibers are studied. The increase of pressure drop in the microchannel because of the entrance fiber web is computed and discussed. Also deposition and collection of the particles with various diameters at the fiber webs are also presented.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duckjong Kim ◽  
Sung Jin Kim

In the present work, a compact modeling method based on a volume-averaging technique is presented. Its application to an analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in straight fin heat sinks is then analyzed. In this study, the straight fin heat sink is modeled as a porous medium through which fluid flows. The volume-averaged momentum and energy equations for developing flow in these heat sinks are obtained using the local volume-averaging method. The permeability and the interstitial heat transfer coefficient required to solve these equations are determined analytically from forced convective flow between infinite parallel plates. To validate the compact model proposed in this paper, three aluminum straight fin heat sinks having a base size of 101.43mm×101.43mm are tested with an inlet velocity ranging from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s. In the experimental investigation, the heat sink is heated uniformly at the bottom. The resulting pressure drop across the heat sink and the temperature distribution at its bottom are then measured and are compared with those obtained through the porous medium approach. Upon comparison, the porous medium approach is shown to accurately predict the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of straight fin heat sinks. In addition, evidence indicates that the entrance effect should be considered in the thermal design of heat sinks when Re Dh/L>∼O10.


Author(s):  
X. Yu ◽  
C. Woodcock ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
J. Plawsky ◽  
Y. Peles

In this paper we reported an advanced structure, the Piranha Pin Fin (PPF), for microchannel flow boiling. Fluid flow and heat transfer performance were evaluated in detail with HFE7000 as working fluid. Surface temperature, pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux (CHF) were experimentally obtained and discussed. Furthermore, microchannels with different PPF geometrical configurations were investigated. At the same time, tests for different flow conditions were conducted and analyzed. It turned out that microchannel with PPF can realize high-heat flux dissipation with reasonable pressure drop. Both flow conditions and PPF configuration played important roles for both fluid flow and heat transfer performance. This study provided useful reference for further PPF design in microchannel for flow boiling.


Author(s):  
Yigang Luan ◽  
Lianfeng Yang ◽  
Bo Wan ◽  
Tao Sun

Gas turbine engines have been widely used in modern industry especially in the aviation, marine and energy fields. The efficiency of gas turbines directly affects the economy and emissions. It’s acknowledged that the higher turbine inlet temperatures contribute to the overall gas turbine engine efficiency. Since the components are subject to the heat load, the internal cooling technology of turbine blades is of vital importance to ensure the safe and normal operation. This paper is focused on exploring the flow and heat transfer mechanism in matrix cooling channels. In order to analyze the internal flow field characteristics of this cooling configuration at a Reynolds number of 30000 accurately, large eddy simulation method is carried out. Methods of vortex identification and field synergy are employed to study its flow field. Cross-sectional views of velocity in three subchannels at different positions have been presented. The results show that the airflow is strongly disturbed by the bending part. It’s concluded that due to the bending structure, the airflow becomes complex and disordered. When the airflow goes from the inlet to the turning, some small-sized and discontinuous vortices are formed. Behind the bending structure, the size of the vortices becomes big and the vortices fill the subchannels. Because of the structure of latticework, the airflow is affected by each other. Airflow in one subchannel can exert a shear force on another airflow in the opposite subchannel. It’s the force whose direction is the same as the vortex that enhances the longitudinal vortices. And the longitudinal vortices contribute to the energy exchange of the internal airflow and the heat transfer between airflow and walls. Besides, a comparison of the CFD results and the experimental data is made to prove that the numerical simulation methods are reasonable and acceptable.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 989-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezddin Hutli ◽  
Valer Gottlasz ◽  
Dániel Tar ◽  
Gyorgy Ezsol ◽  
Gabor Baranyai

The aim of this work is to investigate experimentally the increase of mixing phenomenon in a coolant flow in order to improve the heat transfer, the economical operation and the structural integrity of Light Water Reactors-Pressurized Water Reactors (LWRs-PWRs). Thus the parameters related to the heat transfer process in the system will be investigated. Data from a set of experiments, obtained by using high precision measurement techniques, Particle Image Velocimetry and Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PIV and PLIF, respectively) are to improve the basic understanding of turbulent mixing phenomenon and to provide data for CFD code validation. The coolant mixing phenomenon in the head part of a fuel assembly which includes spacer grids has been investigated (the fuel simulator has half-length of a VVER 440 reactor fuel). The two-dimensional velocity vector and temperature fields in the area of interest are obtained by PIV and PLIF technique, respectively. The measurements of the turbulent flow in the regular tube channel around the thermocouple proved that there is rotation and asymmetry in the coolant flow caused by the mixing grid and the geometrical asymmetry of the fuel bundle. Both PIV and PLIF results showed that at the level of the core exit thermocouple the coolant is homogeneous. The discrepancies that could exist between the outlet average temperature of the coolant and the temperature at in-core thermocouple were clarified. Results of the applied techniques showed that both of them can be used as good provider for data base and to validate CFD results.


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