scholarly journals Simulations of liquid metal flows over plasma-facing component edges and application to beryllium melt events in JET

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladislas Vignitchouk ◽  
Svetlana Ratynskaia ◽  
Richard A Pitts ◽  
Michael Lehnen

Abstract Navier-Stokes simulations of liquid beryllium flows over the straight edge of plasma-facing components are carried out in conditions emulating upper dump plate melting observed experimentally in JET. The results demonstrate the existence of three main hydrodynamic regimes featuring various degrees of downstream flow attachment to the underlying solid surface. Transitions between these regimes are characterized by critical values of the Weber number, which quantifies the relative strength of fluid inertia and surface tension, thereby providing a general stability criterion that can be applied to any instance of transient melt events in fusion devices. The predictive capabilities of the model are tested by comparing numerical output with JET data regarding the morphology of the frozen melt layers and the location of beryllium droplets splashed onto nearby vacuum vessel surfaces as a result of disruption current quench plasmas interacting with the solid beryllium tiles protecting the upper main chamber regions. Simulations accounting for the coupling between fluid flow and heat transfer confirm the key role played by re-solidification as a stabilizing process, as previously found through macroscopic melt dynamics calculations performed with the MEMOS-U code. The favourable agreement found between the simulations and the general characteristics of the JET beryllium upper dump plate melt splashing give confidence that the same approach can be applied to estimate the possibility of such mechanisms occurring during disruptions on ITER.

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 841
Author(s):  
Yuzhen Jin ◽  
Huang Zhou ◽  
Linhang Zhu ◽  
Zeqing Li

A three-dimensional numerical study of a single droplet splashing vertically on a liquid film is presented. The numerical method is based on the finite volume method (FVM) of Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF) method, and the adaptive local mesh refinement technology is adopted. It enables the liquid–gas interface to be tracked more accurately, and to be less computationally expensive. The relationship between the diameter of the free rim, the height of the crown with different numbers of collision Weber, and the thickness of the liquid film is explored. The results indicate that the crown height increases as the Weber number increases, and the diameter of the crown rim is inversely proportional to the collision Weber number. It can also be concluded that the dimensionless height of the crown decreases with the increase in the thickness of the dimensionless liquid film, which has little effect on the diameter of the crown rim during its growth.


Author(s):  
D. Amirante ◽  
Z. Sun ◽  
J. W. Chew ◽  
N. J. Hills ◽  
N. R. Atkins

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) computations have been conducted to investigate the flow and heat transfer between two co-rotating discs with an axial throughflow of cooling air and a radial bleed introduced from the shroud. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models have been coupled with a thermal model of the test rig, and the predicted metal temperature compared with the thermocouple data. CFD solutions are shown to vary from a buoyancy driven regime to a forced convection regime, depending on the radial inflow rate prescribed at the shroud. At a high radial inflow rate, the computations show an excellent agreement with the measured temperatures through a transient rig condition. At a low radial inflow rate, the cavity flow is destabilized by the thermal stratification. Good qualitative agreement with the measurements is shown, although a significant over-prediction of disc temperatures is observed. This is associated with under prediction of the penetration of the axial throughflow into the cavity. The mismatch could be the result of strong sensitivity to the prescribed inlet conditions, in addition to possible shortcomings in the turbulence modeling.


2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek G. Ramgadia ◽  
Arun K. Saha

Present study focuses on numerical investigation of fully developed flow and heat transfer through three channels having sine-shaped, triangle-shaped, and arc-shaped wall profiles. All computations are performed at Reynolds number of 600. Finite volume method on collocated grid is used to solve the time-dependent Navier–Stokes and energy equations in primitive variable form. For all the geometries considered in the study, the ratios Hmin/Hmax and L/a are kept fixed to 0.4 and 8.0, respectively. The thermal performances of all the three wall configurations are assessed using integral parameters as well as instantaneous, time-averaged and fluctuating flow fields. The geometry with the sinusoidal-shaped wall profile is found to produce the best thermal properties as compared to the triangle-shaped and the arc-shaped profiles though the obtained heat transfer is the highest for the arc-shaped geometry.


Author(s):  
Alexander Kayne ◽  
Ramesh Agarwal

In recent years Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are increasingly used to model the air circulation and temperature environment inside the rooms of residential and office buildings to gain insight into the relative energy consumptions of various HVAC systems for cooling/heating for climate control and thermal comfort. This requires accurate simulation of turbulent flow and heat transfer for various types of ventilation systems using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations of fluid dynamics. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) or Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of Navier-Stokes equations is computationally intensive and expensive for simulations of this kind. As a result, vast majority of CFD simulations employ RANS equations in conjunction with a turbulence model. In order to assess the modeling requirements (mesh, numerical algorithm, turbulence model etc.) for accurate simulations, it is critical to validate the calculations against the experimental data. For this purpose, we use three well known benchmark validation cases, one for natural convection in 2D closed vertical cavity, second for forced convection in a 2D rectangular cavity and the third for mixed convection in a 2D square cavity. The simulations are performed on a number of meshes of different density using a number of turbulence models. It is found that k-epsilon two-equation turbulence model with a second-order algorithm on a reasonable mesh gives the best results. This information is then used to determine the modeling requirements (mesh, numerical algorithm, turbulence model etc.) for flows in 3D enclosures with different ventilation systems. In particular two cases are considered for which the experimental data is available. These cases are (1) air flow and heat transfer in a naturally ventilated room and (2) airflow and temperature distribution in an atrium. Good agreement with the experimental data and computations of other investigators is obtained.


Author(s):  
A. K. Saha ◽  
Sumanta Acharya

The flow and heat transfer in ribbed coolant passages of aspect ratios (AR) of 1:1, 4:1, and 1:4 are numerically studied through the solution of the Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations. The ribs are oriented normal to the flow and arranged in a staggered configuration on the leading and trailing surfaces. The URANS procedure can resolve large-scale bulk unsteadiness, and utilizes a two equation k-ε model for the turbulent stresses. Both Coriolis and centrifugal buoyancy effects are included in the simulations. The computations are carried out for a fixed Reynolds number of 25000 and density ratio of 0.13 while the Rotation number has been varied between 0.12–0.50. The average duct heat transfer is the highest for the 4:1 AR case. For this case, the secondary flow structures consist of multiple roll cells that direct flow both to the trailing and leading surfaces. The 1:4 AR duct shows flow reversal along the leading surface at high rotation numbers with multiple rolls in the secondary flow structures near the leading wall. For this AR, the potential for conduction-limited heat transfer along the leading surface is identified. At high rotation number, both the 1:1 and 4:1 AR cases exhibit loss of axial periodicity over one inter-rib module. The friction factor reveals an increase with the rotation number for all aspect ratio ducts, and shows a sudden jump in its value at a critical rotation number because of either loss of spatial periodicity or the onset of backflow.


2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujia Zhang ◽  
Peiqing Liu ◽  
Qiulin Qu ◽  
Fanglin Liu ◽  
Ramesh K. Agarwal

Abstract The energy conversion is proposed to analyze the effects of liquid properties on the formation of an ejecta sheet, prompt splashing, and crown evolution. The incompressible laminar Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the volume-of-fluid (VOF) model are solved numerically in an axisymmetric frame to simulate the impact process. Based on the energy conversion curves and liquid–gas interface shapes, the Weber number is shown to be the main dimensionless quantity controlling the impact process, especially with regard to crown evolution. However, the Reynolds number does have some influence on the drop impact process, especially during the stage of ejecta sheet formation and prompt splashing. By studying energy conversion during the impact process, the crown evolution is shown to be accelerated significantly with decreasing Weber number, but is hardly affected by the Reynolds number. A linear relation is found between the time to the moment of crown stabilization (when the crown height reaches its maximum value) and the square root of the Weber number. The relationship between the Weber number and the energy distribution at the moment of crown stabilization is also studied.


Author(s):  
Felix Fischer ◽  
Andreas Rhein ◽  
Katharina Schmitz

Abstract Hydraulic pumps, which reach pressures up to 3000 bar, are often realized as plunger-piston type pumps. In the case of a common-rail pump for diesel injection systems, the plunger is driven by a cam-tappet construction and the contact during suction stroke is maintained by a helical spring. Many hydraulic piston-based high pressure pumps include gap seals, which are formed by small clearances between the two surfaces of the piston and the bushing. Usually the gap height is in the magnitude of several micrometers. Typical radial gaps are between 0.5 and 1 per mil of the nominal diameter. These gap seals are used to allow and maintain pressure build up in the piston chamber. When the gap is pressurized, a special flow regime is reached. For the description of this particular flow the Reynolds equation, which is a simplification of the Navier-Stokes equations, can be used as done in the state of the art. Furthermore, if the pressure in the gap is high enough — 500 bar and above — fluid-structure interactions must be taken into account. Pressure levels above 1500 or 2000 bar indicate the necessity for solving the energy equation of the fluid phase and the rigid bodies surrounding it. In any case, the fluid properties such as density and viscosity, have to be modelled in a pressure dependent manner. This means, a compressible flow is described in the sealing gap. Viscosity changes in magnitudes while density remains in the same magnitude, but nevertheless changes about 30 %. These facts must be taken into account when solving the Reynolds equation. In this paper the authors work out that the Reynolds equation is not suitable for every piston-bushing gap seal in hydraulic applications. It will be shown that remarkable errors are made, when the inertia terms in the Navier-Stokes equations are neglected, especially in high pressure applications. To work out the influence of the inertia terms in these flows, two simulation models are built up and calculated for the physical problem. One calculates the compressible Reynolds equation neglecting the fluid inertia. The other model, taking the fluid inertia into account, calculates the coupled Navier-Stokes equations on the same geometrical boundaries. Here, the so called SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations) algorithm is used. The discretization is realized with the Finite Volume Method. Afterwards, the solutions of both models are compared to investigate the influence of the inertia terms on the flow in these specific high pressure applications.


Author(s):  
Aroon K. Viswanathan ◽  
Danesh K. Tafti

The capabilities of the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) and the Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) versions of the 1988 κ-ω model in predicting the turbulent flow field and the heat transfer in a two-pass internal cooling duct with normal ribs is presented. The flow is dominated by the separation and reattachment of shear layers; unsteady vorticity induced secondary flows and strong streamline curvature. The techniques are evaluated in predicting the developing flow at the entrance to the duct and downstream of the 180° bend, fully-developed regime in the first pass, and in the 180° bend. Results of mean flow quantities, secondary flows, friction and heat transfer are compared to experiments and Large-Eddy Simulations (LES). DES predicts a slower flow development than LES, while URANS predicts it much earlier than LES computations and experiments. However it is observed that as fully developed conditions are established, the capability of the base model in predicting the flow and heat transfer is enhanced by switching to the DES formulation. DES accurately predicts the flow and heat transfer both in the fully-developed region as well as the 180° bend of the duct. URANS fails to predict the secondary flows in the fully-developed region of the duct and is clearly inferior to DES in the 180° bend.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 997-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Saleh ◽  
A. B. Rahimi

The unsteady viscous flow and heat transfer in the vicinity of an axisymmetric stagnation point of an infinite moving cylinder with time-dependent axial velocity and with uniform normal transpiration Uo are investigated. The impinging free stream is steady and with a constant strain rate k¯. An exact solution of the Navier–Stokes equations and energy equation is derived in this problem. A reduction of these equations is obtained by use of appropriate transformations for the most general case when the transpiration rate is also time-dependent but results are presented only for uniform values of this quantity. The general self-similar solution is obtained when the axial velocity of the cylinder and its wall temperature or its wall heat flux vary as specified time-dependent functions. In particular, the cylinder may move with constant speed, with exponentially increasing–decreasing axial velocity, with harmonically varying axial speed, or with accelerating–decelerating oscillatory axial speed. For self-similar flow, the surface temperature or its surface heat flux must have the same types of behavior as the cylinder motion. For completeness, sample semisimilar solutions of the unsteady Navier–Stokes and energy equations have been obtained numerically using a finite-difference scheme. Some of these solutions are presented for special cases when the time-dependent axial velocity of the cylinder is a step-function, and a ramp function. All the solutions above are presented for Reynolds numbers, Re=ka¯2/2υ, ranging from 0.1 to 100 for different values of dimensionless transpiration rate, S=Uo/ka¯, where a is cylinder radius and υ is kinematic viscosity of the fluid. Absolute value of the shear-stresses corresponding to all the cases increase with the increase of Reynolds number and suction rate. The maximum value of the shear- stress increases with increasing oscillation frequency and amplitude. An interesting result is obtained in which a cylinder moving with certain exponential axial velocity function at any particular value of Reynolds number and suction rate is axially stress-free. The heat transfer coefficient increases with the increasing suction rate, Reynolds number, Prandtl number, oscillation frequency and amplitude. Interesting means of cooling and heating processes of cylinder surface are obtained using different rates of transpiration. It is shown that a cylinder with certain type of exponential wall temperature exposed to a temperature difference has no heat transfer.


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