scholarly journals Flow Structure Investigations during Novec Refrigerant Condensation in Minichannels

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 6889
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Sikora

This article presents the results of flow visualization studies of Novec refrigerants during condensation in minichannels. Experimental investigation of two-phase flow regimes was conducted in minichannels with internal diameter dh = 2.5, 2.0, 1.2, and 0.5 mm. Images of the two-phase flow structures were analyzed by using the MATLAB algorithm. To calculate void fraction, a two-dimensional areal quantitative stereology technique was used. Observation of flow structures formed during the process of condensation was the major aim of the investigations. The condensation studies were conducted over a wide range of mass flux densities (G = 80–5500 kg/m2s) and saturation temperatures (ts = 30–70 °C). Visualization results and image analysis methods are described in this paper. Based on the experimental results, a flow structure map was constructed and presented.

2001 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 811-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Ishimoto ◽  
Mamoru Oike ◽  
Kenjiro Kamijo

The two-dimensional characteristics of the vapor-liquid two-phase flow of liquid helium in a pipe are numerically investigated to realize the further development and high performance of new cryogenic engineering applications. First, the governing equations of the two-phase flow of liquid helium based on the unsteady thermal nonequilibrium multi-fluid model are presented and several flow characteristics are numerically calculated, taking into account the effect of superfluidity. Based on the numerical results, the two-dimensional structure of the two-phase flow of liquid helium is shown in detail, and it is also found that the phase transition of the normal fluid to the superfluid and the generation of superfluid counterflow against normal fluid flow are conspicuous in the large gas phase volume fraction region where the liquid to gas phase change actively occurs. Furthermore, it is clarified that the mechanism of the He I to He II phase transition caused by the temperature decrease is due to the deprivation of latent heat for vaporization from the liquid phase. According to these theoretical results, the fundamental characteristics of the cryogenic two-phase flow are predicted. The numerical results obtained should contribute to the realization of advanced cryogenic industrial applications.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Téguewindé Sawadogo ◽  
Njuki Mureithi

Having previously verified the quasi-steady model under two-phase flow laboratory conditions, the present work investigates the feasibility of practical application of the model to a prototypical steam generator (SG) tube subjected to a nonuniform two-phase flow. The SG tube vibration response and normal work-rate induced by tube-support interaction are computed for a range of flow conditions. Similar computations are performed using the Connors model as a reference case. In the quasi-steady model, the fluid forces are expressed in terms of the quasi-static drag and lift force coefficients and their derivatives. These forces have been measured in two-phase flow over a wide range of void fractions making it possible to model the effect of void fraction variation along the tube span. A full steam generator tube subjected to a nonuniform two-phase flow was considered in the simulations. The nonuniform flow distribution corresponds to that along a prototypical steam-generator tube based on thermal-hydraulic computations. Computation results show significant and important differences between the Connors model and the two-phase flow based quasi-steady model. While both models predict the occurrence of fluidelastic instability, the predicted pre-instability and post instability behavior is very different in the two models. The Connors model underestimates the flow-induced negative damping in the pre-instability regime and vastly overestimates it in the post instability velocity range. As a result the Connors model is found to underestimate the work-rate used in the fretting wear assessment at normal operating velocities, rendering the model potentially nonconservative under these practically important conditions. Above the critical velocity, this model largely overestimates the work-rate. The quasi-steady model on the other hand predicts a more moderately increasing work-rate with the flow velocity. The work-rates predicted by the model are found to be within the range of experimental results, giving further confidence to the predictive ability of the model. Finally, the two-phase flow based quasi-steady model shows that fluidelastic forces may reduce the effective tube damping in the pre-instability regime, leading to higher than expected work-rates at prototypical operating velocities.


Author(s):  
Yumi Yamada ◽  
Toyou Akashi ◽  
Minoru Takahashi

In a lead-bismuth alloy (45%Pb-55%Bi) cooled direct contact boiling water fast reactor (PBWFR), steam can be produced by direct contact of feed water with primary Pb-Bi coolant in the upper core plenum, and Pb-Bi coolant can be circulated by buoyancy forces of steam bubbles. As a basic study to investigate the two-phase flow characteristics in the chimneys of PBWFR, a two-dimensional two-phase flow was simulated by injecting argon gas into Pb-Bi pool in a rectangular vessel (400mm in length, 1500mm in height, 50mm in width), and bubble behaviors were investigated experimentally. Bubble sizes, bubble rising velocities and void fractions were measured using void probes. Argon gas was injected through five nozzles of 4mm in diameter into Pb-Bi at two locations. The experimental conditions are the pressure of atmospheric pressure, Pb-Bi temperatures of 443K, and the flow rate of injection Ar gas is 10, 20, and 30 NL/min. The measured bubble rising velocities were distributed in the range from 1 to 3 m/s. The average velocity was about 0.6 m/s. The measured bubble chord lengths were distributed from 1mm up to 30mm. The average chord length was about 7mm. An analysis was performed by two-dimensional and two-fluid model. The experimental results were compared with the analytical results to evaluate the validity of the analytical model. Although large diameter bubbles were observed in the experiment, the drag force model for spherical bubbles performed better for simulation of the experimental result because of high surface tension force of Pb-Bi.


Author(s):  
Jean-Luc Riverin ◽  
Michel J. Pettigrew

Severe in-plane vibrations were observed in a series of 20-mm dia. PVC vertical U-tubes of different elbow geometries subjected to air-water internal flow. An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the excitation mechanism. Vibration response, excitation forces and fluctuating properties of two-phase flow were measured over a wide range of flow conditions. The experimental results show that the observed vibrations are due to a resonance phenomenon between periodic momentum flux fluctuations of two-phase flow and the first modes of U-tubes. The excitation forces consist of a combination of narrow-band and periodic components, with a predominant frequency that increases proportionally to flow velocity. For a given void fraction, the force spectra for various flow velocities and elbow geometries coincide generally well on a plot of the normalized power spectral density as a function of a dimensionless frequency. The predominant frequencies of excitation agree with recent results on the characteristics of periodic structures in two-phase flow.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohei HIGASHIKAWA ◽  
Tomoaki WATAMURA ◽  
Kazuyasu SUGIYAMA

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (Supplement1) ◽  
pp. 109-110
Author(s):  
Junichi UEMATSU ◽  
Kazuya ABE ◽  
Xiaoran YU ◽  
Tatsuya HAZUKU ◽  
Masaki OSHIMA ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document