Experimental Investigation of Flow Laminarization in a Graphite Flow Channel at High Pressure and High Temperature

Author(s):  
Francisco I. Valentín ◽  
Narbeh Artoun ◽  
Masahiro Kawaji

Hot wire anemometer (HWA) measurements of turbulent gas flow have been performed in upward forced convection experiments at pressures ranging from 0.6 MPa to 6.3 MPa and fluid temperatures ranging from 293 K to 673 K. The results are relevant to deteriorated turbulent heat transfer (DTHT) and flow laminarization in strongly heated gas flows which could occur in gas-cooled Very High Temperature Reactors. The HWA signals were analyzed to directly confirm the occurrence of flow laminarization phenomenon due to strong heating. An X-probe was used to collect radial and axial velocity fluctuation data for pressurized air and pure nitrogen flowing through a circular 16.8 mm diameter flow channel in a 2.7 m long graphite test section for local Reynolds numbers varying from 500 to 22,000. Analyses of the Reynolds stresses and turbulence frequency spectra were carried out and used as indicators of laminar, transition or fully turbulent flow conditions. Low Reynolds stresses indicated the existence of laminar or transitional flow until the local Reynolds number reached a large value, ∼11,000 to 16,000, much higher than the conventional Re = 4,000–5,000 for transition to fully turbulent flow encountered in pipe flows. The critical Reynolds number indicating the completion of transition approximately doubled as the pressure was increased from 0.6 MPa to 2.8 MPa.

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco I. Valentín ◽  
Narbeh Artoun ◽  
Masahiro Kawaji

Hot wire anemometer (HWA) measurements of turbulent gas flow have been performed in upward forced convection experiments at pressures ranging from 0.6 MPa to 6.3 MPa and fluid temperatures ranging from 293 K to 673 K. The results are relevant to deteriorated turbulent heat transfer (DTHT) and flow laminarization in strongly heated gas flows which could occur in gas-cooled very high temperature reactors (VHTRs).2 The HWA signals were analyzed to directly confirm the occurrence of flow laminarization phenomenon due to strong heating. An X-probe was used to collect radial and axial velocity fluctuation data for pressurized air and pure nitrogen flowing through a circular 16.8 mm diameter flow channel in a 2.7 m long graphite test section for local Reynolds numbers varying from 500 to 22,000. Analyses of the Reynolds stresses and turbulence frequency spectra were carried out and used as indicators of laminar, transition, or fully turbulent flow conditions. Low Reynolds stresses indicated the existence of laminar or transitional flow until the local Reynolds number reached a large value, ∼11,000 to 16,000, much higher than the conventional Re = 4000–5000 for transition to fully turbulent flow encountered in pipe flows. The critical Reynolds number indicating the completion of transition approximately doubled as the pressure was increased from 0.6 MPa to 2.8 MPa.


Author(s):  
Naoki Osawa ◽  
Yoshinobu Yamamoto ◽  
Tomoaki Kunugi

In this study, validations of Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Simulation (RANS) based on Kenjeres & Hanjalic MHD turbulence model (Int. J. Heat & Fluid Flow, 21, 2000) coupled with the low-Reynolds number k-epsilon model have been conducted with the usage of Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) database. DNS database of turbulent channel flow imposed wall-normal magnetic field on, are established in condition of bulk Reynolds number 40000, Hartmann number 24, and Prandtl number 5. As the results, the Nagano & Shimada model (Trans. JSME series B. 59, 1993) coupled with Kenjeres & Hanjalic MHD turbulence model has the better availability compared with Myong & Kasagi model (Int. Fluid Eng, 109, 1990) in estimation of the heat transfer degradation in MHD turbulent heat transfer.


2011 ◽  
Vol 201-203 ◽  
pp. 171-175
Author(s):  
Wei Zheng Zhang ◽  
Xiao Liu ◽  
Chang Hu Xiang

The turbulent flow in the near-wall region affects the wall heat transfer dominantly. The farther it is from the wall, the less effect it has. So a two-step mechanism of the turbulent wall heat transfer is released: first, the energy is transferred to the outside of the viscous sub-layer by the rolling of the micro-eddy; secondly, the energy gets to the wall by conduction. Then, a theoretical model of wall heat transfer is developed with this concept. The constant in the model is confirmed by experiment and simulation of the transient turbulent heat transfer in pipe flow. Finally, the model is used to predict the local heat flux under different conditions, and the results agree well with the experimental results as well as the simulation results.


1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Gooray ◽  
C. B. Watkins ◽  
Win Aung

Results of numerical calculations for heat transfer in turbulent recirculating flow over two-dimensional, rearward-facing steps and sudden pipe expansions are presented. The turbulence models used in the calculation are the standard k – ε model and the low-Reynolds number version of this model. The k – ε models have been improved to account for the effects of streamline curvature and pressure-strain (scalar) interactions including wall damping. A sequence of two computational passes is performed to obtain optimal results over the entire flow field. The presented results consist of computed distributions of heat transfer coefficents for several Reynolds numbers, emphasizing the low-to-moderate Reynolds number regime. The heat transfer results also include correlations of Nusselt numnber for both side and bottom walls. The computed heat transfer results and typical computed fluid dynamic results are compared with available experimental data.


1993 ◽  
Vol 256 ◽  
pp. 163-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reidar Kristoffersen ◽  
Helge I. Andersson

Direct numerical simulations of fully developed pressure-driven turbulent flow in a rotating channel have been performed. The unsteady Navier–Stokes equations were written for flow in a constantly rotating frame of reference and solved numerically by means of a finite-difference technique on a 128 × 128 × 128 computational mesh. The Reynolds number, based on the bulk mean velocity Um and the channel half-width h, was about 2900, while the rotation number Ro = 2|Ω|h/Um varied from 0 to 0.5. Without system rotation, results of the simulation were in good agreement with the accurate reference simulation of Kim, Moin & Moser (1987) and available experimental data. The simulated flow fields subject to rotation revealed fascinating effects exerted by the Coriolis force on channel flow turbulence. With weak rotation (Ro = 0.01) the turbulence statistics across the channel varied only slightly compared with the nonrotating case, and opposite effects were observed near the pressure and suction sides of the channel. With increasing rotation the augmentation and damping of the turbulence along the pressure and suction sides, respectively, became more significant, resulting in highly asymmetric profiles of mean velocity and turbulent Reynolds stresses. In accordance with the experimental observations of Johnston, Halleen & Lezius (1972), the mean velocity profile exhibited an appreciable region with slope 2Ω. At Ro = 0.50 the Reynolds stresses vanished in the vicinity of the stabilized side, and the nearly complete suppression of the turbulent agitation was confirmed by marker particle trackings and two-point velocity correlations. Rotational-induced Taylor-Görtler-like counter-rotating streamwise vortices have been identified, and the simulations suggest that the vortices are shifted slightly towards the pressure side with increasing rotation rates, and the number of vortex pairs therefore tend to increase with Ro.


1957 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-434
Author(s):  
A. W. Marris

A vorticity transfer analogy theory of turbulent heat transfer is developed first for the case of fully developed turbulent flow under zero transverse pressure and temperature gradients such as that in the annulus between concentric cylinders rotating with different angular velocities or in a "free vortex". The mean flow is assumed to be two-dimensional. The theory, which requires that the turbulence be statistically isotropic, yields a temperature distribution in agreement with experiment except in narrow regions immediately adjacent to the boundaries. An argument is given to show that the boundary layer thickness should be of the order of the reciprocal of the square root of the mean velocity, these boundaries are introduced, and Nusselt moduli are defined and their dependence on Reynolds and Prandtl numbers is investigated.The temperature distributions for the case of non-zero transverse temperature and pressure gradients, i.e. for the case of flow in a curved channel in which the fluid does not flow back into itself, are then obtained and the applicability of the simpler equations for zero transverse gradients to this case is investigated.


1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Amano ◽  
A. Bagherlee ◽  
R. J. Smith ◽  
T. G. Niess

A numerical study is performed examining flow and heat transfer characteristics in a channel with periodically corrugated walls. The complexity of the flow in this type of channel is demonstrated by such phenomena as flow impingement on the walls, separation at the bend corners, flow reattachment, and flow recirculation. Because of the strong nonisotropic nature of the turbulent flow in the channel, the full Reynolds-stress model was employed for the evaluation of turbulence quantities. Computations are made for several different corrugation periods and for different Reynolds numbers. The results computed by using the present model show excellent agreement with experimental data for mean velocities, the Reynolds stresses, and average Nusselt numbers. The study was further extended to a channel flow where fins are inserted at bends in the channel. It was observed that the insertion of fins in the flow passage has a visible effect on flow patterns and skin friction along the channel wall.


Author(s):  
D. L. Rigby ◽  
A. A. Ameri ◽  
E. Steinthorsson

The Low Reynolds number version of the Stress-ω model and the two equation k-ω model of Wilcox were used for the calculation of turbulent heat transfer in a 180 degree turn simulating an internal coolant passage. The Stress-ω model was chosen for its robustness. The turbulent thermal fluxes were calculated by modifying and using the Generalized Gradient Diffusion Hypothesis. The results showed that using this Reynolds Stress model allowed better prediction of heat transfer compared to the k-ω two equation model. This improvement however required a finer grid and commensurately more CPU time.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document