Assessment of FLUENT Code as a Tool for SCW Heat Transfer Analysis

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amjad Farah ◽  
Glenn Harvel ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Supercritical Water ◽  
High Pressures ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Heat Transfer Analysis ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients

Generation-IV SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactors (SCWRs) are expected to have high thermal efficiencies within the range of 45–50% owing to the reactor’s high pressures and outlet temperatures. The behavior of supercritical water however, is not well understood and most of the methods available to predict the effects of the heat transfer phenomena within the pseudocritical region are based on empirical one-directional correlations which do not capture the multi-dimensional effects and do not provide accurate results in regions such as the deteriorated heat transfer regime. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a numerical approach to model fluids in multidimensional space using the Navier-Stokes equations and databases of fluid properties to arrive at a full simulation of a fluid dynamics and heat transfer system. In this work, the CFD code, FLUENT-12, is used with associated software such as Gambit and NIST REFPROP to predict the Heat Transfer Coefficients at the wall and corresponding wall temperature profiles inside vertical bare tubes with SuperCritical Water (SCW) as the cooling medium. The numerical results are compared with experimental data and 1-D models represented by existing empirical correlations. Analysis of the individual heat-transfer regimes is conducted using an axisymmetric 2-D model of tubes of various lengths and composed of different nodalizations along the heated length. Wall temperatures and heat transfer coefficients were analyzed to select the best model for each region (below, at and above the pseudocritical region). Two turbulent models were used in the process: k-ε and k-ω, with variations in the sub-model parameters such as viscous heating, thermal effects, and low-Reynolds number correction. Results of the analysis show a fit of ±10% for the wall temperatures using the SST k-ω model in the deteriorated heat transfer regime and less than ±5% for the normal heat transfer regime. The accuracy of the model is higher than any empirical correlation tested in the mentioned regimes, and provides additional information about the multidimensional effects between the bulk-fluid and wall temperatures.

Investigation of Characteristic-Temperature Approaches for Heat-Transfer Correlations at Supercritical Conditions

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mokry ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Wall Temperature ◽  
Characteristic Temperature ◽  
Fluid Temperature ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Supercritical Conditions ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Bare Tube

It is expected that the next generation of water-cooled nuclear reactors will operate at supercritical pressures (∼25 MPa) and high coolant temperatures (350–625°C). In support of the development of SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactors (SCWRs), research is currently being conducted for heat-transfer at supercritical conditions. Currently, there are no experimental datasets for heat transfer from power reactor fuel bundles to the fuel coolant (water) available in open literature. Therefore, for preliminary calculations, heat-transfer correlations obtained with bare-tube data can be used as a conservative approach. A number of empirical generalized correlations, based on experimentally obtained datasets, have been proposed to calculate Heat Transfer Coefficients (HTCs) in forced convective heat transfer for various fluids, including water, at supercritical pressures. These bare-tube-based correlations are available in various literature sources. There have been a number of methods applied to correlate heat transfer data. The most conventional approach, which accounts for property variations in the data, is to modify the classical Dittus-Boelter equation for forced convection. However, analysis and comparison of these correlations has shown that differences in HTC values can be up to several hundred percent. In general, the familiar correlations of Dittus-Boelter and Bishop et al. have used the bulk-fluid temperature approach for characteristic temperature properties evaluations. However, at high heat fluxes, fluid near the tube-wall will have a temperature close to that of the wall temperature. This might be significantly different from the bulk-fluid temperature. Therefore, another approach can be used based on the wall temperature as the characteristic temperature. The Swenson et al. correlation is based upon this approach. Finally, a third approach has been considered in which the film-temperature is used as the characteristic temperature (Tf = (Tw+Tb) / 2). McAdams et al. based their correlation for annuli on this approach. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the three characteristic temperature approaches, (1) Bulk-fluid temperature approach; (2) Wall-temperature approach; and (3) Film-temperature approach, and determine which characteristic temperature method can most accurately predict supercritical water heat transfer coefficients. Both classical correlations and more recently developed correlations are considered in this investigation.

Analysis of Computational Fluid Dynamics Code FLUENT Capabilities for Supercritical Water Heat-Transfer Applications in Vertical Bare Tubes

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amjad Farah ◽  
Glenn Harvel ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Wall Temperature ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Turbulent Models ◽  
Multidimensional Effects

In this paper, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT was used to predict wall-temperature profiles inside vertical bare tubes with supercritical water (SCW) as the cooling medium, to assess the capabilities of FLUENT for SCW heat-transfer applications. Numerical results are compared to experimental data and current one-dimensional (1D) models represented by existing heat-transfer empirical correlations. Wall-temperature and heat-transfer coefficients were analyzed to select the best model to describe the fluid flow before, at, and after the pseudocritical region. k−ϵ and k−ω turbulent models were evaluated in the process, with variations in the submodel parameters such as viscous heating, thermal effects, and low-Reynolds-number correction. Results of the analysis show a fit of ±10% for wall temperatures using the SST k−ω model within the deteriorated heat-transfer regime and less than ±5% within the normal heat-transfer regime. The accuracy of the model is higher than any empirical correlation tested in the mentioned regimes and provides additional information about the multidimensional effects between the bulk-fluid and wall temperatures.

Study on Deteriorated Heat Transfer in Upward Flow of Supercritical Water in a 1-M Vertical Bare Tube

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Dort-Goltz ◽  
I. Pioro ◽  
J. McKellar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fluid Temperature ◽  
Upward Flow ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Safe Operation ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Heated Length

Abstract SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactors (SCWRs) represent potential improvements over traditional water-cooled reactors in many respects, including thermal efficiency. These reactors are still under development, however, thermalhydraulics data needed for their design are lacking. Experimentation is complex and costly. In spite of a large number of experiments in long bare tubes (pipes) cooled with SCW, developing SCWR concepts requires experimental data in bundle geometries cooled with SCW, which are usually shorter and will have smaller hydraulic-equivalent diameters. As a first step, tests have been conducted by others on heat transfer in short, vertical bare tubes cooled with the upward flow of SCW. The objective of this work is to analyze that collected data with particular attention to the Deteriorated Heat Transfer (DHT) regime. The DHT regime is characterized by reduced Heat Transfer Coefficients (HTCs) and consequently increased wall temperatures. As such, it represents a hazard to the safe operation of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The results of this analysis indicate that DHT did occur in each of the tests analyzed, often seen as a gradual decrease in HTC along the heated length, but occasionally as a sharp “dip”. The DHT can occur along the heated length, when the bulk-fluid temperature is close to or within the pseudocritical region. The results also confirmed that the Dittus-Boelter correlation does not adequately predict HTCs within the pseudocritical region. Two other applied correlations (Gupta et al. and Mokry et al.) performed better, but neither was able to predict the occurrence of the DHT. The results of this analysis will be of use to designers and developers of SCWRs, and can help to plan future experiments.

Heat Transfer Enhancement by Turbulent Impinging Jets

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kumagai ◽  
R. S. Amano ◽  
M. K. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Local Heat Transfer ◽  
Local Heat ◽  
Impinging Jets ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients

Abstract A numerical and experimental investigation on cooling of a solid surface was performed by studying the behavior of an impinging jet onto a fixed flat target. The local heat transfer coefficient distributions on a plate with a constant heat flux were computationally investigated with a normally impinging axisymmetric jet for nozzle diameter of 4.6mm at H/d = 4 and 10, with the Reynolds numbers of 10,000 and 40,000. The two-dimensional cylindrical Navier-Stokes equations were solved using a two-equation k-ε turbulence model. The finite-volume differencing scheme was used to solve the thermal and flow fields. The predicted heat transfer coefficients were compared with experimental measurements. A universal function based on the wave equation was developed and applied to the heat transfer model to improve calculated local heat transfer coefficients for short nozzle-to-plate distance (H/d = 4). The differences between H/d = 4 and 10 due to the correlation among heat transfer coefficient, kinetic energy and pressure were investigated for the impingement region. Predictions by the present model show good agreement with the experimental data.

Conditions for Equivalency of Countercurrent Vessel Heat Transfer Formulations

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 514-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Roemer
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Temperature Difference ◽  
Bulk Temperature ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer Coefficients

Previous models of countercurrent blood vessel heat transfer have used one of two, different, equally valid but previously unreconciled formulations, based either on: (1) the difference between the arterial and venous vessels’ average wall temperatures, or (2) the difference between those vessels’ blood bulk fluid temperatures. This paper shows that these two formulations are only equivalent when the four, previously undefined, “convective heat transfer coefficients” that are used in the bulk temperature difference formulation (two coefficients each for the artery and vein) have very specific, problem-dependent relationships to the standard convective heat transfer coefficients. (The average wall temperature formulation uses those standard coefficients correctly.) The correct values of these bulk temperature difference formulation “convective heat transfer coefficients” are shown to be either: (1) specific functions of (a) the tissue conduction resistances, (b) the standard convective heat transfer coefficients, and (c) the independently specified bulk arterial, bulk venous and tissue temperatures, or (2) arbitrary, user defined values. Thus, they are generally not equivalent to the standard convective heat transfer coefficients that are regularly used, and must change values depending on the blood and tissue temperatures. This dependence can significantly limit the convenience and usefulness of the bulk temperature difference formulations.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Convection Heat Transfer of CO2 at Supercritical Pressures in a Vertical Mini Tube

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Xue Jiang ◽  
Yi-Jun Xu ◽  
Run-Fu Shi ◽  
S. He
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Convection Heat Transfer ◽  
Local Heat Transfer ◽  
Fluid Temperature ◽  
Convection Heat ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Bulk Fluid ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients

Convection heat transfer of CO2 at supercritical pressures in a vertical mini tube with a diameter of 0.948 mm was investigated experimentally and numerically. The local heat transfer coefficients, bulk fluid temperatures and wall temperatures were measured and presented. The effects of inlet fluid temperature, fluid pressure, mass flow rate, heat flux and wall thickness on the convection heat transfer in the mini tube were investigated. The experimental results were compared with calculated results using well-known correlations and numerical simulations. The results showed that the variable thermophysical properties of supercritical CO2 significantly influenced the convection heat transfer in the vertical mini tube and that for the studied conditions the influence of the wall thickness on the convection heat transfer in the mini tube was not great. For bulk fluid temperatures higher than the pseudo-critical temperature, the simulation results and the correlation results for the convection heat transfer coefficients in the mini tube corresponded well to the experimentally measured results.

An Experiment of Natural Circulation Flow and Heat Transfer With Supercritical Water in Parallel Channels

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhou Chen ◽  
Chunsheng Yang ◽  
Minfu Zhao ◽  
Keming Bi ◽  
Kaiwen Du
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Flow Instability ◽  
Natural Circulation ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Parallel Channels

An experiment of natural circulation of supercritical water in parallel channels was performed in bare tubes of inner diameter 7.98 mm and heated length 1.3 m, covering the ranges of pressure of 24.7–25.5 MPa, mass flux of 400–1000  kg/m2 s, and heat flux of up to 1.83  MW/m2. When the heat flux reached 1.12  MW/m2, the outlet water temperature jumped from 325°C to 360°C, associated with a decrease in the flow rate and an initiation of dynamic instability. When the heat flux exceeded 1.39  MW/m2, the flow instability was stronger, and the flow rate increased in one channel and decreased in another one. Until the heat flux reached 1.61  MW/m2, the outlet water temperatures of two channels reached the pseudocritical point, and the flow rates of two channels tended to close each other. The experiment with a single heated channel was also performed for comparison. The measurements on the heat-transfer coefficients (HTCs) were compared to the calculations by the Bishop et al., Jackson’s, and Mokry et al. correlations, showing different agreements within various conditions.

Performance of One- and Two-Row Tube and Plate Fin Heat Exchangers

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. C. Rosman ◽  
P. Carajilescov ◽  
F. E. M. Saboya
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Local Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Analysis ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Mass Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Fin Efficiency ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Experimental Apparatus

Heat exchangers consisting of finned tubes are commonly employed in air conditioning systems, air heaters, radiators, etc. Local measurements of mass transfer coefficients on fins, obtained by Saboya and Sparrow, are very nonuniform. In the present work, an experimental apparatus was set up to measure overall heat transfer coefficients for two-row tube and plate fin heat exchangers. The obtained results, together with Shepherd’s results for one-row exchangers, are used to transform the local mass transfer coefficients into local heat transfer coefficients. A numerical two-dimensional heat transfer analysis has been performed in order to obtain the temperature distribution and fin efficiency. The influences of the Reynolds number and fin material are also analyzed.

scholarly journals Heat dissipation from a stationary brake disc, Part 2: CFD modelling and experimental validations

2017 ◽  
Vol 232 (10) ◽  
pp. 1898-1924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Tirovic ◽  
Kevin Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Flow Visualisation ◽  
Brake Disc ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Static Conditions

Following from the analytical modelling presented in Part 1, this paper details a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics modelling of the three-dimensional flow field around, and heat dissipation from, a stationary brake disc. Four commonly used turbulence models were compared and the shear stress turbulence model was found to be most suitable for these studies. Inferior cooling of the anti-coning disc type is well known but the core cause in static conditions was only now established. The air flow exiting the lower vane channels at the inner rotor diameter changes direction and flows axially over the hat region. This axial flow acts as a blocker to the higher vane inlets, drastically reducing convective cooling from the upper half of the disc. The complexity of disc stationary cooling is further caused by the change of flow patterns during disc cooling. The above axial flow effects slowly vanish as the disc temperatures reduce. Consequently, convective heat transfer coefficients are affected by both, the change in the flow pattern and decrease in air velocities due to reduced air buoyancy as the disc cools down. As in Part 1, the special thermal rig was used to validate the computational fluid dynamics results quantitatively and qualitatively. The former used numerous thermocouples positioned strategically around the brake disc, with the latter introducing the concept of laser generated light plane combined with a smoke generator to enable flow visualisation. Predicted average heat transfer coefficients using computational fluid dynamics correlate well with the experimental values, and even two-dimensional analytical values (as presented in Part 1) reasonably closely follow the trends. The results present an important step in establishing cooling characteristics related to the electric parking brake application in commercial vehicles, with future publications detailing heat transfer from the entire brake assembly.

Heat Transfer to Supercritical Water in Advanced Power Engineering Applications: An Industrial Scale Test Rig

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit A. Schatte ◽  
Andreas Kohlhepp ◽  
Tobias Gschnaidtner ◽  
Christoph Wieland ◽  
Hartmut Spliethoff
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Test Section ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Internal Diameter ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficients

Heat transfer to supercritical water in heated tubes and channels is relevant for steam generators in conventional power plants and future concepts for supercritical nuclear and solar-thermal power plants. A new experimental facility, the high pressure evaporation rig, setup at the Institute for Energy Systems (Technische Universität München) aims to provide heat transfer data to fill the existing knowledge gaps at these conditions. The test rig consists of a closed-loop high pressure cycle, in which de-ionized water is fed to an instrumented test section heated by the application of direct electrical current. It is designed to withstand a maximum pressure of 380 bar at 580 °C in the test section. The maximum power rating of the system is 1 MW. The test section is a vertical tube (material: AISI A213/P91) with a 7000 mm heated length, a 15.7 mm internal diameter, and a wall thickness of 5.6 mm. It is equipped with 70 thermocouples distributed evenly along its length. It enables the determination of heat transfer coefficients in the supercritical region at various steady-state or transient conditions. In a first series of tests, experiments are conducted to investigate normal and deteriorated heat transfer (DHT) under vertical upward flow conditions. The newly generated data and literature data are used to evaluate different correlations available for modeling heat transfer coefficients at supercritical pressures.

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