Experimental Study on Natural Convection Heat Transfer Outside Tube Bundle in Space Under Low Temperature Difference

Author(s):  
Junxiu Xu ◽  
Ming Ding ◽  
Changqi Yan ◽  
Guangming Fan

Abstract The Passive Residual Heat Removal System (PRHRS) is very important for the safety of the heating reactor after shutdown. PRHRS is a natural circulation system driven by density difference, therefore, the heat transfer performance of the Passive Residual Heat Removal Heat Exchanger (PRHR HX) has a great impact to the heat transfer efficiency of PRHRS. However, the most research object of PRHR HX is the C-shape heat exchanger at present, which located in In-containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST). This heat exchanger is mainly used for the PRHRS of nuclear power plants. In the swimming pool-type low-temperature heating reactor (SPLTHR), the PRHR HX is placed in the reactor pool, which the pressure and temperature of the reactor pool are relatively low, and the outside heat transfer mode of tube bundle is mainly natural convection heat transfer. In this study, a miniaturized single-phase pool water cooling system was built to investigate the natural convective heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger under the large space and low temperature conditions. The experimental data had been compared with several correlations. The results show that the predicted value of Yang correlation is the closest to the experimental data, which the maximum deviation is about 11%.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 716
Author(s):  
Saulius Pakalka ◽  
Kęstutis Valančius ◽  
Giedrė Streckienė

Latent heat thermal energy storage systems allow storing large amounts of energy in relatively small volumes. Phase change materials (PCMs) are used as a latent heat storage medium. However, low thermal conductivity of most PCMs results in long melting (charging) and solidification (discharging) processes. This study focuses on the PCM melting process in a fin-and-tube type copper heat exchanger. The aim of this study is to define analytically natural convection heat transfer coefficient and compare the results with experimental data. The study shows how the local heat transfer coefficient changes in different areas of the heat exchanger and how it is affected by the choice of characteristic length and boundary conditions. It has been determined that applying the calculation method of the natural convection occurring in the channel leads to results that are closer to the experiment. Using this method, the average values of the heat transfer coefficient (have) during the entire charging process was obtained 68 W/m2K, compared to the experimental result have = 61 W/m2K. This is beneficial in the predesign stage of PCM-based thermal energy storage units.


Author(s):  
Xu Xie ◽  
Changhua Nie ◽  
Li Zhan ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
Pengzhou Li ◽  
...  

In this paper, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is applied to the thermal-hydraulic analysis, while the porous media model is used to simplify AP1000 passive residual heat removal heat exchanger tube. The temperature as well as flow distribution in the secondary side of the heat exchanger are obtained, aiming at analysis of natural circulation ability. It can be noted that the fluid in the secondary side of heat exchanger moves driven by the effect of thermal buoyancy, forming the natural cycle, which takes away heat in tube bundle region. The heat transfer in water tank is mainly enhanced by vortex and turbulent flow, caused by the large resistance of tube bundle region as well as large temperature difference. This phenomenon is obvious especially for the recirculation of flow near the tube bundle. The enduring change of flow rate and direction enhance the heat transfer. Besides, the big temperature difference helps to increase the driving effect of natural circulation. Consequently, the heat transfer of the tank is enhanced by above mechanism. The results of this study contribute to the capacity analysis of passive residual heat removal of natural circulation system, providing valuable information for safe operation of AP1000.


Author(s):  
Jong K. Lee ◽  
Seung D. Lee ◽  
Kune Y. Suh

During a severe accident, the reactor core may melt and be relocated to the lower plenum to form a hemispherical pool. If there is no effective cooling mechanism, the core debris may heat up and the molten pool run into natural convection. Natural convection heat transfer was examined in SIGMA RP (Simulant Internal Gravitated Material Apparatus Rectangular Pool). The SIGMA RP apparatus comprises a rectangular test section, heat exchanger, cartridge heaters, cooling jackets, thermocouples and a data acquisition system. The internal heater heating method was used to simulate uniform heat source which is related to the modified Rayleigh number Ra′. The test procedure started with water, the working fluid, filling in the test section. There were two boundary conditions: one dealt with both walls being cooled isothermally, while the other had to with only the upper wall being cooled isothermally. The heat exchanger was utilized to maintain the isothermal boundary condition. Four side walls were surrounded by the insulating material to minimize heat loss. Tests were carried out at 1011 < Ra′ < 1013. The SIGMA RP tests with an appropriate cartridge heater arrangement showed excellent uniform heat generation in the pool. The steady state was defined such that the temperature fluctuation stayed within ±0.2 K over a time period of 5,000 s. The conductive heat transfer was dominant below the critical Rayleigh number Ra′c, whereas the convective heat transfer picked up above Ra′c. In the top and bottom boundary cooling condition, the upward Nusselt number Nuup was greater than the downward Nusselt number Nudn. In particular, the discrepancy between Nuup and Nudn widened with Ra′. The Nuup to Nudn ratio was varied from 7.75 to 16.77 given 1.45×1012 < Ra′ < 9.59×1013. On the other hand, Nuup was increased in absence of downward heat transfer for the case of top cooling. The current rectangular pool testing will be extended to include circular and spherical pools.


Author(s):  
Julia Haltiwanger Nicodemus ◽  
Xiaoqi Huang ◽  
Emily Dentinger ◽  
Kyle Petitt ◽  
Joshua H. Smith

Abstract In this work, we investigate the effects of the width of an annular baffle region on natural convection heat transfer to an immersed, coiled heat exchanger in an otherwise quiescent sensible hot water storage tank. In experiments, the coiled heat exchanger sits in an annular region created by the tank wall and a straight, cylindrical baffle. The width of this baffle region is 1.5, 2, 3, or 4 times the heat exchanger diameter, These experiments are compared to each other and to corresponding control experiments with no baffle. In general, all baffles create considerable benefits over their respective control experiments, consistent with past studies. The considered metrics of heat transfer rate, fraction of energy discharged from the tank, and heat exchanger outlet temperature show that heat transfer is improved slightly by narrowing the baffle region. For example, relative to their respective controls, the energy extracted from the tank after 30 min of discharge in the 1.5D, 2D, 3D and 4D experiments is 23.2%, 20.8%, 18.1%, and 14.7% higher, respectively. This improvement in natural convection heat transfer as the baffle region narrows is attributed to the increasing thermal stratification observed in experiments with increasingly narrow baffle regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Haltiwanger Nicodemus ◽  
Xiaoqi Huang ◽  
Emily Dentinger ◽  
Kyle Petitt ◽  
Joshua H. Smith

Abstract In this work, we investigate the effects of the width of an annular baffle region on natural convection heat transfer to an immersed, coiled heat exchanger in an otherwise quiescent sensible hot water storage tank. In the experiments, the coiled heat exchanger sits in an annular region created by the tank wall and a straight, cylindrical baffle. The width of this baffle region is 1.5, 2, 3, or 4 times the heat exchanger diameter. These experiments are compared to each other and to corresponding control experiments with no baffle. In general, all baffles create considerable benefits over their respective control experiments, consistent with past studies. The considered metrics of heat transfer rate, fraction of energy discharged from the tank, heat exchanger outlet temperature, and heat exchanger effectiveness show that heat transfer is improved slightly by narrowing the baffle region. For example, relative to their respective controls, the energy extracted from the tank after 30 min of discharge in the 1.5D, 2D, 3D, and 4D experiments is 23.3%, 20.8%, 18.1%, and 14.6% higher, respectively. This improvement in natural convection heat transfer as the baffle region narrows is attributed to the increasing thermal stratification observed with increasingly narrow baffle regions.


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