Group analysis for natural convection from a vertical plate

Science.gov (United States)

Rashed, A. S.; Kassem, M. M.

2008-12-01

The steady laminar natural convection of a fluid having chemical reaction of order n past a semi-infinite vertical plate is considered. The solution of the problem by means of one-parameter group method reduces the number of independent variables by one leading to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Two different similarity transformations are found. In each case the set of differential equations are solved numerically using Runge-Kutta and the shooting method. For each transformation different Schmidt numbers and chemical reaction orders are tested.

Topology Optimisation for Coupled Convection Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alexandersen, Joe

This thesis deals with topology optimisation for coupled convection problems. The aim is to extend and apply topology optimisation to steady-state conjugate heat transfer problems, where the heat conduction equation governs the heat transfer in a solid and is coupled to thermal transport...... in a surrounding uid, governed by a convection-diffusion equation, where the convective velocity field is found from solving the isothermal incompressible steady-state Navier-Stokes equations. Topology optimisation is also applied to steady-state natural convection problems. The modelling is done using stabilised...... finite elements, the formulation and implementation of which was done partly during a special course as prepatory work for this thesis. The formulation is extended with a Brinkman friction term in order to facilitate the topology optimisation of fluid flow and convective cooling problems. The derived...

A asymptotic numerical method for the steady-state convection diffusion equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Qiguang

1988-01-01

In this paper, A asymptotic numerical method for the steady-state Convection diffusion equation is proposed, which need not take very fine mesh size in the neighbourhood of the boundary layer. Numerical computation for model problem show that we can obtain the numerical solution in the boundary layer with moderate step size

ULTRA-SHARP nonoscillatory convection schemes for high-speed steady multidimensional flow

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, B. P.; Mokhtari, Simin

1990-01-01

For convection-dominated flows, classical second-order methods are notoriously oscillatory and often unstable. For this reason, many computational fluid dynamicists have adopted various forms of (inherently stable) first-order upwinding over the past few decades. Although it is now well known that first-order convection schemes suffer from serious inaccuracies attributable to artificial viscosity or numerical diffusion under high convection conditions, these methods continue to enjoy widespread popularity for numerical heat transfer calculations, apparently due to a perceived lack of viable high accuracy alternatives. But alternatives are available. For example, nonoscillatory methods used in gasdynamics, including currently popular TVD schemes, can be easily adapted to multidimensional incompressible flow and convective transport. This, in itself, would be a major advance for numerical convective heat transfer, for example. But, as is shown, second-order TVD schemes form only a small, overly restrictive, subclass of a much more universal, and extremely simple, nonoscillatory flux-limiting strategy which can be applied to convection schemes of arbitrarily high order accuracy, while requiring only a simple tridiagonal ADI line-solver, as used in the majority of general purpose iterative codes for incompressible flow and numerical heat transfer. The new universal limiter and associated solution procedures form the so-called ULTRA-SHARP alternative for high resolution nonoscillatory multidimensional steady state high speed convective modelling.

Conjugate transient natural convection in a cylindrical enclosure with internal volumetric heat generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Anil Kumar; Velusamy, K.; Balaji, C.

2008-01-01

This paper reports the results of a numerical investigation of transient turbulent natural convection heat transfer from a volumetric energy generating source placed inside a cylindrical enclosure filled with low Prandtl number fluid (liquid sodium, Pr = 0.005). Two-dimensional conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy, coupled with the Boussinesq approximation, are solved using a finite volume based discretisation method employing the SIMPLE algorithm for the pressure velocity coupling. Turbulence is modeled using the k-ε model with physical boundary conditions. The study presents the transient features of confined turbulent natural convection, due to time varying generation of heat in the volumetric source. The intensity of heat source exponentially decays with time and the source is placed over circular plates with a central opening. Results obtained from the numerical model compare favorably with those reported in the literature for steady state natural convection. Numerical simulations are carried out to display the sequential evolution of flow and thermal fields and the maximum temperature reached in the source. The advantages of distributing the heat source on multi trays have been quantified

Integral transform solution of natural convection in a square cavity with volumetric heat generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. An

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The generalized integral transform technique (GITT is employed to obtain a hybrid numerical-analytical solution of natural convection in a cavity with volumetric heat generation. The hybrid nature of this approach allows for the establishment of benchmark results in the solution of non-linear partial differential equation systems, including the coupled set of heat and fluid flow equations that govern the steady natural convection problem under consideration. Through performing the GITT, the resulting transformed ODE system is then numerically solved by making use of the subroutine DBVPFD from the IMSL Library. Therefore, numerical results under user prescribed accuracy are obtained for different values of Rayleigh numbers, and the convergence behavior of the proposed eigenfunction expansions is illustrated. Critical comparisons against solutions produced by ANSYS CFX 12.0 are then conducted, which demonstrate excellent agreement. Several sets of reference results for natural convection with volumetric heat generation in a bi-dimensional square cavity are also provided for future verification of numerical results obtained by other researchers.

Experimental study of natural convection adjacent to an isothermal vertical ice cylinder in cold pure water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riu, Kap Jong; Yea, Yong Taeg; Park, Sang Hee

1991-01-01

A natural convection adjacent to an isothermal vertical ice cylinder is studied experimentally in cold pure water. The experiments are carried out as changing the temperature of the ambient water and then the flow and heat transfer characteristics is visualized and observed. It is shown that flow patterns are steady state upflow, unsteady state flow, steady state dual flow, and steady state downflow. There is also obtained a heat transfer coefficient and mean Nusselt number at various ambient temperature. These results are in good agreement with the theoretical ones. (Author)

Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Concentric Horizontal Annuli Containing a Saturated Porous Medi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed F. Alfahaid, R.Y. Sakr

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Natural convection in horizontal annular porous media has become a subject receiving increasing attention due to its practical importance in the problem of insulators, such as ducting system in high temperature gas-cooled reactors, heating systems, thermal energy storage systems, under ground cable systems, etc. This paper presents a numerical study for steady state thermal convection in a fully saturated porous media bounded by two horizontal concentric cylinders, the cylinders are impermeable to fluid motion and maintained at different, uniform temperatures.  The solution scheme is based on two-dimensional model, which is governed by Darcy-Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. The finite element method using Galerkin technique is developed and employed to solve the present problem. A numerical simulation is carried out to examine the parametric effects of Rayleigh number and radius ratio on the role played by natural convection heat transfer in the porous annuli. The numerical results obtained from the present model were compared with the available published results and good agreement is observed. The average Nusselt number at the heating surface of the inner cylinder is correlated to Rayleigh number and radius ratio.Keywords: Natural convection, numerical investigation, saturated porous media, finite element method, concentric horizontal annuli.

Natural convection in heat-generating fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bol'shov, Leonid A; Kondratenko, Petr S; Strizhov, Valerii F

2001-01-01

Experimental and theoretical studies of convective heat transfer from a heat-generating fluid confined to a closed volume are reviewed. Theoretical results are inferred from analytical estimates based on the relevant conservation laws and the current understanding of the convective heat-transfer processes. Four basic and one asymptotic regime of heat transfer are identified depending on the heat generation rate. Limiting heat-transfer distribution patterns are found for the lower boundary. Heat transfer in a quasi-two-dimensional geometry is analyzed. Quasi-steady-state heat transfer from a cooling-down fluid without internal heat sources is studied separately. Experimental results and theoretical predictions are compared. (reviews of topical problems)

Entropy generation in natural convection in a symmetrically and uniformly heated vertical channel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andreozzi, Assunta [Dipartimento di Energetica, Termofluidodinamica applicata e Condizionamenti ambientali, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli (Italy); Auletta, Antonio [CIRA - Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali, Via Maiorise 1, 81043 Capua (CE) (Italy); Manca, Oronzio [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Aerospaziale e Meccanica, Seconda Universita degli Studi di Napoli, Real Casa dell' Annunziata, Via Roma 29, 81031 Aversa (CE) (Italy)

2006-08-15

In this study numerical predictions of local and global entropy generation rates in natural convection in air in a vertical channel symmetrically heated at uniform heat flux are reported. Results of entropy generation analysis are obtained by solving the entropy generation equation based on the velocity and temperature data. The analyzed regime is two-dimensional, laminar and steady state. The numerical procedure expands an existing computer code on natural convection in vertical channels. Results in terms of fields and profiles of local entropy generation, for various Rayleigh number, Ra, and aspect ratio values, L/b, are given. The distributions of local values show different behaviours for the different Ra values. A correlation between global entropy generation rates, Rayleigh number and aspect ratio is proposed in the ranges 10{sup 3}=

Vertical natural convection: application of the unifying theory of thermal convection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ng, C.S.; Ooi, A.; Lohse, Detlef; Chung, D.

2015-01-01

Results from direct numerical simulations of vertical natural convection at Rayleigh numbers 1.0×10 5 –1.0×10 9 and Prandtl number 0.709 support a generalised applicability of the Grossmann–Lohse (GL) theory, which was originally developed for horizontal natural (Rayleigh–Bénard) convection. In

Natural convection in superposed fluid-porous layers

CERN Document Server

Bagchi, Aniruddha

2013-01-01

Natural Convection in Composite Fluid-Porous Domains provides a timely overview of the current state of understanding on the phenomenon of convection in composite fluid-porous layers. Natural convection in horizontal fluid-porous layers has received renewed attention because of engineering problems such as post-accident cooling of nuclear reactors, contaminant transport in groundwater, and convection in fibrous insulation systems. Because applications of the problem span many scientific domains, the book serves as a valuable resource for a wide audience.

Maximum Entropy Production Is Not a Steady State Attractor for 2D Fluid Convection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stuart Bartlett

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Multiple authors have claimed that the natural convection of a fluid is a process that exhibits maximum entropy production (MEP. However, almost all such investigations were limited to fixed temperature boundary conditions (BCs. It was found that under those conditions, the system tends to maximize its heat flux, and hence it was concluded that the MEP state is a dynamical attractor. However, since entropy production varies with heat flux and difference of inverse temperature, it is essential that any complete investigation of entropy production allows for variations in heat flux and temperature difference. Only then can we legitimately assess whether the MEP state is the most attractive. Our previous work made use of negative feedback BCs to explore this possibility. We found that the steady state of the system was far from the MEP state. For any system, entropy production can only be maximized subject to a finite set of physical and material constraints. In the case of our previous work, it was possible that the adopted set of fluid parameters were constraining the system in such a way that it was entirely prevented from reaching the MEP state. Hence, in the present work, we used a different set of boundary parameters, such that the steady states of the system were in the local vicinity of the MEP state. If MEP was indeed an attractor, relaxing those constraints of our previous work should have caused a discrete perturbation to the surface of steady state heat flux values near the value corresponding to MEP. We found no such perturbation, and hence no discernible attraction to the MEP state. Furthermore, systems with fixed flux BCs actually minimize their entropy production (relative to the alternative stable state, that of pure diffusive heat transport. This leads us to conclude that the principle of MEP is not an accurate indicator of which stable steady state a convective system will adopt. However, for all BCs considered, the quotient of

The status of thermal-hydraulic studies on the decay heat removal by natural convection using RAMONA and NEPTUN models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffmann, H.; Hain, K.; Marten, K.; Rust, K.; Weinberg, D.; Ohira, H.

2004-01-01

Thermal-hydraulic experiments were performed with water in order to simulate the decay heat removal by natural convection in a pool-type sodium-cooled reactor. Two test rigs of different scales were used, namely RAMONA (1:20) and NEPTUN (1:5). RAMONA served to study the transition from nominal operation by forced convection to decay heat removal operation by natural convection. Steady-state similarity tests were carried out in both facilities. The investigations cover nominal and non-nominal operation conditions. These data provide a broad basis for the verification of computer programs. Numerical analyses performed with the three-dimensional FLUTAN code indicated that the thermal-hydraulic processes can be quantitatively simulated even for the very complex geometry of the NEPTUN test rig. (author)

Fast Prediction Method for Steady-State Heat Convection

KAUST Repository

Wáng, Yì

2012-03-14

A reduced model by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and Galerkin projection methods for steady-state heat convection is established on a nonuniform grid. It was verified by thousands of examples that the results are in good agreement with the results obtained from the finite volume method. This model can also predict the cases where model parameters far exceed the sample scope. Moreover, the calculation time needed by the model is much shorter than that needed for the finite volume method. Thus, the nonuniform POD-Galerkin projection method exhibits high accuracy, good suitability, and fast computation. It has universal significance for accurate and fast prediction. Also, the methodology can be applied to more complex modeling in chemical engineering and technology, such as reaction and turbulence. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Natural Convection Heat Transfer inside Vertical Pipe: Characteristic of Pipe Flow according to the Boundary layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohk, Seung Min; Chung, Bum Jin [Kyunghee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The Passive Cooling System (PCS) driven by natural forces drew research attention since Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. This study investigated the natural convection heat transfer inside of vertical pipe with emphasis on the phenomena regarding the boundary layer interaction. Numerical calculations were carried out using FLUENT 6.3. Experiments were performed for the parts of the cases to explore the accuracy of calculation. Based on the analogy, heat transfer experiment is replaced by mass transfer experiment using sulfuric acid copper sulfate (CuSO{sub 4}. H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}) electroplating system. The natural convection heat transfer inside a vertical pipe is studied experimentally and numerically. Experiments were carried out using sulfuric acid-copper sulfate (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}-CuSO{sub 4}) based on the analogy concept between heat and mass transfer system. Numerical analysis was carried out using FLUENT 6.3. It is concluded that the boundary layer interaction along the flow passage influences the heat transfer, which is affected by the length, diameter, and Prandtl number. For the large diameter and high Prandtl number cases, where the thermal boundary layers do not interfered along the pipe, the heat transfer agreed with vertical flat plate for laminar and turbulent natural convection correlation within 8%. When the flow becomes steady state, the forced convective flow appears in the bottom of the vertical pipe and natural convection flow appears near the exit. It is different behavior from the flow on the parallel vertical flat plates. Nevertheless, the heat transfer was not different greatly compared with those of vertical plate.

Natural convection between parallel vertical plates; Convection naturelle entre plaques paralleles verticales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robin, M; Schwab, B [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1957-07-01

In the thermal study of a 'swimming-pool' type of pile, the flow of water between vertical plates of 'combustible' material must be investigated. Therefore starting from general equations of natural convection, we have determined, the law of distribution of velocities, then that of temperatures, and finally the value of the Biot-Nusselt number, assuming steady-state conditions (both dynamic and thermal) and a constant heat flow at the surface. An abacus (fig. 7, 8 and 9) allows working power to be related to the average velocity and to the heating of the water which passes through the pile. For purposes of comparison, the curves on the calculation presented by S. GLASSTONE (31) have been drawn. (author) [French] L'etude thermique d'une pile du type 'piscine' necessite l'etude de l'ecoulement de l'eau entre les plaques verticales de materiau 'combustible'. Nous avons donc, a partir des equations generales de la convection naturelle, determine la loi de repartition des vitesses, puis celle des temperatures et enfin la valeur du nombre de Biot-Niisselt, en supposant les regimes, dynamique et thermique, etablis et la densite de flux calorifique a la paroi constante. Un abaque (fig. 7, 8 et 9) permet de relier a la puissance de fonctionnement, la vitesse moyenne de l'echauffement de l'eau qui traverse la pile. On a trace a titre de comparaison, les courbes du calcul presente par S. GLASSTONE (3). (auteur)

Investigation of a natural convection in a small slot using a finite difference method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schira, P.; Guenther, C.; Mueller, U.

1984-07-01

Experimental results by Koster who studied natural convection processes in slender Hele-Shaw cells are simulated with an existing two-dimensional natural convection code. This investigation yields the following results: The basic model of the calculations, which assumes a constant temperature across the gap (smallest extent of the Hele-Shaw cell) and thus without heat exchange with the Plexiglas windows, leads to an underestimation of the experimentally obtained critical Rayleigh numbers (onset of convection, onset of oscillatory convection) by one order of magnitude and an overestimation of the nondimensional period compared to experimental findings. Another version of the code, which permits heat exchange with the windows reveals an overestimation of the critical Rayleigh numbers and smaller dimensionless periods than the experiments. By these two different approaches a twoside bounding the Koster's experiments are achieved. As the modified version overestimates the real heat transfer from and to the windows it may be concluded that using a suitably adapted heat transfer coefficient for the thermal coupling of the fluid and the windows numerical simulation would also reproduce quantitatively the results of Koster. The reason for the break down of the steady flow solution and the onset of transient flow was studied numerically by examining a model proposed by Howard. At this time no really satisfying answer to this question is available. (orig./GL) [de

Heat transfer by natural convection into an horizontal cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arevalo J, P.

1998-01-01

At this thesis it is studied the heat transfer by natural convection in an horizontal cavity, it is involved a boiling's part that is described the regimes and correlations differences for boiling's curve. It is designed a horizontal cavity for realize the experimental part and it's mention from equipment or instrumentation to succeed in a experimentation that permits to realize the analysis of heat transfer, handling as water fluid at atmospheric pressure and where it's present process from natural convection involving part boiling's subcooled. The system consists of heater zone submerged in a horizontal cavity with water. Once part finished experimental with information to obtained it's proceeded to obtain a correlation, realized starting from analysis dimensionless such as: Jakob, Bond and Grasoft (Boiling) besides of knows in natural convection: Prandtl and Nusselt. The mathematical model explains the behavior for natural convection continued part boiling's subcooled. It is realize analysis graphics too where it's show comparing with Globe Dropkin and Catton equations by natural convection with bottom heating. (Author)

Steady state and transient heat transfer on molten salt natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kudariyawar, Jayaraj Y.; Vaidya, A.M.; Maheshwari, N.K.; Satyamurthy, P.

2016-01-01

In this work, heat transfer characteristics of Molten Salt Natural Circulation Loop (MSNCL) are studied using 3D CFD simulations. Molten Nitrate salt, NaNO_3+KNO_3 (60:40 ratio by weight), is used as a fluid in MSNCL. In the MSNCL, in heater section, flow is developing and also mixed convection flow regime exists. The local Nusselt number variation in heater is calculated from computed data and is compared with that from Boelter correlation. Steady state heat transfer characteristics are obtained using CFD simulations. Transient heat transfer characteristics in the oscillatory flow formed in MSNCL with horizontal heater configuration are also studied and are found to be different as compared to vertical heater configuration. (author)

Experimental methods in natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koster, J.N.

1982-11-01

Some common experimental techniques to determine local velocities and to visualize temperature fields in natural convection research are discussed. First the physics and practice of anemometers are discussed with emphasis put on optical anemometers. In the second and third case the physics and practice of the most developed interferometers are discussed; namely differential interferometry for visualization of temperature gradient fields and holographic interferometry for visualization of temperature fields. At the Institut fuer Reaktorbauelemente these three measuring techniques are applied for convection and pipe flow studies. (orig.) [de

Tests for removal of decay heat by natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kashiwagi, E.; Wataru, M.; Gomi, Y.; Hattori, Y.; Ozaki, S.

1993-01-01

Interim storage technology for spent fuel by dry storage casks have been investigated. The casks are vertically placed in a storage building. The decay heat is removed from the outer cask surface by natural convection of air entering from the building wall to the roof. The air flow pattern in the storage building was governed by the natural driving pressure difference and circulating flow. The purpose of this study is to understand the mechanism of the removal of decay heat from casks by natural convection. The simulated flow conditions in the building were assumed as a natural and forced combined convection and were investigated by the turbulent quantities near wall. (author)

Investigation of the transition from forced to natural convection in the research reactor Munich II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skreba, S.; Adamek, J.; Unger, H.

1999-01-01

The new research reactor Munich II (FRM-II), which is under construction at the Technical University Munich, Germany, makes use of a newly developed compact reactor core consisting of a single fuel element, which is assembled of two concentric pipes. Between the fuel element's inner and outer pipe 113 involutely bent fuel plates are placed rotationally symmetric, forming 113 cooling channels of a constant width of 2.2 mm. After a shut down of the reactor, battery supported cooling pumps are started by the reactor safety system in order to remove the decay heat by a downwards directed forced flow. Three hours after they have been started, the cooling pumps are shut down and so-called 'natural convection flaps' are opened by their own weight. Through a flow path, which is provided by the opening of the natural convection flaps, the decay heat is given off to the water in the reactor pool after the direction of the flow has changed and an upwards directed natural convection flow has developed. At the Department for Nuclear and New Energy Systems of the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, a test facility has been built in order to confirm the concept of the decay heat removal in the FRM-II, to acquire data of single and two phase natural convection flows and to detect the dry out in a narrow channel. The thermohydraulics of the FRM-II are simulated by an electrically heated test section, which represents one cooling channel of the fuel element. At first experiments have been performed, which simulated the transition from forced to natural convection in the core of the FRM-II, both at normal operation and at a complete loss of the decay heat removal pumps. In case of normal operation, the transition from forced to natural convection takes place single phased. If a complete loss of the active decay heat removal system occurs, the decay heat removal is ensured by a quasi-steady two phase flow. In a second test series minimum heat flux densities leading to pressure pulsations

Transition from natural-convection-controlled freezing to conduction-controlled freezing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sparrow, E.M.; Ramsey, J.W.; Harris, J.S.

1981-01-01

Experiments were performed to study the transition between freezing controlled by natural convection in the liquid adjacent to a freezing interface and freezing controlled by heat conduction in the solidified material. The freezing took place on a cooled vertical tube immersed in an initially superheated liquid contained in an adiabatic-walled vessel. At early and intermediate times, temperature differences throughout the liquid induce a vigorous natural convection motion which retards freezing, but the temperature differences diminish with time and natural convection ebbs. At large times, the freezing rate is fully controlled by heat conduction in the solidified material. The frozen specimens for short and intermediate freezing times are smooth-surfaced and tapered, while those for large times are straight-sided and have surfaces that are overlaid with a thicket of large discrete crystals. These characteristics correspond respectively to those of natural-convection- controlled freezing and conduction-controlled freezing. At early times, the measured mass of the frozen material is identical to that for natural-convection-controlled freezing and conduction-controlled freezing. At early times, the measured mass of the frozen material is identical to that for natural-convection-controlled freezing. At later times, the frozen mass tends to approach that for conduction-controlled freezing, but a residual deficit remains

Natural air convection for cooling of particle accelerator electromagnets: case studies at CERN

CERN Document Server

Moreira, Mariana

Cooling by natural convection is investigated on two air-cooled corrector magnets at CERN. The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) for each magnet is estimated analytically using established empirical correlations for certain geometries. The HTC is also estimated numerically with three-dimensional steady-state finite element simulations. Air convection around the respective coils as well as heat conduction inside the coils are modelled. Different formulas for the HTC are tested in the post-processing of the simulation results. The HTC for each magnet is then determined experimentally by measuring surface temperatures on the coils through time at constant currents. A method to extract the HTC from these temperature curves is developed, in which the curves are fitted to a function that is derived from a thermodynamical analysis of the heating process. Some plausible ranges for the HTC for each magnet for different currents are obtained. The results of the different estimation methods are compared with the experimen...

Fuzzy logic controllers and chaotic natural convection loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Theler, German

2007-01-01

The study of natural circulation loops is a subject of special concern for the engineering design of advanced nuclear reactors, as natural convection provides an efficient and completely passive heat removal system. However, under certain circumstances thermal-fluid-dynamical instabilities may appear, threatening the reactor safety as a whole.On the other hand, fuzzy logic controllers provide an ideal framework to approach highly non-linear control problems. In the present work, we develop a software-based fuzzy logic controller and study its application to chaotic natural convection loops.We numerically analyse the linguistic control of the loop known as the Welander problem in such conditions that, if the controller were not present, the circulation flow would be non-periodic unstable.We also design a Taka gi-Sugeno fuzzy controller based on a fuzzy model of a natural convection loop with a toroidal geometry, in order to stabilize a Lorenz-chaotic behaviour.Finally, we show experimental results obtained in a rectangular natural circulation loop [es

The mechanisms of transitions from natural convection and nucleate boiling to nucleate boiling or film boiling caused by rapid depressurization in highly subcooled water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Akira; Shiotsu, Masahiro; Hata, Koichi; Fukuda, Katsuya

1999-01-01

The mechanisms of transient boiling process including the transitions to nucleate boiling or film boiling from initial heat fluxes, q in , in natural convection and nucleate boiling regimes caused by exponentially decreasing system pressure with various decreasing periods, τ p on a horizontal cylinder in a pool of highly subcooled water were clarified. The transient boiling processes with different characteristics were divided into three groups for low and intermediate q in in natural convection regime, and for high q in in nucleate boiling regime. The transitions at maximum heat fluxes from low q in in natural convection regime to stable nucleate boiling regime occurred independently of the τ p values. The transitions from intermediate and high q in values in natural convection and nucleate boiling to stable film boiling occurred for short τ p values, although those to stable nucleate boiling occurred for tong τ p values. The CHF and corresponding surface superheat values at which the transition to film boiling occurred were considerably lower and higher than the steady-state values at the corresponding pressure during the depressurization respectively. It was suggested that the transitions to stable film boiling at transient critical heat fluxes from intermediate q in in natural convection and from high q in in nucleate boiling for short τ p occur due to explosive-like heterogeneous spontaneous nucleation (HSN). The photographs of typical vapor behavior due to the HSN during depressurization from natural convection regime for short τ p were shown. (author)

Natural convection and vapor loss during underground waste storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plys, M.G.; Epstein, M.; Turner, D.

1996-01-01

Natural convection and vapor loss from underground waste storage tanks is examined here. Stability criteria are provided for the onset of natural convection flow within the headspace of a tank, and between tanks and the environment. The flowrate is quantified and used to predict vapor losses during storage

International benchmark on the natural convection test in Phenix reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenchine, D.; Pialla, D.; Fanning, T.H.; Thomas, J.W.; Chellapandi, P.; Shvetsov, Y.; Maas, L.; Jeong, H.-Y.; Mikityuk, K.; Chenu, A.; Mochizuki, H.; Monti, S.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Phenix main characteristics, instrumentation and natural convection test are described. ► “Blind” calculations and post-test calculations from all the participants to the benchmark are compared to reactor data. ► Lessons learned from the natural convection test and the associated calculations are discussed. -- Abstract: The French Phenix sodium cooled fast reactor (SFR) started operation in 1973 and was stopped in 2009. Before the reactor was definitively shutdown, several final tests were planned and performed, including a natural convection test in the primary circuit. During this natural convection test, the heat rejection provided by the steam generators was disabled, followed several minutes later by reactor scram and coast-down of the primary pumps. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) named “control rod withdrawal and sodium natural circulation tests performed during the Phenix end-of-life experiments”. The overall purpose of the CRP was to improve the Member States’ analytical capabilities in the field of SFR safety. An international benchmark on the natural convection test was organized with “blind” calculations in a first step, then “post-test” calculations and sensitivity studies compared with reactor measurements. Eight organizations from seven Member States took part in the benchmark: ANL (USA), CEA (France), IGCAR (India), IPPE (Russian Federation), IRSN (France), KAERI (Korea), PSI (Switzerland) and University of Fukui (Japan). Each organization performed computations and contributed to the analysis and global recommendations. This paper summarizes the findings of the CRP benchmark exercise associated with the Phenix natural convection test, including blind calculations, post-test calculations and comparisons with measured data. General comments and recommendations are pointed out to improve future simulations of natural convection in SFRs

Experimental study of the steady natural convection in a horizontal annulus with irregular boundaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyd, R.D.

1980-01-01

The natural convective heat transfer across an annulus with irregular boundaries was studied using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The annulus was formed by an inner hexagonal cylinder and an outer concentric circular cylinder. This configuration models, in two dimensions, a liquid metal fast breeder reactor spent fuel subassembly inside a shipping container. During the test, the annulus was filled with a single gas, either neon, air, argon, krypton, or xenon, at a pressure of about 0.5 MPa. From temperature measurements, both local and mean Nusselt numbers (Nu/sub Δ/) at the surface of the inner cylinder were evaluated, with the mean Rayleigh number (anti Ra/sub Δ/) varying from 4.54 x 10 4 to 0.915 x 10 6 (Δ is the local gas width). The data correlation for the mean Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers is given by anti Nu/sub Δ/ = 0.183 anti Ra/sub Δ/ 0 310

Analysis of a convection loop for GFR post-LOCA decay heat removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, W.C.; Hejzlar, P.; Saha, P.

2004-01-01

A computer code (LOCA-COLA) has been developed at MIT for steady state analysis of convective heat transfer loops. In this work, it is used to investigate an external convection loop for decay heat removal of a post-LOCA gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR). The major finding is that natural circulation cooling of the GFR is feasible under certain circumstances. Both helium and CO 2 cooled system components are found to operate in the mixed convection regime, the effects of which are noticeable as heat transfer enhancement or degradation. It is found that CO 2 outdoes helium under identical natural circulation conditions. Decay heat removal is found to have a quadratic dependence on pressure in the laminar flow regime and linear dependence in the turbulent flow regime. Other parametric studies have been performed as well. In conclusion, convection cooling loops are a credible means for GFR decay heat removal and LOCA-COLA is an effective tool for steady state analysis of cooling loops. (authors)

Lattice BGK simulation of natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yu; Ohashi, Hirotada; Akiyama, Mamoru

1995-01-01

Recently a new thermal lattice Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook fluid model was suggested by the authors. In this study, this new model was applied into the numerical simulation of natural convection, namely the Rayleigh Benard flow. The critical number for the onset of convective phenomenon was numerically measured and compared with that of theoretical prediction. A gravity dependent deviation was found in the numerical simulation, which is explained as an unavoidable consequence of the incorporation of gravity force in the lattice BGK system. (author)

Natural Convective Heat Transfer from Narrow Plates

CERN Document Server

Oosthuizen, Patrick H

2013-01-01

Natural Convective Heat Transfer from Narrow Plates deals with a heat transfer situation that is of significant practical importance but which is not adequately dealt with in any existing textbooks or in any widely available review papers. The aim of the book is to introduce the reader to recent studies of natural convection from narrow plates including the effects of plate edge conditions, plate inclination, thermal conditions at the plate surface and interaction of the flows over adjacent plates. Both numerical and experimental studies are discussed and correlation equations based on the results of these studies are reviewed.

An Experimental Study on Rayleigh-Benard Natural Convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Je Young; Chung, Bum Jin

2012-01-01

Core melt in a severe accident condition, forms a molten pool in the reactor vessel lower head. The molten pool is divided by a metallic pool (top) and an oxide pool (bottom) by the density difference. Due to the decay heat generated in oxide pool, Rayleigh- Benard natural convection heated from below and cooled from above occurs in the metallic pool. Experiments were performed to investigate Rayleigh- Benard natural convection as a preparatory study before an in-depth severe accident study. The natural convection heat transfers were measured varying the plate separation distance and the area of plate with and without the side wall. Using the analogy concept, heat transfer experiments were replaced by mass transfer experiments. A cupric acid.copper sulfate (H 2 SO 4 -CuSO 4 ) electroplating system was adopted as the mass transfer system and the electric currents were measured rather than the heat

Simulation of steady-state natural convection using CFD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zitzmann, T.; Pfrommer, P. [Univ. of Applied Sciences, Coberg (Germany); Cook, M.; Rees, S.; Marjanovic, L. [De Montfort Univ., Leicester (United Kingdom). Inst. of Energy and Sustainable Development

2005-07-01

Building materials play an important role in the creation of comfortable indoor environments and can reduce dependence on high energy use mechanical systems. Correct predictions between building structure and heat transfer are needed in order to achieve optimal conditions. Heat transfer is dependent on the velocity and temperature distribution in a room, particularly in the wall boundary layer. This paper discussed the modeling of air flow and heat transfer over a heated vertical plate in a differentially-heated cavity using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Guidelines on the use of CFD with unstructured meshes to model buoyancy-driven flow in a cavity were presented. Benchmark CFD results were compared with published analytical data. The finite volume method was employed using an unstructured mesh containing tetrahedral and prism elements, so that local numerical diffusion was reduced and therefore suitable for complex flows. The code was based on a couple solver for solving the differential equations using the fully implicit discretization method. Hydrodynamic equations were treated as one single system. A false time stepping method was used to reduce the number of iterations required for convergence, which also guided the solutions to a steady-state solution. It was concluded that the methodology achieves accurate predictions, and is suitable for the modeling of heat transfer optimizations. 13 refs., 7 figs.

Heat removal by natural convection in a RPR reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sampaio, P.A.B. de

1987-01-01

In this paper natural convection in RPR reactor is analysed. The effect of natural convection valves size on cladding temperature is studied. The reactor channel heat transfer problem is solved using finite elements in a two-dimensional analysis. Results show that two valves with Φ = 0.16 m are suited to keep coolant and cladding temperatures below 73 0 C. (author) [pt

Analysis of natural convection heat transfer with crust formation in the molten metal pool using CONV-2 and 3D computer codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, R. J.; Kang, K. H.; Kim, S. B.; Kim, H. D.; Choi, S. M.

1998-01-01

Analytical studies have been performed on natural convection heat transfer with crust formation in a molten metal pool to validate and evaluate experimental data using the CONV-2 and 3D computer codes. Two types of steady state tests, a low and high geometric aspect ratio case in the molten metal pool, were performed to investigate crust thickness as a function of boundary conditions. The CONV-2 and 3D computer codes were developed under the OECD/NEA RASPLAV project to simulate two- and three-dimensional natural convection heat transfer with crust formation, respectively. The Rayleigh-Benard flow patterns in the molten metal pool contribute to the temperature distribution, which affects non-uniform crust formation. The CONV-2D results on crust thickness are a little higher than the experimental data because of heat loss during the test. In comparison of the CONV-3D results with the CONV-2D results on crust thickness, the three-dimensional results are higher than the two-dimensional results, because of three dimensional natural convection flow and wall effect

An application of the unifying theory of thermal convection in vertical natural convection

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Chong Shen; Ooi, Andrew; Lohse, Detlef; Chung, Daniel

2014-11-01

Using direct numerical simulations of vertical natural convection (VNC) at Rayleigh numbers 1 . 0 ×105 - 1 . 0 ×109 and Prandtl number 0 . 709 , we provide support for a generalised applicability of the Grossmann-Lohse (GL) theory, originally developed for horizontal natural (Rayleigh-Bénard) convection. In accordance with the theory, the boundary-layer thicknesses of the velocity and temperature fields in VNC obey laminar-like scaling, whereas away from the walls, the dissipation of the turbulent fluctuations obey the scaling for fully developed turbulence. In contrast to Rayleigh-Bénard convection, the direction of gravity in VNC is parallel to the mean flow. Thus, there no longer exists an exact relation linking the normalised global dissipations to the Nusselt, Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers. Nevertheless, we show that the unclosed term, namely the global-averaged buoyancy flux, also exhibits laminar and turbulent scaling, consistent with the GL theory. The findings suggest that, similar to Rayleigh-Bénard convection, a pure power-law relationship between the Nusselt, Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers is not the best description for VNC and existing empirical power-law relationships should be recalibrated to better reflect the underlying physics.

Calculation analysis on steady state natural circulation characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Fei; Nie Changhua; Huang Yanping

2005-01-01

The calculation results of single-phase steady state natural circulation characteristics by using Retran02 code have been presented, good agreement is achieved between the verified calculation result and the experimental data which were conducted at a test facility. Based on the calculation model, some sensibility analyses were made and much deeper understanding for single-phase steady state natural circulation characteristics was obtained. (author)

Numerical analysis of the turbulent natural convection in a solar chimney; Analise numerica da conveccao natural turbulenta em uma chamine solar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brasil, Cristiana S.; Valle, Ramon M.; Cortez, Marcio F.B.; Ferreira, Andre G. [Minas Gerais Univ., Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica]. E-mail: tite@demec.ufmg.br; ramon@demec.ufmg.br; fonteboa@demec.ufmg.br; ferreira@demec.ufmg.br

2000-07-01

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the turbulent natural convection in a solar chimney operating in steady flow, with prescribed conditions of temperature in the ground. The solar radiation heats the air under the cover, which flows to the tower without artificial pumping. The hot air produced may be used to dry several agricultural products. The numerical analysis of the natural convection in this kind of dryer has fundamental importance on the design and building of this device. The mathematical model includes the conservation laws for mass, momentum and thermal energy and the transport equations for the turbulence model variables (k and e ). The k- e model of turbulence with wall functions was used. A computational code using the Finite Volume Method in Generalized Coordinates was developed to solve the system of equations that describes thermal and hydro dynamically the flow. The velocity and temperature fields are shown to the flow in the solar chimney. With geometrical alterations on the device, one can obtain a detailed description of the flow, which allow the guideline for a suitable configuration to build an experimental prototype. (author)

The convection patterns in microemulsions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korneta, W.; Lopez Quintela, M.A.; Fernandez Novoa, A.

1991-07-01

The Rayleigh-Benard convection in the microemulsion consisting of water (7.5%), cyclohexan (oil-61.7%) and diethylenglycolmonobutylether (surfactant-30.8%) is studied from the onset of convection to the phase separation. The five classes of convection patterns are observed and recorded on the video: localized travelling waves, travelling waves, travelling waves and localized steady rolls, steady rolls and steady polygons. The Fourier transforms and histograms of these patterns are presented. The origin of any pattern is discussed. The intermittent behaviour close to the phase separation was observed. Possible applications of the obtained results are suggested. (author). 6 refs, 4 figs

A lumped parameter core dynamics model for MTR type research reactors under natural convection regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ardaneh, Kazem; Zaferanlouei, Salman

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A model is presented to simulate the reactivity insertion transient in MTR reactors. ► Transient dynamics of IAEA 10 MW MTR type research reactor are evaluated. ► Maximum unprotected reactivity insertion for safe condition is calculated. ► The model predictions are validated with corresponding results in the literature. - Abstract: On the basis of lumped parameter modeling of both the kinetic and thermal–hydraulic effects, a reasonably accurate simplified model has been developed to predict the dynamic response of MTR reactors following to an unprotected reactivity insertion under natural convection regime. By this model the reactor transient behavior at a given initial steady-state can be solved by a set of ordinary differential equations. The model predictions have an acceptable consent with corresponding results of reactivity insertion transients analyzed in the literature. The inherent safety characteristics of MTR research reactors utilizing natural convection is clearly demonstrated by the expanded model. The safety margin of reactor operating is selected ONB condition and thereby the proposed model determines that any slight increase in the value of $0.73 for inserted reactivity will cause the maximum cladding surface temperature to exceed the ONB condition

Analysis of natural convection in volumetrically-heated melt pools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehgal, B.R.; Dinh, T.N.; Nourgaliev, R.R.

1996-12-01

Results of series of studies on natural convection heat transfer in decay-heated core melt pools which form in a reactor lower plenum during the progression of a core meltdown accident are described. The emphasis is on modelling and prediction of turbulent heat transfer characteristics of natural convection in a liquid pool with an internal energy source. Methods of computational fluid dynamics, including direct numerical simulation, were applied for investigation

Natural convection heat transfer within horizontal spent nuclear fuel assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canaan, R.E.

1995-12-01

Natural convection heat transfer is experimentally investigated in an enclosed horizontal rod bundle, which characterizes a spent nuclear fuel assembly during dry storage and/or transport conditions. The basic test section consists of a square array of sixty-four stainless steel tubular heaters enclosed within a water-cooled rectangular copper heat exchanger. The heaters are supplied with a uniform power generation per unit length while the surrounding enclosure is maintained at a uniform temperature. The test section resides within a vacuum/pressure chamber in order to subject the assembly to a range of pressure statepoints and various backfill gases. The objective of this experimental study is to obtain convection correlations which can be used in order to easily incorporate convective effects into analytical models of horizontal spent fuel systems, and also to investigate the physical nature of natural convection in enclosed horizontal rod bundles in general. The resulting data consist of: (1) measured temperatures within the assembly as a function of power, pressure, and backfill gas; (2) the relative radiative contribution for the range of observed temperatures; (3) correlations of convective Nusselt number and Rayleigh number for the rod bundle as a whole; and (4) correlations of convective Nusselt number as a function of Rayleigh number for individual rods within the array

A numerical study on the conjugate natural convection in a circular pipe containing water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Myoung-Young; Choi, Hyoung-Gwon [Seoul National University of Science & Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-07-15

In this paper, the effect of material property of pipe on the conjugate natural convection in a circular pipe containing water was investigated by solving the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations coupled with energy equations of the water and pipe. Natural convection and conduction of water inside the pipe was coupled with the conduction of the pipe whose bottom was subject to uniform heat source. From the present grid resolution and time-step independent solutions, it has been confirmed that the water temperature inside a PVC pipe was higher than that inside a steel pipe due to the smaller heat capacity of PVC and that the streamline patterns of the two cases were found to be opposite because the thermal diffusivity of steel (PVC) is larger (smaller) than that of water such that steel (PVC) pipe is heated faster (slower) than water. Furthermore, a quantitative comparison of heat flux to water was performed by examining the distributions of the heat flux along the inside walls of steel/PVC. The average temperature of water inside steel was found to be higher than that inside PVC at the initial stage of heating. On the other hand, PVC provided a larger heat flux to water when it reached a steady value.

Experimental study of natural convective heat transfer in a vertical hexagonal sub channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tandian, Nathanael P.; Umar, Efrizon; Hardianto, Toto; Febriyanto, Catur

2012-01-01

The development of new practices in nuclear reactor safety aspects and optimization of recent nuclear reactors, including the APWR and the PHWR reactors, needs a knowledge on natural convective heat transfer within sub-channels formed among several nuclear fuel rods or heat exchanger tubes. Unfortunately, the currently available empirical correlation equations for such heat transfer modes are limited and researches on convective heat transfer within a bundle of vertical cylinders (especially within the natural convection modes) are scarcely done. Although boundary layers around the heat exchanger cylinders or fuel rods may be dominated by their entry regions, most of available convection correlation equations are for fully developed boundary layers. Recently, an experimental study on natural convective heat transfer in a subchannel formed by several heated parallel cylinders that arranged in a hexagonal configuration has been being done. The study seeks for a new convection correlation for the natural convective heat transfer in the sub-channel formed among the hexagonal vertical cylinders. A new convective heat transfer correlation equation has been obtained from the study and compared to several similar equations in literatures.

Analysis of natural convection in volumetrically-heated melt pools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sehgal, B.R.; Dinh, T.N.; Nourgaliev, R.R. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Div. of Nuclear Power Safety

1996-12-01

Results of series of studies on natural convection heat transfer in decay-heated core melt pools which form in a reactor lower plenum during the progression of a core meltdown accident are described. The emphasis is on modelling and prediction of turbulent heat transfer characteristics of natural convection in a liquid pool with an internal energy source. Methods of computational fluid dynamics, including direct numerical simulation, were applied for investigation. Refs, figs, tabs.

Modeling the natural convective flow of micropolar nanofluids

KAUST Repository

Bourantas, Georgios

2014-01-01

A micropolar model for nanofluidic suspensions is proposed in order to investigate theoretically the natural convection of nanofluids. The microrotation of the nanoparticles seems to play a significant role into flow regime and in that manner it possibly can interpret the controversial experimental data and theoretical numerical results over the natural convection of nanofluids. Natural convection of a nanofluid in a square cavity is studied and computations are performed for Rayleigh number values up to 106, for a range of solid volume fractions (0 ≤ φ ≤ 0.2) and, different types of nanoparticles (Cu, Ag, Al2O3 and TiO 2). The theoretical results show that the microrotation of the nanoparticles in suspension in general decreases overall heat transfer from the heated wall and should not therefore be neglected when computing heat and fluid flow of micropolar fluids, as nanofluids. The validity of the proposed model is depicted by comparing the numerical results obtained with available experimental and theoretical data. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Penetration of steady fluid motions into an outer stable layer excited by MHD thermal convection in rotating spherical shells

Science.gov (United States)

Takehiro, Shin-ichi; Sasaki, Youhei

2018-03-01

Penetration of steady magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) disturbances into an upper strongly stratified stable layer excited by MHD thermal convection in rotating spherical shells is investigated. The theoretical model proposed by Takehiro (2015) is reexamined in the case of steady fluid motion below the bottom boundary. Steady disturbances penetrate into a density stratified MHD fluid existing in the semi-infinite region in the vertical direction. The axis of rotation of the system is tilted with respect to the vertical. The basic magnetic field is uniform and may be tilted with respect to the vertical and the rotation axis. Linear dispersion relation shows that the penetration distance with zero frequency depends on the amplitude of Alfvén wave speed. When Alfvén wave speed is small, viscous diffusion becomes dominant and penetration distance is similar to the horizontal scale of the disturbance at the lower boundary. In contrast, when Alfvén wave speed becomes larger, disturbance can penetrate deeper, and penetration distance becomes proportional to the Alfvén wave speed and inversely proportional to the geometric average of viscous and magnetic diffusion coefficients and to the total horizontal wavenumber. The analytic expression of penetration distance is in good agreement with the extent of penetration of mean zonal flow induced by finite amplitude convection in a rotating spherical shell with an upper stably stratified layer embedded in an axially uniform basic magnetic field. The theory expects that the stable layer suggested in the upper part of the outer core of the earth could be penetrated completely by mean zonal flows excited by thermal/compositional convection developing below the stable layer.

THE EFFECT OF SOLAR RADIATION ON AUTOMOBILE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH NATURAL CONVECTION AND MIXED CONVECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MD. FAISAL KADER

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In the present paper, the effect of solar radiation on automobiles has been studied by both experimentally and numerically. The numerical solution is done by an operation friendly and fast CFD code – SC/Tetra with a full scale model of a SM3 car and turbulence is modeled by the standard k-ε equation. Numerical analysis of the three-dimensional model predicts a detailed description of fluid flow and temperature distribution in the passenger compartment during both the natural convection due to the incoming solar radiation and mixed convection due to the flow from defrost nozzle and radiation. It can be seen that solar radiation is an important parameter to raise the compartment temperature above the ambient temperature during summer. During natural convection, the rate of heat transfer is fast at the initial period. In the mixed convection analyses, it is found that the temperature drops down to a comfortable range almost linearly at the initial stage. Experimental investigations are performed to determine the temperature contour on the windshield and the local temperature at a particular point for further validation of the numerical results.

Turbulence modeling of natural convection in enclosures: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Seok Ki; Kim, Seong O

2012-01-01

In this paper a review of recent developments of turbulence models for natural convection in enclosures is presented. The emphasis is placed on the effect of the treatments of Reynolds stress and turbulent heat flux on the stability and accuracy of the solution for natural convection in enclosures. The turbulence models considered in the preset study are the two-layer k -ε model, the shear stress transport (SST) model, the elliptic-relaxation (V2-f) model and the elliptic-blending second-moment closure (EBM). Three different treatments of the turbulent heat flux are the generalized gradient diffusion hypothesis (GGDH), the algebraic flux model (AFM) and the differential flux model (DFM). The mathematical formulation of the above turbulence models and their solution method are presented. Evaluation of turbulence models are performed for turbulent natural convection in a 1:5 rectangular cavity ( Ra = 4.3x10 10 ) and in a square cavity with conducting top and bottom walls ( Ra =1.58x10 9 ) and the Rayleigh-Benard convection ( Ra = 2x10 6 ∼ Ra =10 9 ). The relative performances of turbulence models are examined and their successes and shortcomings are addressed

The Fractional Step Method Applied to Simulations of Natural Convective Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Westra, Douglas G.; Heinrich, Juan C.; Saxon, Jeff (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper describes research done to apply the Fractional Step Method to finite-element simulations of natural convective flows in pure liquids, permeable media, and in a directionally solidified metal alloy casting. The Fractional Step Method has been applied commonly to high Reynold's number flow simulations, but is less common for low Reynold's number flows, such as natural convection in liquids and in permeable media. The Fractional Step Method offers increased speed and reduced memory requirements by allowing non-coupled solution of the pressure and the velocity components. The Fractional Step Method has particular benefits for predicting flows in a directionally solidified alloy, since other methods presently employed are not very efficient. Previously, the most suitable method for predicting flows in a directionally solidified binary alloy was the penalty method. The penalty method requires direct matrix solvers, due to the penalty term. The Fractional Step Method allows iterative solution of the finite element stiffness matrices, thereby allowing more efficient solution of the matrices. The Fractional Step Method also lends itself to parallel processing, since the velocity component stiffness matrices can be built and solved independently of each other. The finite-element simulations of a directionally solidified casting are used to predict macrosegregation in directionally solidified castings. In particular, the finite-element simulations predict the existence of 'channels' within the processing mushy zone and subsequently 'freckles' within the fully processed solid, which are known to result from macrosegregation, or what is often referred to as thermo-solutal convection. These freckles cause material property non-uniformities in directionally solidified castings; therefore many of these castings are scrapped. The phenomenon of natural convection in an alloy under-going directional solidification, or thermo-solutal convection, will be explained. The

Numerical study of transient laminar natural convection over an isothermal sphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Shu; Raghavan, Vasudevan; Gogos, George

2007-01-01

The full Navier-Stokes equations and the energy equation for laminar natural convection heat transfer over an isothermal sphere have been discretized using the finite control volume formulation and solved by employing the SIMPLEC method. Transient and 'steady-state' results have been obtained for a wide range of high Grashof numbers (10 5 ≤ Gr ≤ 10 9 ) and a wide range of Prandtl numbers (Pr = 0.02, 0.7, 7 and 100). Main results are listed below. A plume with a mushroom-shaped cap forms above the sphere and drifts upward continuously with time. The upward movement of the plume cap is slowed as the Prandtl number increases. The size and the level of temperature of the transient cap and plume stem decrease with increasing Gr and Pr. The time at which the 'steady-state' is reached, increases with the Prandtl number. The presence of a vortex in the wake of the sphere has been predicted and has been clearly delineated as a function of both Grashof and Prandtl numbers. The overall Nusselt numbers and total drag coefficients for the range of Grashof and Prandtl numbers investigated are presented and they are in very good agreement with studies available in the literature

Study on natural convection characteristics in a narrow annular gap, 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naohara, Nobuyuki; Uotani, Masaki; Kinoshita, Izumi; Arazeki, Hideo

1987-01-01

To clarify the characteristics of natural convection in a narrow annular gap at the roof-slab penetration in pool-type LMFBR, experimental study was carried out. Experiment is to investigate the effect of annular gap width. The results are summarized as follows. (1) A chart showing the presence of natural convection was drawn, and it was showed that the natural convection in an annular gap was influenced by gap width. (2) Dimensionless circumferential temperature in annular wall could be rearranged by new parameter taking account of the annular gap width and a characteristics curve was obtained. (author)

Natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder in liquid sodium. Pt. 2. Generalized correlation for laminar natural convection heat transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hata, K.; Takeuchi, Y.

1999-01-01

For pt.I see ibid., vol.193, p.105-18, 1999. Rigorous numerical solution of natural convection heat transfer, from a horizontal cylinder with uniform surface heat flux or with uniform surface temperature, to liquid sodium was derived by solving the fundamental equations for laminar natural convection heat transfer without the boundary layer approximation. It was made clear that the local and average Nusselt numbers experimentally obtained and reported in part 1 of this paper were described well by the numerical solutions for uniform surface heat fluxes, but that those for uniform surface temperatures could not describe the angular distribution of the local Nusselt numbers and about 10% underpredicted the average Nusselt numbers. Generalized correlation for natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder with a uniform surface heat flux in liquid metals was presented based on the rigorous theoretical values for a wide range of Rayleigh numbers. It was confirmed that the correlation can describe the authors' and other workers' experimental data on horizontal cylinders in various kinds of liquid metals for a wide range of Rayleigh numbers. Another correlation for a horizontal cylinder with a uniform surface temperature in liquid metals, which may be applicable for special cases such as natural convection heat transfer in a sodium-to-sodium heat exchanger etc. was also presented based on the rigorous theoretical values for a wide range of Rayleigh numbers. These correlations can also describe the rigorous numerical solutions for non-metallic liquids and gases for the Prandtl numbers up to 10. (orig.)

Novel Natural Convection Heat Sink Design Concepts From First Principles

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

CONVECTION HEAT SINK DESIGN CONCEPTS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES by Derek E. Fletcher June 2016 Thesis Advisor: Garth Hobson Second Reader...COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE NOVEL NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT SINK DESIGN CONCEPTS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6...CONVECTION HEAT SINK DESIGN CONCEPTS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES Derek E. Fletcher Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy B.S., Southwestern

The Oscillatory Nature of Rotating Convection in Liquid Metal

Science.gov (United States)

Aurnou, J. M.; Bertin, V. L.; Grannan, A. M.

2016-12-01

Earth's magnetic field is assumed to be generated by fluid motions in its liquid metal core. In this fluid, the heat diffuses significantly more than momentum and thus, the ratio of these two diffusivities, the Prandtl number Pr=ν/Κ, is well below unity. The convective flow dynamics of liquid metal is very different from Pr ≈ 1 fluids like water and those used in current dynamo simulations. In order to characterize rapidly rotating thermal convection in low Pr number fluids, we have performed laboratory experiments in a cylinder using liquid gallium (Pr ≈ 0.023) as the working fluid. The Ekman number, which characterizes the effect of rotation, varies from E = 4 10-5 to 4 10-6 and the dimensionless buoyancy forcing (Rayleigh number, Ra) varies from Ra =3 105 to 2 107. Using heat transfer measurements (Nusselt number, Nu) as well as temperature measurements within the fluid, we characterize the different styles of low Pr rotating convective flow. The convection threshold is first overcome in the form of a container scale inertial oscillatory mode. At stronger forcing, wall-localized modes are identified for the first time in liquid metal laboratory experiments. These wall modes coexist with the bulk inertial oscillatory modes. When the strengh of the buoyancy increases, the bulk flow becomes turbulent while the wall modes remain. Our results imply that rotating convective flows in liquid metals do not develop in the form of quasi-steady columns, as in Pr ≈ 1 dynamo models, but in the form of oscillatory motions. Therefore, the flows that drive thermally-driven dynamo action in low Pr geophysical and astrophysical fluids can differ substantively than those occuring in current-day Pr ≈ 1 numerical models. In addition, our results suggest that relatively low wavenumber, wall-attached modes may be dynamically important in rapidly-rotating convection in liquid metals.

Experimental Observations of Natural Circulation Flow in the NSTF at Steady-State Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisowski, Darius D.; Farmer, Mitch T.

2014-01-01

A ½ scale test facility has been constructed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to study the heat removal performance and natural circulation flow patterns in a Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS). Our test facility, the Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF), supports the broader goal of developing an inherently safe and fully passive ex-vessel decay heat removal for advanced reactor designs. The project, initiated in 2010 to support the Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC), Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) programs, has been conducting experimental operations since early 2014. The following paper provides a summary of some primary design features of the 26-m tall test facility along with a description of the data acquisition suite that guides our experimental practices. Specifics of the distributed fiber optic temperature measurements will be discussed, which introduces an unparalleled level of data density that has never before been implemented in a large scale natural circulation test facility. Results from our first test series will then be presented, which provide insight into the thermal hydraulic behavior at steady-state conditions for varying heat flux levels and exhaust chimney configuration states. (author)

Double Diffusive Natural Convection in a Nuclear Waste Repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Y. Hao; J. Nitao; T.A. Buscheck; Y. Sun

2006-01-01

In this study, we conduct a two-dimensional numerical analysis of double diffusive natural convection in an emplacement drift for a nuclear waste repository. In-drift heat and moisture transport is driven by combined thermal- and compositional-induced buoyancy forces. Numerical results demonstrate buoyancy-driven convective flow patterns and configurations during both repository heat-up and cool-down phases. It is also shown that boundary conditions, particularly on the drip-shield surface, have strong impacts on the in-drift convective flow and transport

Modeling approaches to natural convection in porous media

CERN Document Server

Su, Yan

2015-01-01

This book provides an overview of the field of flow and heat transfer in porous medium and focuses on presentation of a generalized approach to predict drag and convective heat transfer within porous medium of arbitrary microscopic geometry, including reticulated foams and packed beds. Practical numerical methods to solve natural convection problems in porous media will be presented with illustrative applications for filtrations, thermal storage and solar receivers.

Open Channel Natural Convection Heat Transfer on a Vertical Finned Plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Joo Hyun; Heo, Jeong Hwan; Chung, Bum Jin

2013-01-01

The natural convection heat transfer of vertical plate fin was investigated experimentally. Heat transfer systems were replaced by mass-transfer systems, based on the analogy concept. The experimental results lie within the predictions of the existing heat transfer correlations of plate-fin for the natural convections. An overlapped thermal boundary layers caused increasing heat transfer, and an overlapped momentum boundary layers caused decreasing heat transfer. As the fin height increases, heat transfer was enhanced due to increased inflow from the open side of the fin spacing. When fin spacing and fin height are large, heat transfer was unaffected by the fin spacing and fin height. Passive cooling by natural convection becomes more and more important for the nuclear systems as the station black out really happened at the Fukushima NPPs. In the RCCS (Reactor Cavity Cooling System) of a VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor), natural convection cooling through duct system is adopted. In response to the stack failure event, extra cooling capacity adopting the fin array has to be investigated. The finned plate increases the surface area and the heat transfer increases. However, the plate of fin arrays may increase the pressure drop and the heat transfer decreases. Therefore, in order to enhance the passive cooling with fin arrays, the parameters for the fin arrays should be optimized. According to Welling and Wooldridge, a natural convection on vertical plate fin is function of Gr, Pr, L, t, S, and H. The present work investigated the natural convection heat transfer of a vertical finned plate with varying the fin height and the fin spacing. In order achieve high Rayleigh numbers, an electroplating system was employed and the mass transfer rates were measured using a copper sulfate electroplating system based on the analogy concept

Effect of crust increase on natural convection heat transfer in the molten metal pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik; Kim, Hee Dong; Choi, Sang Min

1999-01-01

An experimental study has been performed on natural convection heat transfer with a rapid crust formation in the molten metal pool of a low Prandtl number fluid. Two types of steady state tests, a low and high geometric aspect ratio cases in the molten metal pool, were performed. The crust thickness by solidification was measured as a function of boundary surface temperatures. The experimental results on the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool with a crust formation were compared with existing correlations. The experimental study has shown that the bottom surface temperature of the molten metal layer, in all experiments, is the major influential parameter in the crust formation, due to the natural convection flow. The Nusselt number of the case without a crust formation in the molten metal pool is greater than that of the case with the crust formation at the same Rayleigh number. The present experimental results on the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool match well with Globe and Dropkin's correlation. From the experimental results, a new correlation between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool with the crust formation was developed as Nu=0.0923 (Ra) 0.0923 (2 X 10 4 7 ). (author)

Education: DNA replication using microscale natural convection.

Science.gov (United States)

Priye, Aashish; Hassan, Yassin A; Ugaz, Victor M

2012-12-07

There is a need for innovative educational experiences that unify and reinforce fundamental principles at the interface between the physical, chemical, and life sciences. These experiences empower and excite students by helping them recognize how interdisciplinary knowledge can be applied to develop new products and technologies that benefit society. Microfluidics offers an incredibly versatile tool to address this need. Here we describe our efforts to create innovative hands-on activities that introduce chemical engineering students to molecular biology by challenging them to harness microscale natural convection phenomena to perform DNA replication via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Experimentally, we have constructed convective PCR stations incorporating a simple design for loading and mounting cylindrical microfluidic reactors between independently controlled thermal plates. A portable motion analysis microscope enables flow patterns inside the convective reactors to be directly visualized using fluorescent bead tracers. We have also developed a hands-on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) exercise based on modeling microscale thermal convection to identify optimal geometries for DNA replication. A cognitive assessment reveals that these activities strongly impact student learning in a positive way.

Heat-transfer correlations for natural convection boiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephan, K.; Abdelsalam, M.

1980-01-01

To-date there exists no comprehensive theory allowing the prediction of heat-transfer coefficients in natural convection boiling, in spite of the many efforts made in this field. In order to establish correlations with wide application, the methods of regression analysis were applied to the nearly 500 existing experimental data points for natural convection boiling heat transfer. As demonstrated by the analysis, these data can best be represented by subdividing the substances into four groups (water, hydrocarbons, cryogenic fluids and refrigerants) and employing a different set of dimensionless numbers for each group of substances, because certain dimensionless numbers important for one group of substances are unimportant to another. One equation valid for all substances could be built up, but its accuracy would be less than that obtained for the individual correlations without adding undesirable complexity. (author)

Startup method for natural convection type nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Utsuno, Hideaki.

1993-01-01

In a nuclear reactor started by natural convection, no sufficient stability margin can be ensured upon start up. Then, in the present invention, a deaerating operation is conducted before start-up of the reactor, then control rods are withdrawn after conducting the deaerating operation and temperature and pressure are raised by nuclear heating, to obtain a rated power. As a result, reactor power and subcooling at the inlet of the reactor core are within a range of lower than a geysering forming region, thereby enabling to prevent occurence of geysering inherent to the start-up of operation in a natural convection state, shorten the start-up time, as well as remove oxygen dissolved in coolants. (N.H.)

Combination technique for improving natural convection cooling in electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Florio, L.A.; Harnoy, A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States)

2007-01-15

The combination of an appropriately placed cross-flow opening and a strategically positioned transversely vibrating plate is proposed as a means of augmenting pure natural convection in a vertical channel. This method is intended to provide a more efficient, reliable, and consumer conscious alternative to conventional techniques for lower power dissipating devices where standard natural convection cooling proves insufficient. Two-dimensional numerical simulations are employed to investigate this combination method using models consisting of a vertical channel containing two rectangular heat sources which are attached to a vertical mounting board, as well as a transversely oscillating plate and a cross-flow opening in the mounting board area between the two heat sources. Varied parameters and geometric configurations are studied. The results indicate the combined effects of the vibrating plate and the opening flow have the potential to cause significant improvement in the thermal conditions over pure natural convection. As much as a 70% improvement in the local heat transfer coefficient from that for a system with a board opening but without a vibrating plate was attained. (author)

Natural convection and wall radiation in tall cavities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balaji, C [Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirapalli (India). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; Venkateshan, S P [Indian Inst. of Tech., Madras (India). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1996-12-01

The problem of combined natural convection and wall radiation in tall cavities has been taken up for a detailed numerical investigation. The governing equations for fluid flow have been solved by a finite volume method and the radiation has been treated by the radiosity-irradiation method. The analysis has been specifically made for the case where the emissivity of the hot left wall is different from that of the cold right wall. For this case it was found that decoupling radiation from free convection can lead to considerable error. Correlations have been suggested for predicting both the convective as well as the radiative heat transfer rates across the cavity. (author). 7 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Natural convection and wall radiation in tall cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaji, C.; Venkateshan, S.P.

1996-01-01

The problem of combined natural convection and wall radiation in tall cavities has been taken up for a detailed numerical investigation. The governing equations for fluid flow have been solved by a finite volume method and the radiation has been treated by the radiosity-irradiation method. The analysis has been specifically made for the case where the emissivity of the hot left wall is different from that of the cold right wall. For this case it was found that decoupling radiation from free convection can lead to considerable error. Correlations have been suggested for predicting both the convective as well as the radiative heat transfer rates across the cavity. (author). 7 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Heat transfer by natural convection into an horizontal cavity; Transferencia de calor por conveccion natural en una cavidad horizontal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arevalo J, P

1998-12-31

At this thesis it is studied the heat transfer by natural convection in an horizontal cavity, it is involved a boiling`s part that is described the regimes and correlations differences for boiling`s curve. It is designed a horizontal cavity for realize the experimental part and it`s mention from equipment or instrumentation to succeed in a experimentation that permits to realize the analysis of heat transfer, handling as water fluid at atmospheric pressure and where it`s present process from natural convection involving part boiling`s subcooled. The system consists of heater zone submerged in a horizontal cavity with water. Once part finished experimental with information to obtained it`s proceeded to obtain a correlation, realized starting from analysis dimensionless such as: Jakob, Bond and Grasoft (Boiling) besides of knows in natural convection: Prandtl and Nusselt. The mathematical model explains the behavior for natural convection continued part boiling`s subcooled. It is realize analysis graphics too where it`s show comparing with Globe Dropkin and Catton equations by natural convection with bottom heating. (Author)

Heat transfer by natural convection into an horizontal cavity; Transferencia de calor por conveccion natural en una cavidad horizontal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arevalo J, P

1999-12-31

At this thesis it is studied the heat transfer by natural convection in an horizontal cavity, it is involved a boiling`s part that is described the regimes and correlations differences for boiling`s curve. It is designed a horizontal cavity for realize the experimental part and it`s mention from equipment or instrumentation to succeed in a experimentation that permits to realize the analysis of heat transfer, handling as water fluid at atmospheric pressure and where it`s present process from natural convection involving part boiling`s subcooled. The system consists of heater zone submerged in a horizontal cavity with water. Once part finished experimental with information to obtained it`s proceeded to obtain a correlation, realized starting from analysis dimensionless such as: Jakob, Bond and Grasoft (Boiling) besides of knows in natural convection: Prandtl and Nusselt. The mathematical model explains the behavior for natural convection continued part boiling`s subcooled. It is realize analysis graphics too where it`s show comparing with Globe Dropkin and Catton equations by natural convection with bottom heating. (Author)

Strategy of experimental studies in PNC on natural convection decay heat removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ieda, Y.; Kamide, H.; Ohshima, H.; Sugawara, S.; Ninokata, H.

1993-01-01

Experimental studies have been and are being carried out in PNC to establish the design and safety evaluation methods and the design and safety evaluation guide lines for decay heat removal by natural convection. A strategy of the experimental studies in PNC is described in this paper. The sphere of studies in PNC is to develop the evaluation methods to be available to DRACS as well as PRACS and IRACS for the plant where decay heat is removed by natural convection in some cases of loss of station service power. Similarity parameters related to natural convection are derived from the governing equations. The roles of both sodium and water experiments are defined in consideration of the importance of the similarity parameters and characteristics of scale model experiments. The experimental studies in PNC are reviewed. On the basis of the experimental results, recommended evaluation methods are shown for decay heat removal feature by natural convection. Future experimental works are also proposed. (author)

Specialists' meeting on evaluation of decay heat removal by natural convection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-02-01

Decay heat removal by natural convection (DHRNC) is essential to enhancing the safety of liquid metal fast reactors (LMFRs). Various design concepts related to DHRNC have been proposed and experimental and analytical studies have been carried out in a number of countries. The purpose of this Specialists' Meeting on 'Decay Heat Removal by Natural Convection' organized by the International Working Group on Fast Reactors IAEA, is to exchange information about the state of the art related to methodologies on evaluation of DHRNC features (experimental studies and code developments) and to discuss problems which need to be solved in order to evaluate DHRNC properly and reasonably. The following main topical areas were discussed by delegates: Overview; Experimental studies and code validation; Design study. Two main DHR systems for LMFR are under consideration: (i) direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS) with immersed DFIX in main vessel, intermediate sodium loop and sodium-air heat exchanger; and (ii) auxiliary cooling system which removes heat from the outside surface of the reactor vessel by natural convection of air (RVACS). The practicality and economic viability of the use of RVACS is possible up to a modular type reactor or a middle size reactor based on current technology. For the large monolithic plant concepts DRACS is preferable. The existing experimental results and the codes show encouraging results so that the decay heat removal by pure natural convection is feasible. Concerning the objective, 'passive safety', the DHR by pure natural convection is essential feature to enhance the reliability of DHR.

Specialists' meeting on evaluation of decay heat removal by natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-02-01

Decay heat removal by natural convection (DHRNC) is essential to enhancing the safety of liquid metal fast reactors (LMFRs). Various design concepts related to DHRNC have been proposed and experimental and analytical studies have been carried out in a number of countries. The purpose of this Specialists' Meeting on 'Decay Heat Removal by Natural Convection' organized by the International Working Group on Fast Reactors IAEA, is to exchange information about the state of the art related to methodologies on evaluation of DHRNC features (experimental studies and code developments) and to discuss problems which need to be solved in order to evaluate DHRNC properly and reasonably. The following main topical areas were discussed by delegates: Overview; Experimental studies and code validation; Design study. Two main DHR systems for LMFR are under consideration: (i) direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS) with immersed DFIX in main vessel, intermediate sodium loop and sodium-air heat exchanger; and (ii) auxiliary cooling system which removes heat from the outside surface of the reactor vessel by natural convection of air (RVACS). The practicality and economic viability of the use of RVACS is possible up to a modular type reactor or a middle size reactor based on current technology. For the large monolithic plant concepts DRACS is preferable. The existing experimental results and the codes show encouraging results so that the decay heat removal by pure natural convection is feasible. Concerning the objective, 'passive safety', the DHR by pure natural convection is essential feature to enhance the reliability of DHR

Natural convection in enclosures containing lead-bismuth and lead

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzodzo, M.; Cuckovic-Dzodzo, D.

2001-01-01

The design of liquid metal reactors such as Encapsulated Nuclear Heat Source (ENHS) which are based predominantly on the flow generated by natural convection effects demands knowledge of velocity and temperature fields, distribution of the local Nusselt numbers and values of the average Nusselt numbers for small coolant velocity regimes. Laminar natural convection in rectangular enclosures with different aspect ratios, containing lead-bismuth and lead is studied numerically in this paper. The numerical model takes into account variable properties of the liquid metals. The developed correlation for average Nusselt numbers is presented. It is concluded that average Nusselt numbers are lower than in 'normal' fluids (air, water and glycerol) for the same values of Rayleigh numbers. However, the heat flux, which can be achieved, is greater due to the high thermal conductivity of liquid metals. Some specific features of the flow fields generated by natural convection in liquid metals are presented. Their consequences on the design of heat exchangers for liquid metals are discussed. An application of the obtained results to the design of a new type of steam generator, which integrates the intermediate heat exchanger and secondary pool functions of the ENHS reactor, is presented. (authors)

Natural convection flow and heat transfer between a fluid layer and a porous layer inside a rectangular enclosure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckermann, C.; Ramadhyani, S.; Viskanta, R.

1986-01-01

A numerical and experimental study is performed to analyze the steady-state natural convection fluid flow and heat transfer in a vertical rectangular enclosure that is partially filled with a vertical layer of a fluid-saturated porous medium. The flow in the porous layer is modeled utilizing the Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy equations. The numerical model is verified by conducting a number of experiments with spherical glass beads as the porous medium and water and glycerin as the fluids in rectangular test-cells. The agreement between the flow visualization results and temperature measurements and the numerical model is, in general, good. It is found that the amount of fluid penetrating from the fluid region into the porous layer depends strongly on the Darcy (Da) and Rayleigh (Ra) numbers. For a relatively low product of Ra x Da, the flow takes place primarily in the fluid layer, and heat transfer in the porous layer is by conduction only. On the other hand, fluid penetrating into a relatively highly permeable porous layer has a significant impact on the natural convection flow patterns in the entire enclosure

Transient natural convection with density inversion from a horizontal cylinder

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, P.; Kahawita, R.; Nguyen, D. L.

1992-01-01

This paper is devoted to a numerical investigation of the free convection flow about a horizontal cylinder maintained at 0 °C in a water ambient close to the point of maximum density. Complete numerical solutions covering both the transient as well as steady state have been obtained. Principal results indicate that the proximity of the ambient temperature to the point of maximum density plays an important role in the type of convection pattern that may be obtained. When the ambient temperature is within 4.7 °Csteady state is never attained. Within this same range, solutions with an initially quasiperiodic behavior which persist for a long time have been observed. Multiple solutions have been observed when the above range of ambient temperature is approached from either side. The results of the computations have been compared with published experimental and numerical data with satisfactory agreement being obtained.

Steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis and flow channel blockage accident analysis of JRR-3 silicide core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaminaga, Masanori

1997-03-01

JRR-3 is a light water moderated and cooled, beryllium and heavy water reflected pool type research reactor using low enriched uranium (LEU) plate-type fuels. Its thermal power is 20 MW. The core conversion program from uranium-aluminum (UAl x -Al) dispersion type fuel (aluminide fuel) to uranium-silicon-aluminum (U 3 Si 2 -Al) dispersion type fuel (silicide fuel) is currently conducted at the JRR-3. This report describes about the steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis results and the flow channel blockage accident analysis result. In JRR-3, there are two operation mode. One is high power operation mode up to 20 MW, under forced convection cooling using the primary and the secondary cooling systems. The other is low power operation mode up to 200 kW, under natural circulation cooling between the reactor core and the reactor pool without the primary and the secondary cooling systems. For the analysis of the flow channel blockage accident, COOLOD code was used. On the other hand, steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis for both of the high power operation mode under forced convection cooling and low power operation under natural convection cooling, COOLOD-N2 code was used. From steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis results of both forced and natural convection cooling, fuel temperature, minimum DNBR etc. meet the design criteria and JRR-3 LEU silicide core has enough safety margin under normal operation conditions. Furthermore, flow channel blockage accident analysis results show that one channel flow blockage accident meet the safety criteria for accident conditions which have been established for JRR-3 LEU silicide core. (author)

Solar Hot Water Heating by Natural Convection.

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Richard D.

1983-01-01

Presents an undergraduate laboratory experiment in which a solar collector is used to heat water for domestic use. The working fluid is moved by natural convection so no pumps are required. Experimental apparatus is simple in design and operation so that data can be collected quickly and easily. (Author/JN)

Modeling a forced to natural convection boiling test with the program LOOP-W

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbajo, J.J.

1984-01-01

Extensive testing has been conducted in the Simulant Boiling Flow Visualization (SBFV) loop in which water is boiled in a vertical transparent tube by circulating hot glycerine in an annulus surrounding the tube. Tests ranged from nonboiling forced convection to oscillatory boiling natural convection. The program LOOP-W has been developed to analyze these tests. This program is a multi-leg, one-dimensional, two-phase equilibrium model with slip between the phases. In this study, a specific test, performed at low power where non-boiling forced convection was changed to boiling natural convection and then to non-boiling again, has been modeled with the program LOOP-W

Phase-field-lattice Boltzmann study for lamellar eutectic growth in a natural convection melt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ang Zhang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In the present study, the influence of natural convection on the lamellar eutectic growth is determined by a phase-field-lattice Boltzmann study for Al-Cu eutectic alloy. The mass difference resulting from concentration difference led to the fluid flow, and a robust parallel and adaptive mesh refinement algorithm was employed to improve the computational efficiency without any compromising accuracy. Results show that the existence of natural convection would affect the growth undercooling and thus control the interface shape by adjusting the lamellar width. In particular, by alternating the magnitude of the solute expansion coefficient, the strength of the natural convection is changed. Corresponding microstructure patterns are discussed and compared with those under no-convection conditions.

Natural convection heat transfer in the molten metal pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, R.J.; Kim, S.B.; Kim, H.D.; Choi, S.M.

1997-01-01

Analytical studies using the FLOW-3D computer program have been performed on natural convection heat transfer of a high density molten metal pool, in order to evaluate the coolability of the corium pool. The FLOW-3D results on the temperature distribution and the heat transfer rate in the molten metal pool region have been compared and evaluated with the experimental data. The FLOW-3D results have shown that the developed natural convection flow contributes to the solidified crust formation of the high density molten metal pool. The present FLOW-3D results, on the relationship between the Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool region, are more similar to the calculated results of Globe and Dropkin's correlation than any others. The natural convection heat transfer in the low aspect ratio case is more substantial than that in the high aspect ratio case. The FLOW-3D results, on the temperature profile and on the heat transfer rate in the molten metal pool region, are very similar to the experimental data. The heat transfer rate of the internal heat generation case is higher than that of the bottom heating case at the same heat supply condition. (author)

Boundary layers and scaling relations in natural thermal convection

Science.gov (United States)

Shishkina, Olga; Lohse, Detlef; Grossmann, Siegfried

2017-11-01

We analyse the boundary layer (BL) equations in natural thermal convection, which includes vertical convection (VC), where the fluid is confined between two differently heated vertical walls, horizontal convection (HC), where the fluid is heated at one part of the bottom plate and cooled at some other part, and Rayleigh-Benard convection (RBC). For BL dominated regimes we derive the scaling relations of the Nusselt and Reynolds numbers (Nu, Re) with the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers (Ra, Pr). For VC the scaling relations are obtained directly from the BL equations, while for HC they are derived by applying the Grossmann-Lohse theory to the case of VC. In particular, for RBC with large Pr we derive Nu Pr0Ra1/3 and Re Pr-1Ra2/3. The work is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under the Grant Sh 405/4 - Heisenberg fellowship.

Numerical Studies on Natural Convection Heat Losses from Open Cubical Cavities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Prakash

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The natural convection heat losses occurring from cubical open cavities are analysed in this paper. Open cubical cavities of sides 0.1 m, 0.2 m, 0.25 m, 0.5 m, and 1 m with constant temperature back wall boundary conditions and opening ratio of 1 are studied. The Fluent CFD software is used to analyse the three-dimensional (3D cavity models. The studies are carried out for cavities with back wall temperatures between 35°C and 100°C. The effect of cavity inclination on the convective loss is analysed for angles of 0° (cavity facing sideways, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° (cavity facing vertically downwards. The Rayleigh numbers involved in this study range between 4.5 × 105 and 1.5 × 109. The natural convection loss is found to increase with an increase in back wall temperature. The natural convection loss is observed to decrease with an increase in cavity inclination; the highest convective loss being at 0° and the lowest at 90° inclination. This is observed for all cavities analysed here. Nusselt number correlations involving the effect of Rayleigh number and the cavity inclination angle have been developed from the current studies. These correlations can be used for engineering applications such as electronic cooling, low- and medium-temperature solar thermal systems, passive architecture, and also refrigeration systems.

Rayleigh-Benard Natural Convection Cell Formation and Nusselt number

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Je Young; Chung, Bum Jin

2013-01-01

The experimental results lie within the predictions of the existing heat transfer correlations for the Rayleigh-Benard natural convections even though the material properties were different. For shorter separation distances, the heat transfers enhance due to the active interaction between heated and cooled plumes. For a step temperature difference, the time dependent Nusselt number variations were investigated. Both experimental and numerical results showed that with time the Nusselt number decreases monotonically to a minimum point presenting the onset of convection. As the hot and cold plumes increase and convey the heat to the other plates, the Nusselt number increases to the local maximum point, presenting the vertical movements of the plumes. Then, the Nusselt number fluctuates with the formation of square cells and larger vortices. This also predicted by the mass transfer experiment. The experiments and calculations show similar trend but the timings were different. These discrepancies are caused by the disturbances inherent in both systems. The molten pool is formed in a hypothetical severe accident condition at the lower head of reactor vessel and is stratified into two layers by the density difference: an upper metallic layer and a lower oxide pool. Rayleigh-Benard natural convection occurs in the metallic layer of relocated molten pool. This study aimed at the investigation of the time-dependent cell formation and Nusselt number variation in Rayleigh-Benard natural convection. Time dependent variation of Nusselt number was also measured experimentally and analyzed numerically to investigate the relationship between the cell formation and Nusselt number. Based on the analogy, heat transfer experiments were replaced by mass transfer experiments using a sulfuric acid-copper sulfate (H 2 SO 4 -CuSO 4 ) electroplating system. Numerical analysis using the commercial CFD program FLUENT 6.3 were carried out with the same material properties and heating conditions

Blade-to-coolant heat-transfer results and operating data from a natural-convection water-cooled single-stage turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Diaguila, Anthony J; Freche, John C

1951-01-01

Blade-to-coolant heat-transfer data and operating data were obtained with a natural-convection water-cooled turbine over range of turbine speeds and inlet-gas temperatures. The convective coefficients were correlated by the general relation for natural-convection heat transfer. The turbine data were displaced from a theoretical equation for natural convection heat transfer in the turbulent region and from natural-convection data obtained with vertical cylinders and plates; possible disruption of natural convection circulation within the blade coolant passages was thus indicated. Comparison of non dimensional temperature-ratio parameters for the blade leading edge, midchord, and trailing edge indicated that the blade cooling effectiveness is greatest at the midchord and least at the trailing edge.

Determination of the natural convection coefficient in low-gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Goldmeer, J.; Motevalli, V.; Haghdoust, M.; Jumper, G.

1992-01-01

Fire safety is an important issue in the current space program; ignition in low-g needs to be studied. The reduction in the gravitational acceleration causes changes in the ignition process. This paper examines the effect of gravity on natural convection, which is one of the important parameters in the ignition process. The NASA-Lewis 2.2 Second Drop Tower provided the low-gravity environment for the experiments. A series of experiments was conducted to measure the temperature of a small copper plate which was heated by a high intensity lamp. These experiments verified that in low-gravity the plate temperature increased faster than in the corresponding 1-g cases, and that the natural convection coefficient rapidly decreased in the low-gravity environment.

Natural convection of nanofluids over a convectively heated vertical plate embedded in a porous medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghalambaz, M.; Noghrehabadi, A.; Ghanbarzadeh, A., E-mail: m.ghalambaz@gmail.com, E-mail: ghanbarzadeh.a@scu.ac.ir [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-04-15

In this paper, the natural convective flow of nanofluids over a convectively heated vertical plate in a saturated Darcy porous medium is studied numerically. The governing equations are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations by using appropriate similarity variables, and they are numerically solved using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method associated with the Gauss-Newton method. The effects of parametric variation of the Brownian motion parameter (Nb), thermophoresis parameter (Nt) and the convective heating parameter (Nc) on the boundary layer profiles are investigated. Furthermore, the variation of the reduced Nusselt number and reduced Sherwood number, as important parameters of heat and mass transfer, as a function of the Brownian motion, thermophoresis and convective heating parameters is discussed in detail. The results show that the thickness of the concentration profiles is much lower than the temperature and velocity profiles. For low values of the convective heating parameter (Nc), as the Brownian motion parameter increases, the non-dimensional wall temperature increases. However, for high values of Nc, the effect of the Brownian motion parameter on the non-dimensional wall temperature is not significant. As the Brownian motion parameter increases, the reduced Sherwood number increases and the reduced Nusselt number decreases. (author)

Spectrally-consistent regularization modeling of turbulent natural convection flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trias, F Xavier; Gorobets, Andrey; Oliva, Assensi; Verstappen, Roel

2012-01-01

The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations constitute an excellent mathematical modelization of turbulence. Unfortunately, attempts at performing direct simulations are limited to relatively low-Reynolds numbers because of the almost numberless small scales produced by the non-linear convective term. Alternatively, a dynamically less complex formulation is proposed here. Namely, regularizations of the Navier-Stokes equations that preserve the symmetry and conservation properties exactly. To do so, both convective and diffusive terms are altered in the same vein. In this way, the convective production of small scales is effectively restrained whereas the modified diffusive term introduces a hyperviscosity effect and consequently enhances the destruction of small scales. In practice, the only additional ingredient is a self-adjoint linear filter whose local filter length is determined from the requirement that vortex-stretching must stop at the smallest grid scale. In the present work, the performance of the above-mentioned recent improvements is assessed through application to turbulent natural convection flows by means of comparison with DNS reference data.

Stability of impulsively-driven natural convection with unsteady base state: implications of an adiabatic boundary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ihle, Christian F.; Nino, Yarko

2011-01-01

Stability conditions of a quiescent, horizontally infinite fluid layer with adiabatic bottom subject to sudden cooling from above are studied. Here, at difference from Rayleigh-Benard convection, the temperature base state is never steady. Instability limits are studied using linear analysis while stability is analyzed using the energy method. Critical stability curves in terms of Rayleigh numbers and convection onset times were obtained for several kinematic boundary conditions. Stability curves resulting from energy and linear approaches exhibit the same temporal growth rate for large values of time, suggesting a bound for the temporal asymptotic behavior of the energy method. - Highlights: → Non-penetrative convection appears after a time-evolving temperature base state. → Global stability and instability limits were analyzed. → Critical Rayleigh numbers were computed for different kinematic boundary conditions. → Adiabatic, bottom boundary was found to have a de-stabilizing effect. → System is less stable than in Benard convection.

Effect of natural convection in a horizontally oriented cylinder on NMR imaging of the distribution of diffusivity

Science.gov (United States)

Mohoric; Stepisnik

2000-11-01

This paper describes the influence of natural convection on NMR measurement of a self-diffusion constant of fluid in the earth's magnetic field. To get an estimation of the effect, the Lorenz model of natural convection in a horizontally oriented cylinder, heated from below, is derived. Since the Lorenz model of natural convection is derived for the free boundary condition, its validity is of a limited value for the natural no-slip boundary condition. We point out that even a slight temperature gradient can cause significant misinterpretation of measurements. The chaotic nature of convection enhances the apparent self-diffusion constant of the liquid.

Solution of heat removal from nuclear reactors by natural convection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zitek Pavel

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper summarizes the basis for the solution of heat removal by natural convection from both conventional nuclear reactors and reactors with fuel flowing coolant (such as reactors with molten fluoride salts MSR.The possibility of intensification of heat removal through gas lift is focused on. It might be used in an MSR (Molten Salt Reactor for cleaning the salt mixture of degassed fission products and therefore eliminating problems with iodine pitting. Heat removal by natural convection and its intensification increases significantly the safety of nuclear reactors. Simultaneously the heat removal also solves problems with lifetime of pumps in the primary circuit of high-temperature reactors.

Peculiarities of natural convective heat removal from complex pools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groetzbach, Guenther

2002-01-01

Considerable sensitivities are investigated in using natural convection for cooling large pools. Such a flow occurred in a sump cooling concept for a water cooled reactor. The related SUCOS model experiments were analyzed by means of the FLUTAN code. The numerical interpretations show, the natural convection in large pools is strongly influenced by local thermal disturbances, either due to structures in the fluid domain, or by bounding structures interacting thermally with the fluid. These experiment specific disturbances must be recorded in the numerical model in order to achieve adequate simulations of the heat transport. Some geometric imperfections of horizontal coolers or heaters could also have tremendous influences. As a consequence, not only the numerical model has to record all relevant phenomena as realistic as possible, but also the model experiment. (author)

Enhanced Natural Convection in a Metal Layer Cooled by Boiling Water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Jae-Seon; Suh, Kune Y.; Chung, Chang-Hyun; Park, Rae-Joon; Kim, Sang-Baik

2004-01-01

An experimental study is performed to investigate the natural convection heat transfer characteristics and the solidification of the molten metal pool concurrently with forced convective boiling of the overlying coolant to simulate a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. The relationship between the Nusselt number (Nu) and the Rayleigh number (Ra) in the molten metal pool region is determined and compared with the correlations in the literature and experimental data with subcooled water. Given the same Ra condition, the present experimental results for Nu of the liquid metal pool with coolant boiling are found to be higher than those predicted by the existing correlations or measured from the experiment with subcooled boiling. To quantify the observed effect of the external cooling on the natural convection heat transfer rate from the molten pool, it is proposed to include an additional dimensionless group characterizing the temperature gradients in the molten pool and in the external coolant region. Starting from the Globe and Dropkin correlation, engineering correlations are developed for the enhancement of heat transfer in the molten metal pool when cooled by an overlying coolant. The new correlations for predicting natural convection heat transfer are applicable to low-Prandtl-number (Pr) materials that are heated from below and solidified by the external coolant above. Results from this study may be used to modify the current model in severe accident analysis codes

A Numerical Study of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Fin Ribbed Radiator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua-Shu Dou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper numerically investigates the thermal flow and heat transfer by natural convection in a cavity fixed with a fin array. The computational domain consists of both solid (copper and fluid (air areas. The finite volume method and the SIMPLE scheme are used to simulate the steady flow in the domain. Based on the numerical results, the energy gradient function K of the energy gradient theory is calculated. It is observed from contours of the temperature and energy gradient function that the position where thermal instability takes place correlates well with the region of large K values, which demonstrates that the energy gradient method reveals the physical mechanism of the flow instability. Furthermore, the effects of the fin height, the fin number, and the fin shape on the heat transfer rate are also investigated. It is found that the thermal performance of the fin array is determined by the combined effect of the fin space and fin height. It is also observed that the effect of fin shape on heat transfer is insignificant.

Natural convection inside an irregular porous cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beltran, Jorge I. LLagostera; Trevisan, Osvair Vidal

1990-01-01

Natural convection flow induced by heating from below in a irregular porous cavity is investigated numerically. The influence of the modified Rayleigh number and geometric ratios on heat transfer and fluid flow is studied. Global and local Nusselt for Rayleigh numbers covering the range 0 - 1600 and for several geometric ratios. The fluid flow and the temperature field are illustrated by contour maps. (author)

Natural convective heat transfer from square cylinder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novomestský, Marcel, E-mail: marcel.novomestsky@fstroj.uniza.sk; Smatanová, Helena, E-mail: helena.smatanova@fstroj.uniza.sk; Kapjor, Andrej, E-mail: andrej.kapjor@fstroj.uniza.sk [University of Žilina, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Power Engineering, Univerzitná 1, 010 26 Žilina (Slovakia)

2016-06-30

This article is concerned with natural convective heat transfer from square cylinder mounted on a plane adiabatic base, the cylinders having an exposed cylinder surface according to different horizontal angle. The cylinder receives heat from a radiating heater which results in a buoyant flow. There are many industrial applications, including refrigeration, ventilation and the cooling of electrical components, for which the present study may be applicable.

Heat transfer through natural convection in a porous saturated medium between two vertical cylinders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasnaoui, M. [Faculte des Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech (Morocco); Vasseur, P.; Bilgen, E.; Robillard, L. [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada)

1993-12-31

A numerical and analytical study of two dimensional, laminar and near steady convection in a vertical porous annular region. The mathematical model was established, basing on Darcy-Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. The analytical resolution is in the limit where the width of the porous layer is small compared to the cylinders height and it is based on the hypothesis of the parallel flow. (Authors). 4 refs., 4 figs.

Numerical analysis of natural convection and radiation heat transfer from various shaped thin fin-arrays placed on a horizontal plate-a conjugate analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dogan, M.; Sivrioglu, Mecit; Yılmaz, Onder

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Optimum fin shape is determined for natural convection and radiation heat transfer. • Fin array with the optimum shape has a much greater average heat transfer coefficient. • The most important factors affecting the heat transfer coefficient are determined. - Abstract: Steady state natural convection and radiation heat transfer from various shaped thin fin-arrays on a horizontal base plate has been numerically investigated. A conjugate analysis has been carried out in which the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy for the fluid in the two fin enclosure are solved together with the heat conduction equation in the fin and the base plate. Heat transfer by radiation is also considered in analysis. The heat transfer coefficient has been determined for each of the fin array considered in the present study at the same base and the same total area. The results of the analysis show that there are some important geometrical factors affecting the design of fin arrays. Taking into consideration these factors, an optimum fin shape that yields the highest average heat transfer coefficient has been determined

Thermo-fluid analysis of water cooled research reactors in natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veloso, Maria Auxiliadora Fortini

2004-01-01

The STHIRP-1 computer program, which fundamentals are described in this work, uses the principles of the subchannels analysis and has the capacity to simulate, under steady state and transient conditions, the thermal and hydraulic phenomena which occur inside the core of a water-refrigerated research reactor under a natural convection regime. The models and empirical correlations necessary to describe the flow phenomena which can not be described by theoretical relations were selected according to the characteristics of the reactor operation. Although the primary objective is the calculation of research reactors, the formulation used to describe the fluid flow and the thermal conduction in the heater elements is sufficiently generalized to extend the use of the program for applications in power reactors and other thermal systems with the same features represented by the program formulations. To demonstrate the analytical capacity of STHIRP-l, there were made comparisons between the results calculated and measured in the research reactor TRIGA IPR-R1 of CDTN/CNEN. The comparisons indicate that the program reproduces the experimental data with good precision. Nevertheless, in the future there must be used more consistent experimental data to corroborate the validation of the program. (author)

Experimental investigation of natural convection heat transfer in volumetrically heated spherical segments. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asfia, F.; Dhir, V.

1998-03-01

One strategy for preventing the failure of lower head of a nuclear reactor vessel is to flood the concrete cavity with subcooled water in accidents in which relocation of core material into the vessel lower head occurs. After the core material relocates into the vessel, a crust of solid material forms on the inner wall of the vessel, however, most of the pool remains molten and natural convection exists in the pool. At present, uncertainty exists with respect to natural convection heat transfer coefficients between the pool of molten core material and the reactor vessel wall. In the present work, experiments were conducted to examine natural convection heat transfer in internally heated partially filled spherical pools with external cooling. In the experiments, Freon-113 contained in a Pyrex bell jar was used as a test liquid. The pool was bounded with a spherical segment at the bottom, and was heated with magnetrons taken from a conventional microwave oven. The vessel was cooled from the outside with natural convection of water or with nucleate boiling of liquid nitrogen

Numerical study of natural convection in porous media (metals) using Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, C.Y., E-mail: c.y.zhao@warwick.ac.u [School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Dai, L.N.; Tang, G.H.; Qu, Z.G.; Li, Z.Y. [School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China)

2010-10-15

A thermal lattice BGK model with doubled populations is proposed to simulate the two-dimensional natural convection flow in porous media (porous metals). The accuracy of this method is validated by the benchmark solutions. The detailed flow and heat transfer at the pore level are revealed. The effects of pore density (cell size) and porosity on the natural convection are examined. Also the effect of porous media configuration (shape) on natural convection is investigated. The results showed that the overall heat transfer will be enhanced by lowering the porosity and cell size. The square porous medium can have a higher heat transfer performance than spheres due to the strong flow mixing and more surface area.

Natural convection between two concentric spheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blondel-Roux, Marie

1983-01-01

After an overview of researches on natural convection in a confined or semi-confined environment, this research thesis reports the use of the Caltagirone and Mojtabi numerical model and the study of its validity for different values of the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers. Results obtained with this model are compared with experimental ones. Thermal transfer curves are presented and discussed, as well as the different temperature fields numerically obtained, flow function fields, velocities in the fluid layer, and temperature profiles with respect to the Rayleigh number [fr

Instabilities in fluid layers and in reaction-diffusion systems: Steady states, time-periodic solutions, non-periodic attractors, and related convective and otherwise non-linear phenomena

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia Velarde, M

1977-07-01

Thermo convective instabilities in horizontal fluid layers are discussed with emphasis on the Rayleigh-Bernard model problem. Steady solutions and time-dependent phenomena (relaxation oscillations and transition to turbulence) are studied within the nonlinear Boussinesq-Oberbeck approximation. Homogeneous steady solutions, limit cycles, and inhomogeneous (ordered) spatial structures are also studied in simple reaction-diffusion systems. Lastly, the non-periodic attractor that appears at large Rayleigh numbers in the truncated Boussinesq-Oberbeck model of Lorenz, is constructed, and a discussion of turbulent behavior is given. (Author) 105 refs.

Instabilities in fluid layers and in reaction-diffusion systems: Steady states, time-periodic solutions, non-periodic attractors, and related convective and otherwise non-linear phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Velarde, M.

1977-01-01

Thermo convective instabilities in horizontal fluid layers are discussed with emphasis on the Rayleigh-Bernard model problem. Steady solutions and time-dependent phenomena (relaxation oscillations and transition to turbulence) are studied within the nonlinear Boussinesq-Oberbeck approximation. Homogeneous steady solutions, limit cycles, and inhomogeneous (ordered) spatial structures are also studied in simple reaction-diffusion systems. Lastly, the non-periodic attractor that appears at large Rayleigh numbers in the truncated Boussinesq-Oberbeck model of Lorenz, is constructed, and a discussion of turbulent behavior is given. (Author) 105 refs

Computational simulation of turbulent natural convection in a corium pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Camila B.; Su, Jian; Niceno, Bojan

2013-01-01

After a severe accident in a nuclear power plant, the total thermal loading on the vessel of a nuclear reactor is controlled by the convective heat transfer. Taking that fact into account, this work aimed to analyze the turbulent natural convection inside a representative lower head cavity. By means of an open-source CFD code, OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation), numerical simulations were performed to investigate a volumetrically heated fluid (Pr = 7.0) at internal Rayleigh (Ra) numbers ranging from 10 8 to 10 15 . Bearing in mind that severe accident scenario and the physical-chemical effects are many and complex, the fluid analyzed was considered Newtonian, with constant physical properties, homogeneous and single phase. Even working with that simplifications, the modeling of turbulent natural convection has posed a considerable challenge for the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations based models, not only because of the complete unsteadiness of the flow and the strong turbulence effects in the near wall regions, but also because of the correct treatment of the turbulent heat fluxes (θu i ). So, this work outlined three approaches for treating the turbulent heat fluxes: the Simple Gradient Diffusion Hypothesis (SGDH), the Generalized Gradient Diffusion Hypothesis (GGDH) and the Algebraic Flux Model (AFM). Simulations performed at BALI test based geometry with a four equations model, k-ε-v 2 -f (commonly called as v 2 -f and V2-f), showed that despite of AFM and GGDH have provided reasonable agreement with experimental data for turbulent natural convection in a differentially heated cavity, they proved to be very unstable for buoyancy-driven flows with internal source in comparison to SGDH model. (author)

Transient testing of the FFTF for decay-heat removal by natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaver, T.R.; Johnson, H.G.; Stover, R.L.

1982-06-01

This paper reports on the series of transient tests performed in the FFTF as a major part of the pre-operations testing program. The structure of the transient test program was designed to verify the capability of the FFTF to safely remove decay heat by natural convection. The series culminated in a scram from full power to complete natural convection in the plant, simulating a loss of all electrical power. Test results and acceptance criteria related to the verification of safe decay heat removal are presented

Entropy Generation Analysis of Natural Convection in Square Enclosures with Two Isoflux Heat Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Z. Nejad

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigates entropy generation resulting from natural convective heat transfer in square enclosures with local heating of the bottom and symmetrical cooling of the sidewalls. This analysis tends to optimize heat transfer of two pieces of semiconductor in a square electronic package. In this simulation, heaters are modeled as isoflux heat sources and sidewalls of the enclosure are isothermal heat sinks. The top wall and the non-heated portions of the bottom wall are adiabatic. Flow and temperature fields are obtained by numerical simulation of conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy in laminar, steady and two dimensional flows. With constant heat energy into the cavity, effect of Rayleigh number, heater length, heater strength ratios and heater position is evaluated on flow and temperature fields and local entropy generation. The results show that a minimum entropy generation rate is obtained under the same condition in which a minimum peak heater temperature is obtained.

Direct numerical simulation and modeling of turbulent natural convection in a vertical differentially heated slot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boudjemadi, R.

1996-03-01

The main objectives of this thesis are the direct numerical simulation of natural convection in a vertical differentially heated slot and the improvements of second-order turbulence modelling. A three-dimensional direct numerical simulation code has been developed in order to gain a better understanding of turbulence properties in natural convection flows. This code has been validated in several physical configurations: non-stratified natural convection flows (conduction solution), stratified natural convection flows (double boundary layer solution), transitional and turbulent Poiseuille flows. For the conduction solution, the turbulent regime was reached at a Rayleigh number of 1*10 5 and 5.4*10 5 . A detailed analysis of these results has revealed the principal qualities of the available models but has also pointed our their shortcomings. This data base has been used in order to improve the triple correlations transport models and to select the turbulent time scales suitable for such flows. (author). 122 refs., figs., tabs., 4 appends

Analysis for average heat transfer empirical correlation of natural convection on the concentric vertical cylinder modelling of APWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daddy Setyawan

2011-01-01

There are several passive safety systems on APWR reactor design. One of the passive safety system is the cooling system with natural circulation air on the surface of concentric vertical cylinder containment wall. Since the natural circulation air performance in the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) application is related to safety, the cooling characteristics of natural circulation air on concentric vertical cylinder containment wall should be studied experimentally. This paper focuses on the experimental study of the heat transfer coefficient of natural circulation air with heat flux level varied on the characteristics of APWR concentric vertical cylinder containment wall. The procedure of this experimental study is composed of 4 stages as follows: the design of APWR containment with scaling 1:40, the assembling of APWR containment with its instrumentation, calibration and experimentation. The experimentation was conducted in the transient and steady-state with the variation of heat flux, from 119 W/m 2 until 575 W/m 2 . From The experimentation result obtained average heat transfer empirical correlation of natural convection Nu L = 0,008(Ra * L ) 0,68 for the concentric vertical cylinder geometry modelling of APWR. (author)

Effect of aspect ratio on natural convective heat transfer adjacent to a vertival isothermal cylinder immersed in pure water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riu, Kap Jong; Eum, Yong Kyoon; Park, Sung Soon

1990-01-01

A numerical analysis is performed about the effect of aspect ratio on heat transfer adjacent to a vertical-isothermal cylinder of 0 deg C in pure water. The numerical results for the effect of aspect ratio are presented for ambient water temperature from 1.0 deg C to 15.0 deg C. They include velocity profiles, temperature profiles and mean Nusselt number for the entire flow field. The mean Nusselt numbers of vertival-isothermal cylinder are compared with that of vertival-isothermal plate in increasing aspect ratio of cylinder. Furthermore, the mean Nusselt numbers of unsteady region in the range of 0.084< R<0.328 are obtained by curve-fitting. The natural convection caused by phase change was investigated by experiments when the vertical ice cylinder was immersed in the pure water of which the tempetature range is from 2.0 to 10.0 deg C. Each figure shows a time-exposure photograph of flow occuring at the respective ambient water temperature conditions. As the ambient water temperature is increased from 2.0 to 10.0 deg C, the regimes of upward steady state flows, steady state dual flows and downward steady state flows are observed. Also, the variations of shapes of melting ice cylinder are investigated.(Author)

Visualization of Natural Convection Heat Transfer on a Single Sphere using the Electroplating System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Dong Young; Chung, Bum Jin [Kyunghee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The natural convective flows on outer sphere rise along surface. At top of sphere, the flows are lifted-up plume shape. For laminar flows, the local heat transfer shows maximum at the bottom of sphere and a monotonic decreases as flows approached to the top. The laminar natural convection heat transfer on a single sphere has been studied experimentally and numerically by several researchers. However, relatively less study has been performed for turbulent flows as it requires large facilities to achieve high Rayleigh numbers. The flows, which occur transition, is hard to experiment because of unstable. This study tried measurement of heat transfer and visualization external natural convection on a single sphere. The basic idea is that the plating patterns of copper on the sphere in mass transfer system will reveal the amount of heat transfer according to angular distance from the bottom. This study simulated natural convection on a single sphere and performed a mass transfer experiment using heat and mass transfer analogy concept. For visualization experiment, streak form plating pattern was observed. In this case, it seems that turbulence sets on the top of sphere and increases local heat transfer.

Computational simulation of turbulent natural convection in a corium pool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vieira, Camila B.; Su, Jian, E-mail: camila@lasme.coppe.ufrj.br, E-mail: sujian@lasme.coppe.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Cursos de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Niceno, Bojan, E-mail: bojan.niceno@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Nuclear Energy and Safety

2013-07-01

After a severe accident in a nuclear power plant, the total thermal loading on the vessel of a nuclear reactor is controlled by the convective heat transfer. Taking that fact into account, this work aimed to analyze the turbulent natural convection inside a representative lower head cavity. By means of an open-source CFD code, OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation), numerical simulations were performed to investigate a volumetrically heated fluid (Pr = 7.0) at internal Rayleigh (Ra) numbers ranging from 10{sup 8} to 10{sup 15}. Bearing in mind that severe accident scenario and the physical-chemical effects are many and complex, the fluid analyzed was considered Newtonian, with constant physical properties, homogeneous and single phase. Even working with that simplifications, the modeling of turbulent natural convection has posed a considerable challenge for the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations based models, not only because of the complete unsteadiness of the flow and the strong turbulence effects in the near wall regions, but also because of the correct treatment of the turbulent heat fluxes (θu{sub i}). So, this work outlined three approaches for treating the turbulent heat fluxes: the Simple Gradient Diffusion Hypothesis (SGDH), the Generalized Gradient Diffusion Hypothesis (GGDH) and the Algebraic Flux Model (AFM). Simulations performed at BALI test based geometry with a four equations model, k-ε-v{sup 2} -f (commonly called as v{sup 2}-f and V2-f), showed that despite of AFM and GGDH have provided reasonable agreement with experimental data for turbulent natural convection in a differentially heated cavity, they proved to be very unstable for buoyancy-driven flows with internal source in comparison to SGDH model. (author)

Natural convection along a heated vertical plate immersed in a nonlinearly stratified medium: application to liquefied gas storage

Science.gov (United States)

Forestier, M.; Haldenwang, P.

We consider free convection driven by a heated vertical plate immersed in a nonlinearly stratified medium. The plate supplies a uniform horizontal heat flux to a fluid, the bulk of which has a stable stratification, characterized by a non-uniform vertical temperature gradient. This gradient is assumed to have a typical length scale of variation, denoted Z0, while 0, and the physical properties of the medium.We then apply the new theory to the natural convection affecting the vapour phase in a liquefied pure gas tank (e.g. the cryogenic storage of hydrogen). It is assumed that the cylindrical storage tank is subject to a constant uniform heat flux on its lateral and top walls. We are interested in the vapour motion above a residual layer of liquid in equilibrium with the vapour. High-precision axisymmetric numerical computations show that the flow remains steady for a large range of parameters, and that a bulk stratification characterized by a quadratic temperature profile is undoubtedly present. The application of the theory permits a comparison of the numerical and analytic results, showing that the theory satisfactorily predicts the primary dynamical and thermal properties of the storage tank.

Steady state model for the thermal regimes of shells of airships and hot air balloons

Science.gov (United States)

Luchev, Oleg A.

1992-10-01

A steady state model of the temperature regime of airships and hot air balloons shells is developed. The model includes three governing equations: the equation of the temperature field of airships or balloons shell, the integral equation for the radiative fluxes on the internal surface of the shell, and the integral equation for the natural convective heat exchange between the shell and the internal gas. In the model the following radiative fluxes on the shell external surface are considered: the direct and the earth reflected solar radiation, the diffuse solar radiation, the infrared radiation of the earth surface and that of the atmosphere. For the calculations of the infrared external radiation the model of the plane layer of the atmosphere is used. The convective heat transfer on the external surface of the shell is considered for the cases of the forced and the natural convection. To solve the mentioned set of the equations the numerical iterative procedure is developed. The model and the numerical procedure are used for the simulation study of the temperature fields of an airship shell under the forced and the natural convective heat transfer.

Natural convection heat transfer between vertical channel with flow resistance at the lower end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwamoto, S.; Nishimura, S.; Ishihara, I.

2003-01-01

For natural convection in the geometrically complicated channel, the convection flow is suppressed by flow resistance due to such channel itself and the lopsided flow may take place. This could result in serious influences on the heat transfer in the channel. In order to investigate fundamentally the natural convection flow and heat transfer in such the channel, the vertical channel in which wall was heated with uniform heat flux and the flow resistance was given by small clearance between the lower end of channel and a wide horizontal floor. Flow pattern was observed by illuminating smoke filled in the channel and heat transfer rate was measured. (author)

Terminal project heat convection in thin cylinders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morales Corona, J.

1992-01-01

Heat convection in thin cylinders and analysis about natural convection for straight vertical plates, and straight vertical cylinders submersed in a fluid are presented some works carry out by different authors in the field of heat transfer. In the part of conduction, deduction of the equation of heat conduction in cylindrical coordinates by means of energy balance in a control volume is presented. Enthalpy and internal energy are used for the outlining of the equation and finally the equation in its vectorial form is obtained. In the convection part development to calculate the Nusselt number for a straight vertical plate by a forces analysis, an energy balance and mass conservation over a control volume is outlined. Several empiric correlations to calculate the Nusselt number and its relations with other dimensionless numbers are presented. In the experimental part the way in which a prototype rode is assembled is presented measurements of temperatures attained in steady state and in free convection for working fluids as air and water are showed in tables. Also graphs of Nusselt numbers obtained in the experimental way through some empiric correlations are showed (Author)

Studies of decay heat removal by natural convection using the SONACO sodium-cooled 37-pin bundle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wydler, P.; Dury, T.V.; Hudina, M.; Weissenfluh, T. von; Sigg, B.; Dutton, P.

1986-01-01

Natural convection measurements in an electrically heated sodium-cooled rod bundle are being performed with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of natural convection effects in subassemblies with stagnant sodium and providing data for code validation. Measurements include temperature distributions in the bundle for different cooling configurations which simulate heat transfer to the intersubassembly gap and neighbouring subassemblies and possible thermosyphonic interaction between a subassembly and the reactor plenum above. Conditions for which stable natural convection patterns exist are identified, and results are compared with predictions of different computer codes of the porous-medium type. (author)

Combined Natural Convection and Radiation Heat Transfer of Various Absorbing-Emitting-Scattering Media in a Square Cavity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianglong Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A numerical model is developed to simulate combined natural convection and radiation heat transfer of various anisotropic absorbing-emitting-scattering media in a 2D square cavity based on the discrete ordinate (DO method and Boussinesq assumption. The effects of Rayleigh number, optical thickness, scattering ratio, scattering phase function, and aspect ratio of square cavity on the behaviors of heat transfer are studied. The results show that the heat transfer of absorbing-emitting-scattering media is the combined results of radiation and natural convection, which depends on the physical properties and the aspect ratio of the cavity. When the natural convection becomes significant, the convection heat transfer is enhanced, and the distributions of NuR and Nuc along the walls are obviously distorted. As the optical thickness increases, NuR along the hot wall decreases. As the scattering ratio decreases, the NuR along the walls decreases. At the higher aspect ratio, the more intensive thermal radiation and natural convection are formed, which increase the radiation and convection heat fluxes. This paper provides the theoretical research for the optimal thermal design and practical operation of the high temperature industrial equipments.

COOLOD-N: a computer code, for the analyses of steady-state thermal-hydraulics in plate-type research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaminaga, Masanori

1990-02-01

The COOLOD-N code provides a capability for the analysis of the steady-state thermal-hydraulics of research reactors in which plate-type fuel is employed. This code is revised version of the COOLOD code, and is applicable not only to a forced convection cooling mode, but also to a natural convection cooling mode. In the code, a function to calculate flow rate under a natural convection, and a heat transfer package which was a subroutine program to calculate heat transfer coefficient, ONB temperature and DNB heat flux, and was especially developed for the upgraded JRR-3, have been newly added to the COOLOD code. The COOLOD-N code also has a capability of calculating the heat flux at onset of flow instability as well as DNB heat flux. (author)

Lattice-Boltzmann scheme for natural convection in porous media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sman, van der R.G.M.

1997-01-01

A lattice-Boltzmann scheme for natural convection in porous media is developed and applied to the heat transfer problem of a 1000 kg potato packaging. The scheme has features new to the field of LB schemes. It is mapped on a orthorhombic lattice instead of the traditional cubic lattice. Furthermore

Computational and experimental methods for enclosed natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, D.W.; Gartling, D.K.; Schimmel, W.P. Jr.

1977-10-01

Two computational procedures and one optical experimental procedure for studying enclosed natural convection are described. The finite-difference and finite-element numerical methods are developed and several sample problems are solved. Results obtained from the two computational approaches are compared. A temperature-visualization scheme using laser holographic interferometry is described, and results from this experimental procedure are compared with results from both numerical methods

The multifractal nature of plume structure in high-Rayleigh-number convection

Science.gov (United States)

Puthenveettil, Baburaj A.; Ananthakrishna, G.; Arakeri, Jaywant H.

2005-03-01

The geometrically different planforms of near-wall plume structure in turbulent natural convection, visualized by driving the convection using concentration differences across a membrane, are shown to have a common multifractal spectrum of singularities for Rayleigh numbers in the range 1010-1011 at Schmidt number of 602. The scaling is seen for a length scale range of 25 and is independent of the Rayleigh number, the flux, the strength and nature of the large-scale flow, and the aspect ratio. Similar scaling is observed for the plume structures obtained in the presence of a weak flow across the membrane. This common non-trivial spatial scaling is proposed to be due to the same underlying generating process for the near-wall plume structures.

Stretched flow of Carreau nanofluid with convective boundary ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

journal of. January 2016 physics pp. 3–17. Stretched flow of Carreau nanofluid with ... fluid over a flat plate subjected to convective surface condition. ... the steady laminar boundary layer flow over a permeable plate with a convective boundary.

MHD natural convection in open inclined square cavity with a heated circular cylinder

Science.gov (United States)

Hosain, Sheikh Anwar; Alim, M. A.; Saha, Satrajit Kumar

2017-06-01

MHD natural convection in open cavity becomes very important in many scientific and engineering problems, because of it's application in the design of electronic devices, solar thermal receivers, uncovered flat plate solar collectors having rows of vertical strips, geothermal reservoirs, etc. Several experiments and numerical investigations have been presented for describing the phenomenon of natural convection in open cavity for two decades. MHD natural convection and fluid flow in a two-dimensional open inclined square cavity with a heated circular cylinder was considered. The opposite wall to the opening side of the cavity was first kept to constant heat flux q, at the same time the surrounding fluid interacting with the aperture was maintained to an ambient temperature T∞. The top and bottom wall was kept to low and high temperature respectively. The fluid with different Prandtl numbers. The properties of the fluid are assumed to be constant. As a result a buoyancy force is created inside the cavity due to temperature difference and natural convection is formed inside the cavity. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code are used to discretize the solution domain and represent the numerical result to graphical form.. Triangular meshes are used to obtain the solution of the problem. The streamlines and isotherms are produced, heat transfer parameter Nu are obtained. The results are presented in graphical as well as tabular form. The results show that heat flux decreases for increasing inclination of the cavity and the heat flux is a increasing function of Prandtl number Pr and decreasing function of Hartmann number Ha. It is observed that fluid moves counterclockwise around the cylinder in the cavity. Various recirculations are formed around the cylinder. The almost all isotherm lines are concentrated at the right lower corner of the cavity. The object of this work is to develop a Mathematical model regarding the effect of MHD natural convection flow around

Numerical investigation of natural convection heat transfer of nano ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An enhanced cell-centered finite-volume procedure has been presented for solving the natural convection of the laminar Al O /Water nanofluid flow in a Γ shaped micro-channel in the slip flow region, including the effects of velocity slip and temperature jump at the wall, which are the main characteristics of flow in the slip ...

On natural convection in enclosures filled with fluid-saturated porous media including viscous dissipation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, V.A.F. [Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal)

2006-07-15

Care needs to be taken when considering the viscous dissipation in the energy conservation formulation of the natural convection problem in fluid-saturated porous media. The unique energy formulation compatible with the First Law of Thermodynamics informs us that if the viscous dissipation term is taken into account, also the work of pressure forces term needs to be taken into account. In integral terms, the work of pressure forces must equal the energy dissipated by viscous effects, and the net energy generation in the overall domain must be zero. If only the (positive) viscous dissipation term is considered in the energy conservation equation, the domain behaves as a heat multiplier, with an heat output greater than the heat input. Only the energy formulation consistent with the First Law of Thermodynamics leads to the correct flow and temperature fields, as well as of the heat transfer parameters characterizing the involved porous device. Attention is given to the natural convection problem in a square enclosure filled with a fluid-saturated porous medium, using the Darcy Law to describe the fluid flow, but the main ideas and conclusions apply equally for any general natural or mixed convection heat transfer problem. It is also analyzed the validity of the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation when applied to natural convection problems in fluid-saturated porous media. (author)

Mathematical Simulation of Convective Heat Transfer in the Low-Temperature Storage of Liquefied Natural Gas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shestakov Igor A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article shows the results of mathematical modeling of convective heat transfer in the low-temperature storage of liquefied natural gas. Regime of natural convection in an enclosure with different intensity of the heat flux at the external borders are investigated. Was examined two-dimensional nonstationary problem within the model of Navier-Stokes in dimensionless variables “vorticity - stream function - temperature”. Distributions of hydrodynamic parameters and temperatures that characterize the basic regularities of the processes are obtained. Circulating flows are determined and carried out the analysis of vortices formation mechanism and the temperature distribution in solution at conditions of natural convection when the Grashof number (Gr = 106. A significant influence of heat transfer rate on solutions boundary on flow structure and temperature field in LNG storage tanks.

Study of natural convection heat transfer characteristics. (1) Influence of ventilation duct height

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakamatsu, Mitsuo; Iwaki, Chikako; Ikeda, Tatsumi; Morooka, Shinichi; Ikeda, Hiroshi; Nakada, Kotaro; Masaki, Yoshikazu

2008-01-01

Natural cooling system has been investigated in waste storage. It is important to evaluate the flow by natural draft enough to removal the decay heat from the waste. In this study, we carried out the fundamental experiment of ventilation duct height effect for natural convection on vertical cylindrical heater in atmospheric air. The scale of test facility is about 4m height with single heater. The heating value is varied in the range of 33-110W, where Rayleigh number is over 10 10 . Natural convection flow rate were calculated by measured velocity with thermo anemometer in the inlet duct. The temperature of the cylindrical heater wall and fluid were measured with thermocouples. It was found that the heat transfer coefficient difference between long duct and short duct is small in this experiment. (author)

Numerical analysis of a natural convection cooling system for radioactive canisters storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsal, R.J.; Anwar, S.; Mercada, M.G. [Fluor Daniel Inc., Irvine, CA (United States)

1995-02-01

This paper describes the use of numerical analysis for studying natural convection cooling systems for long term storage of heat producing radioactive materials, including special nuclear materials and nuclear waste. The paper explains the major design philosophy, and shares the experiences of numerical modeling. The strategy of storing radioactive material is to immobilize nuclear high-level waste by a vitrification process, convertion it into borosilicate glass, and cast the glass into stainless steel canisters. These canisters are seal welded, decontaminated, inspected, and temporarily stored in an underground vault until they can be sent to a geologic repository for permanent storage. These canisters generate heat by nuclear decay of radioactive isotopes. The function of the storage facility ventilation system is to ensure that the glass centerline temperature does not exceed the glass transition temperature during storage and the vault concrete temperatures remain within the specified limits. A natural convection cooling system was proposed to meet these functions. The effectiveness of a natural convection cooling system is dependent on two major factors that affect air movement through the vault for cooling the canisters: (1) thermal buoyancy forces inside the vault which create a stack effect, and (2) external wind forces, that may assist or oppose airflow through the vault. Several numerical computer models were developed to analyze the thermal and hydraulic regimes in the storage vault. The Site Model is used to simulate the airflow around the building and to analyze different air inlet/outlet devices. The Airflow Model simulates the natural convection, thermal regime, and hydraulic resistance in the vault. The Vault Model, internal vault temperature stratification; and, finally, the Hot Area Model is used for modeling concrete temperatures within the vault.

Mathematical Simulation of Convective Heat Transfer in the Low-Temperature Storage of Liquefied Natural Gas

OpenAIRE

Shestakov, Igor; Dolgova, Anastasia; Maksimov, Vyacheslav Ivanovich

2015-01-01

The article shows the results of mathematical modeling of convective heat transfer in the low-temperature storage of liquefied natural gas. Regime of natural convection in an enclosure with different intensity of the heat flux at the external borders are investigated. Was examined two-dimensional nonstationary problem within the model of Navier-Stokes in dimensionless variables “vorticity - stream function - temperature”. Distributions of hydrodynamic parameters and temperatures that characte...

Potential of enhancing a natural convection loop with a thermomagnetically pumped ferrofluid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aursand, Eskil; Gjennestad, Magnus Aa.; Lervåg, Karl Yngve, E-mail: karl.lervag@sintef.no; Lund, Halvor

2016-11-01

The feasibility of using a thermomagnetically pumped ferrofluid to enhance the performance of a natural convection cooling loop is investigated. First, a simplified analytical estimate for the thermomagnetic pumping action is derived, and then design rules for optimal solenoid and ferrofluid are presented. The design rules are used to set up a medium-scale (1 m, 10–1000 W) case study, which is modeled using a previously published and validated model (Aursand et al. [1]). The results show that the thermomagnetic driving force is significant compared to the natural convection driving force, and may in some cases greatly surpass it. The results also indicate that cooling performance can be increased by factors up to 4 and 2 in the single-phase and two-phase regimes, respectively, even when taking into the account the added heat from the solenoid. The performance increases can alternatively be used to obtain a reduction in heat-sink size by up to 75%. - Highlights: • We consider a thermomagnetically pumped ferrofluid for heat transfer. • The performance of the thermomagnetic pump is compared to natural convection. • The flow is simulated using a two-phase flow model. • The thermomagnetic driving force improves heat transfer significantly.

Steady-state solidification of aqueous ammonium chloride

Science.gov (United States)

Peppin, S. S. L.; Huppert, Herbert E.; Worster, M. Grae

We report on a series of experiments in which a Hele-Shaw cell containing aqueous solutions of NH4Cl was translated at prescribed rates through a steady temperature gradient. The salt formed the primary solid phase of a mushy layer as the solution solidified, with the salt-depleted residual fluid driving buoyancy-driven convection and the development of chimneys in the mushy layer. Depending on the operating conditions, several morphological transitions occurred. A regime diagram is presented quantifying these transitions as a function of freezing rate and the initial concentration of the solution. In general, for a given concentration, increasing the freezing rate caused the steady-state system to change from a convecting mushy layer with chimneys to a non-convecting mushy layer below a relatively quiescent liquid, and then to a much thinner mushy layer separated from the liquid by a region of active secondary nucleation. At higher initial concentrations the second of these states did not occur. At lower concentrations, but still above the eutectic, the mushy layer disappeared. A simple mathematical model of the system is developed which compares well with the experimental measurements of the intermediate, non-convecting state and serves as a benchmark against which to understand some of the effects of convection. Movies are available with the online version of the paper.

CFD Calculation of Internal Natural Convection in the Annulus between Horizontal Concentric Cylinders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, N.D. Jr.; Itamura, M.T.; Webb, S.W.; James, D.L.

2002-01-01

The objective of this heat transfer and fluid flow study is to assess the ability of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code to reproduce the experimental results, numerical simulation results, and heat transfer correlation equations developed in the literature for natural convection heat transfer within the annulus of horizontal concentric cylinders. In the literature, a variety of heat transfer expressions have been developed to compute average equivalent thermal conductivities. However, the expressions have been primarily developed for very small inner and outer cylinder radii and gap-widths. In this comparative study, interest is primarily focused on large gap widths (on the order of half meter or greater) and large radius ratios. From the steady-state CFD analysis it is found that the concentric cylinder models for the larger geometries compare favorably to the results of the Kuehn and Goldstein correlations in the Rayleigh number range of about 10 5 to 10 8 (a range that encompasses the laminar to turbulent transition). For Rayleigh numbers greater than 10 8 , both numerical simulations and experimental data (from the literature) are consistent and result in slightly lower equivalent thermal conductivities than those obtained from the Kuehn and Goldstein correlations

Modeling the effect of the inclination angle on natural convection from a flat plate: The case of a photovoltaic module

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perović Bojan D.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to show how the inclination angle affects natural convection from a flat-plate photovoltaic module which is mounted on the ground surface. In order to model this effect, novel correlations for natural convection from isothermal flat plates are developed by using the fundamental dimensionless number. On the basis of the available experimental and numerical results, it is shown that the natural convection correlations correspond well with the existing empirical correlations for vertical, inclined, and horizontal plates. Five additional correlations for the critical Grashof number are derived from the available data, three indicating the onset of transitional flow regime and two indicating the onset of flow separation. The proposed correlations cover the entire range of inclination angles and the entire range of Prandtl numbers. This paper also provides two worked examples, one for natural convection combined with radiation and one for natural convection combined with forced convection and radiation. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR33046

Natural convection in tunnels at Yucca Mountain and impact on drift seepage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halecky, N.; Birkholzer, J.T.; Peterson, P.

2010-04-15

The decay heat from radioactive waste that is to be disposed in the once proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM) will significantly influence the moisture conditions in the fractured rock near emplacement tunnels (drifts). Additionally, large-scale convective cells will form in the open-air drifts and will serve as an important mechanism for the transport of vaporized pore water from the fractured rock in the drift center to the drift end. Such convective processes would also impact drift seepage, as evaporation could reduce the build up of liquid water at the tunnel wall. Characterizing and understanding these liquid water and vapor transport processes is critical for evaluating the performance of the repository, in terms of water-induced canister corrosion and subsequent radionuclide containment. To study such processes, we previously developed and applied an enhanced version of TOUGH2 that solves for natural convection in the drift. We then used the results from this previous study as a time-dependent boundary condition in a high-resolution seepage model, allowing for a computationally efficient means for simulating these processes. The results from the seepage model show that cases with strong natural convection effects are expected to improve the performance of the repository, since smaller relative humidity values, with reduced local seepage, form a more desirable waste package environment.

Analytical solutions for hydromagnetic natural convection flow of a particulate suspension through isoflux-isothermal channels in the presence of a heat source or sink

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chamkha, Ali J.; Al-Rashidi, Seham S.

2010-01-01

This work considers the problem of steady natural convection hydromagnetic flow of a particulate suspension through an infinitely long channel in the presence of heat generation or absorption effects. The channel walls are maintained at isoflux-isothermal condition. That is, the thermal boundary conditions are such that one of the channel walls is maintained at constant heat flux while the other is maintained at a constant temperature. Various closed-form solutions of the governing equations for different special cases are obtained. A parametric study of the physical parameters involved in the problem is done to illustrate the influence of these parameters on the velocity and temperature profiles of both phases.

Experimental evaluation on natural convection heat transfer of microencapsulated phase change materials slurry in a rectangular heat storage tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yanlai; Rao Zhonghao; Wang Shuangfeng; Zhang Zhao; Li Xiuping

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► It gives heat transfer characteristics in a rectangular heat storage tank as the basic unit for reservoir of thermal storage. ► Onset of natural convection gets easier for the MPCMS with a higher mass concentration. ► It enhances the heat transfer ability of natural convection for the MPCMS. ► Obtained the relationship between Ra and Nu of the MPCMS. - Abstract: The main purpose of this experiment is to evaluate natural convection heat transfer characteristics of microencapsulated PCM (phase change material) slurry (MPCMS) during phase change process in a rectangular heat storage tank heated from the bottom and cooled at the top. The microencapsulated PCM is several material compositions of n-paraffin waxes (mainly nonadecane) as the core materials, outside a layer of a melamine resin wrapped. In the present study, its slurry is used mixing with water. And the specific heat capacity with latent heat shows a peak value at the temperature of about T = 31 °C. We investigate the influences of the phase change process of the MPCMS on natural convection heat transfer. The experimental results indicate that phase change process of the MPCMS promote natural convection heat transfer. The local maximum heat transfer enhancement occurs at approximately T H = 34 °C corresponding to the heated plate temperature. With high mass concentration C m , the onset of natural convection gets easier for the MPCMS. The temperature gradient is larger near top plate and bottom plate of a rectangular heat storage tank. Heat transfer coefficient increases with the phase change of the PCM. And it summarizes that the phase change process of the PCM promote the occurrence of natural convection.

An investigation of implicit turbulence modeling for laminar-turbulent transition in natural convection

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunggang; Tsubokura, Makoto; Wang, Weihsiang

2017-11-01

The automatic dissipation adjustment (ADA) model based on truncated Navier-Stokes equations is utilized to investigate the feasibility of using implicit large eddy simulation (ILES) with ADA model on the transition in natural convection. Due to the high Rayleigh number coming from the larger temperature difference (300K), Roe scheme modified for low Mach numbers coordinating ADA model is used to resolve the complicated flow field. Based on the qualitative agreement of the comparisons with DNS and experimental results and the capability of numerically predicating a -3 decay law for the temporal power spectrum of the temperature fluctuation, this study thus validates the feasibility of ILES with ADA model on turbulent natural convection. With the advantages of ease of implementation because no explicit modeling terms are needed and nearly free of tuning parameters, ADA model offers to become a promising tool for turbulent thermal convection. Part of the results is obtained using the K computer at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (Proposal number hp160232).

Natural convective flow of a magneto-micropolar fluid along a vertical plate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ferdows

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a numerical study of natural convective flow of an electrically conducting viscous micropolar fluid past a vertical plate. Internal heat generation (IHG versus without IHG in the medium are discussed in the context of corresponding similarity solutions. Results are presented in terms of velocity, angular velocity, temperature, skin friction in tabular forms, local wall-coupled stress, and Nusselt number. Computations have been accomplished by parametrizing the micropolar, micro-rotation, magnetic field, suction parameters, and the Prandtl number. Several critical issues are addressed at the end of the paper with reference to a previous study by El-Hakiem. The study is relevant to high-temperature electromagnetic materials fabrication systems. Keywords: Natural convection, Thermal boundary layer, Micropolar fluid, Similarity transformation, Internal heat generation

Computational simulation of two-dimensional transient natural convection in volumetrically heated square enclosure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Camila Braga; Jian Su

2010-01-01

Natural convection is a physical phenomenon that has been investigated in nuclear engineering so as to provide information about heat transfer in severe accident conditions involving nuclear reactors. This research reported transient natural convection of fluids with uniformly distributed volumetrically heat generation in square cavity with isothermal side walls and adiabatic top/bottom walls. Two Prandtl numbers were considered, 0:0321 and 0:71. Direct numerical simulations were applied in order to obtain results about the velocities of the fluid in directions x and y. These results were used in Fast Fourier Transform, which showed the periodic, quasi-chaotic and chaotic behavior of transient laminar flow. (author)

Nonlinear Multiplicative Schwarz Preconditioning in Natural Convection Cavity Flow

KAUST Repository

Liu, Lulu

2017-03-17

A natural convection cavity flow problem is solved using nonlinear multiplicative Schwarz preconditioners, as a Gauss-Seidel-like variant of additive Schwarz preconditioned inexact Newton (ASPIN). The nonlinear preconditioning extends the domain of convergence of Newton’s method to high Rayleigh numbers. Convergence performance varies widely with respect to different groupings of the fields of this multicomponent problem, and with respect to different orderings of the groupings.

Nonlinear Multiplicative Schwarz Preconditioning in Natural Convection Cavity Flow

KAUST Repository

Liu, Lulu; Zhang, Wei; Keyes, David E.

2017-01-01

A natural convection cavity flow problem is solved using nonlinear multiplicative Schwarz preconditioners, as a Gauss-Seidel-like variant of additive Schwarz preconditioned inexact Newton (ASPIN). The nonlinear preconditioning extends the domain of convergence of Newton’s method to high Rayleigh numbers. Convergence performance varies widely with respect to different groupings of the fields of this multicomponent problem, and with respect to different orderings of the groupings.

Measurement of natural convection by speckle photography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wernekinck, U.; Merzkirch, W.

1986-01-01

The principle of speckle photography can be applied to the measurement of density variations in fluids. A modification of existing experimental arrangements allows for the measurement of large values of the light deflection angles as they may occur in heat and mass transfer situations. The method is demonstrated for the case of a helium jet exhausting into still air and the natural convective flow along a heated plate. The obtained data are compared with results measured with classical optical interferometers, and good agreement is found. The advantages of the new technique over the classical optical methods are briefly discussed. 11 references

Approximation and stability of three-dimensional natural convection flows in a porous medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janotto, Marie-Laurence

1991-01-01

The equations of the three-dimensional natural convection in a porous medium within a differentially heated horizontal walls cavity are solved by a pseudo-spectral method. First we will present the evolution of the two main modes according to two models of convection. A few asymptotic properties connected to the small and large eddies are set up and numerically validated. A new approximate inertial manifold is then proposed. The numerical scheme used is an exponential fitting algorithm the convergence of which is proved. We will present the physical mechanism at the origin of the un-stationary three-dimensional convection at high Rayleigh numbers. (author) [fr

Introduction to the method of average magnitude analysis and application to natural convection in cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lykoudis, P.S.

1995-01-01

The method of Average Magnitude Analysis is a mixture of the Integral Method and the Order of Magnitude Analysis. The paper shows how the differential equations of conservation for steady-state, laminar, boundary layer flows are converted to a system of algebraic equations, where the result is a sum of the order of magnitude of each term, multiplied by, a weight coefficient. These coefficients are determined from integrals containing the assumed velocity and temperature profiles. The method is illustrated by applying it to the case of drag and heat transfer over an infinite flat plate. It is then applied to the case of natural convection over an infinite flat plate with and without the presence of a horizontal magnetic field, and subsequently to enclosures of aspect ratios of one or higher. The final correlation in this instance yields the Nusselt number as a function of the aspect ratio and the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers. This correlation is tested against a wide range of small and large values of these parameters. 19 refs., 4 figs

Prediction of flow recirculation in a blanket assembly under worst-case natural-convection conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, E.U.; Rector, D.R.

1982-01-01

Reactor fuel and blanket assemblies within a Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) can be subjected to severe radial heat flux gradients. At low-flow conditions, with power-to-flow ratios of nearly the same magnitude as design conditions, buoyancy forces cause flow redistribution to the side of a bundle with the higher heat generation rate. Recirculation of fluid within a rod bundle can occur during a natural convection transient because of the combined effect of flow coastdown and buoyancy-induced redistribution. An important concern is whether recirculation leads to high coolant temperatures. For this reason, the COBRA-WC code was developed with the capability of modeling recirculating flows. Experiments have been conducted in a 2 x 6 rod bundle for flow and power transients to study recirculation in the mixed-convection (forced cooled) and natural-convection regimes. The data base developed was used to validate the recirculation module in the COBRA-WC code. COBRA-WC code calculations were made to predict flow and temperature distributions in a typical LMFBR blanket assembly for the worst-case, natural-circulation transient

Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection in a Vertically Installed Wet Thermal Insulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Seong H.; Seo, Jae K.; Kim, Young I. [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Natural convection in an enclosure with disconnected vertical partitions inside is thought of as major concerns in the design of thermal insulators. For example, in a system-integrated modular advanced reactor (SMART), vertical partitions are disposed inside the so-called wet thermal insulator with gaps at the top and bottom ends to compensate for thermal expansion . In such a case, buoyancy driven flow circulates throughout the enclosure, i.e., fluid rises up in the hot-side layers, passing through the gap at the top, moving downward in the vertical channels near the cold side, and returning to the hot-side layers via the gap at the bottom. Compared with the case of connected partitions, this often causes an undesirable increase in the circulation flow rate and heat transfer within the enclosure, thus deteriorating the thermal insulation performance. In this study, laminar natural convection in a tall rectangular enclosure with disconnected vertical partitions inside is investigated numerically. The effects of main governing parameters such as the modified Rayleigh number, enclosure height to width ratio, and number of fluid layers are scrutinized along with a discussion of the heat transfer regimes. This study investigates the laminar natural convection in a tall rectangular enclosure having isothermal side walls of different temperatures and insulated top and bottom walls with disconnected vertical partitions inside.

Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection in a Vertically Installed Wet Thermal Insulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Seong H.; Seo, Jae K.; Kim, Young I.

2016-01-01

Natural convection in an enclosure with disconnected vertical partitions inside is thought of as major concerns in the design of thermal insulators. For example, in a system-integrated modular advanced reactor (SMART), vertical partitions are disposed inside the so-called wet thermal insulator with gaps at the top and bottom ends to compensate for thermal expansion . In such a case, buoyancy driven flow circulates throughout the enclosure, i.e., fluid rises up in the hot-side layers, passing through the gap at the top, moving downward in the vertical channels near the cold side, and returning to the hot-side layers via the gap at the bottom. Compared with the case of connected partitions, this often causes an undesirable increase in the circulation flow rate and heat transfer within the enclosure, thus deteriorating the thermal insulation performance. In this study, laminar natural convection in a tall rectangular enclosure with disconnected vertical partitions inside is investigated numerically. The effects of main governing parameters such as the modified Rayleigh number, enclosure height to width ratio, and number of fluid layers are scrutinized along with a discussion of the heat transfer regimes. This study investigates the laminar natural convection in a tall rectangular enclosure having isothermal side walls of different temperatures and insulated top and bottom walls with disconnected vertical partitions inside

Experimental and numerical investigation on natural convection heat transfer in nanofluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulkarni, P.P.; Nayak, A.K.; Vijayan, P.K.

2014-01-01

Currently, a lot of research is being carried out on the potential application of nanofluids as a coolant in nuclear reactors owing to their enhanced heat transfer characteristics as compared to base fluid. In this regards, an experimental study has been undertaken concerning natural convection heat transfer of nanofluids over a cylindrical heater with a constant wall heat flux condition. The heat flux was varied from 0-50000 W/m 2 and Rayleigh number range is 30000 to 1.65 X 10 5 . Results show that there was a reduction in natural convection heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids as compared to water. Experimental results were compared with existing models for similar geometry. However, the available correlation was found to be unable to predict experimental data. A new empirical model was developed based on the experimental data including the effect of nanoparticles concentration which predicts the experimental data satisfactorily. (author)

Comparison of CFD Natural Convection and Conduction-only Models for Heat Transfer in the Yucca Mountain Project Drifts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadgu, T.; Webb, S.; Itamura, M.

2004-01-01

Yucca Mountain, Nevada has been designated as the nation's high-level radioactive waste repository and the U.S. Department of Energy has been approved to apply to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to construct a repository. Heat transfer in the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) drift enclosures is an important aspect of repository waste emplacement. Canisters containing radioactive waste are to be emplaced in tunnels drilled 500 m below the ground surface. After repository closure, decaying heat is transferred from waste packages to the host rock by a combination of thermal radiation, natural convection and conduction heat transfer mechanism?. Current YMP mountain-scale and drift-scale numerical models often use a simplified porous medium code to model fluid and heat flow in the drift openings. To account for natural convection heat transfer, the thermal conductivity of the air was increased in the porous medium model. The equivalent thermal conductivity, defined as the ratio of total heat flow to conductive heat flow, used in the porous media models was based on horizontal concentric cylinders. Such modeling does not effectively capture turbulent natural convection in the open spaces as discussed by Webb et al. (2003) yet the approach is still widely used on the YMP project. In order to mechanistically model natural convection conditions in YMP drifts, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT (Fluent, Incorporated, 2001) has been used to model natural convection heat transfer in the YMP emplacement drifts. A two-dimensional (2D) model representative of YMP geometry (e.g., includes waste package, drip shield, invert and drift wall) has been developed and numerical simulations made (Francis et al., 2003). Using CFD simulation results for both natural convection and conduction-only heat transfer in a single phase, single component fluid, equivalent thermal conductivities have been calculated for different Rayleigh numbers. Correlation

Direct numerical simulation and modeling of turbulent natural convection in a vertical differentially heated slot; Simulation numerique directe et modelisation de la convection naturelle turbulente dans un canal differentiellement chauffe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boudjemadi, R.

1996-03-01

The main objectives of this thesis are the direct numerical simulation of natural convection in a vertical differentially heated slot and the improvements of second-order turbulence modelling. A three-dimensional direct numerical simulation code has been developed in order to gain a better understanding of turbulence properties in natural convection flows. This code has been validated in several physical configurations: non-stratified natural convection flows (conduction solution), stratified natural convection flows (double boundary layer solution), transitional and turbulent Poiseuille flows. For the conduction solution, the turbulent regime was reached at a Rayleigh number of 1*10{sup 5} and 5.4*10{sup 5}. A detailed analysis of these results has revealed the principal qualities of the available models but has also pointed our their shortcomings. This data base has been used in order to improve the triple correlations transport models and to select the turbulent time scales suitable for such flows. (author). 122 refs., figs., tabs., 4 appends.

MHD Natural Convection and Entropy Generation of Variable Properties Nanofluid in a Triangular Enclosure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Aghaei

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Natural convection heat transfer has many applications in different fields of industry; such as cooling industries, electronic transformer devices and ventilation equipment; due to simple process, economic advantage, low noise and renewed retrieval. Recently, heat transfer of nanofluids have been considered because of higher thermal conductivity coefficient compared with those of ordinary fluids. In this study; natural convection and entropy generation in a triangular enclosure filled by Al2O3 –water nanofluid affected by magnetic field considering Brownian motion is investigated numerically. Two inclined walls are maintained at constant cold temperature (Tc while the bottom wall is kept at constant high temperature (Th with (Th>Tc. In order to investigate natural convection, a computer program (FORTRAN language based on finite volume method and SIMPLER algorithm has been used. Analyses is performed for volume fraction of nanoparticles 0, 0.02, 0.04, Hartmann number 0, 50,100, Rayleigh numbers 103,104,105 and angle of inclined walls 450. In investigated angles and Rayleigh numbers; average Nusselt number is increased by enhancement of volume fraction of nanoparticles in a fixed Hartmann number. It is also observed that total entropy generation variations by increasing volume fraction of nanoparticles is similar to that of Nusselt number. By the results; effect of friction is always insignificant on generated entropy. It is observed that natural convection of nanofluid is decreased by enhancement of Hartmann number and its behavior is close to thermal conduction. It is also concluded that average Nusselt number and total generated entropy are decreased.

Two-dimensional turbulent convection

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzino, Andrea

2017-11-01

We present an overview of the most relevant, and sometimes contrasting, theoretical approaches to Rayleigh-Taylor and mean-gradient-forced Rayleigh-Bénard two-dimensional turbulence together with numerical and experimental evidences for their support. The main aim of this overview is to emphasize that, despite the different character of these two systems, especially in relation to their steadiness/unsteadiness, turbulent fluctuations are well described by the same scaling relationships originated from the Bolgiano balance. The latter states that inertial terms and buoyancy terms balance at small scales giving rise to an inverse kinetic energy cascade. The main difference with respect to the inverse energy cascade in hydrodynamic turbulence [R. H. Kraichnan, "Inertial ranges in two-dimensional turbulence," Phys. Fluids 10, 1417 (1967)] is that the rate of cascade of kinetic energy here is not constant along the inertial range of scales. Thanks to the absence of physical boundaries, the two systems here investigated turned out to be a natural physical realization of the Kraichnan scaling regime hitherto associated with the elusive "ultimate state of thermal convection" [R. H. Kraichnan, "Turbulent thermal convection at arbitrary Prandtl number," Phys. Fluids 5, 1374-1389 (1962)].

Modeling the effect of the inclination angle on natural convection from a flat plate: The case of a photovoltaic module

OpenAIRE

Perović Bojan D.; Klimenta Jelena Lj.; Tasić Dragan S.; Peuteman Joan L.G.; Klimenta Dardan O.; Anđelković Ljiljana N.

2017-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to show how the inclination angle affects natural convection from a flat-plate photovoltaic module which is mounted on the ground surface. In order to model this effect, novel correlations for natural convection from isothermal flat plates are developed by using the fundamental dimensionless number. On the basis of the available experimental and numerical results, it is shown that the natural convection correlations correspond well with the existing empirical...

Analysis of dynamic enhancement of natural convection cooling by a discrete vibrating plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Florio, L.A.; Harnoy, A. [New Jersey Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Newark, NJ (United States)

2006-12-15

A dynamic means of locally enhancing laminar natural convection cooling in a vertical channel through the localized application of fluid oscillations is numerically investigated. The two-dimensional system considered for these purposes is a vertical channel with a small transversely oscillating plate placed near a constant heat flux channel wall. The flow and heat transfer in the system resulting from the combined effects of the natural convection and the oscillating plate were determined. The results indicate that for displacement amplitudes of at least one-third of the mean spacing and with dimensionless frequencies (Re/{radical}(Gr)) of at least 2{pi}, the local heat transfer coefficient can be enhanced by as much as 41%. (orig.)

Moment-based boundary conditions for lattice Boltzmann simulations of natural convection in cavities

KAUST Repository

Allen, Rebecca

2016-06-29

We study a multiple relaxation time lattice Boltzmann model for natural convection with moment-based boundary conditions. The unknown primary variables of the algorithm at a boundary are found by imposing conditions directly upon hydrodynamic moments, which are then translated into conditions for the discrete velocity distribution functions. The method is formulated so that it is consistent with the second order implementation of the discrete velocity Boltzmann equations for fluid flow and temperature. Natural convection in square cavities is studied for Rayleigh numbers ranging from 103 to 108. An excellent agreement with benchmark data is observed and the flow fields are shown to converge with second order accuracy. Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Analysis of natural convection heat transfer and flows in internally heated stratified liquid pools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gubaidullin, A.A. Jr.; Dinh, T.N.; Sehgal, B.R.

1999-01-01

In this paper, natural convection flows and heat transfer in a liquid pool, with two superposed immiscible fluid layers, are analyzed. The objective of the study is to examine the effect of interfacial hydrodynamics and to develop a method which enables energy splitting to be evaluated in a stratified liquid pool. The thermal convection, with and without an internal heat source, in a rectangular cavity with different pairs of fluids was numerically simulated by a CFD code FLOW-3D. It was found that the code performs very well for prediction of heat transfer coefficients for different conditions. The hydrodynamic coupling between immiscible layers was found to have minor, if any, impact on the natural convection heat transfer for the conditions examined. Calculated results were used to develop, and validate, a new correlation for energy splitting and for heat transfer in stratified liquid pools

Carbon-nanotube nanofluid thermophysical properties and heat transfer by natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Y; Inagaki, T; Suzuki, S; Yamauchi, N

2014-01-01

We measured the thermophysical properties of suspensions of carbon nanotubes in water as a type of nanofluid, and experimentally investigated their heat transfer characteristics in a horizontal, closed rectangular vessel. Using a previously constructed system for high- reliability measurement, we quantitatively determined their thermophysical properties and the temperature dependence of these properties. We also investigated the as yet unexplained mechanism of heat transport in carbon-nanotube nanofluids and their flow properties from a thermal perspective. The results indicated that these nanofluids are non-Newtonian fluids, whose high viscosity impedes convection and leads to a low heat transfer coefficient under natural convection, despite their high thermal conductivity

Combined natural convection heat and mass transfer from vertical fin arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giri, A.; Narasimham, G.S.V.L.; Krishna Murthy, M.V.

2003-01-01

Natural convection transport processes play an important role in many applications like ice-storage air-conditioning. A mathematical formulation of natural convection heat and mass transfer over a shrouded vertical fin array is developed. The base plate is maintained at a temperature below the dew point of the surrounding moist air. Hence there occurs condensation of moisture on the base plate, while the fins may be partially or fully wet. A numerical study is performed by varying the parameters of the problem. The local and average Nusselt numbers decrease in streamwise direction and tend to approach fully developed values for sufficiently large values of the fin length. The results show that beyond a certain streamwise distance, further fin length does not improve the sensible and latent heat transfer performance, and that if dry fin analysis is used under moisture condensation conditions, the overall heat transfer will be underestimated by about 50% even at low buoyancy ratios

Steady flow in shallow channel bends

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Vriend, H.J.

1981-01-01

Making use of a mathematical model solving the complete NavierStokes equations for steady flow in coiled rectangular pipes, fully-developed laminar flow in shallow curved channels is analysed physically and mathematically. Transverse convection of momentum by the secondary flow is shown to cause

Natural convection heat transfer of water in a horizontal circular gap

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SU Guanghui; Kenichiro Sugiyama; WU Yingwei

2007-01-01

An experimental study on the natural convection heat transfer on a horizontal downward facing heated surface in a water gap was carried out under atmospheric pressure conditions. A total of 700 experimental data points were correlated using Rayleigh versus Nusselt number in various forms, based on different independent variables. The effects of different characteristic lengths and film temperatures were discussed. The results show that the buoyancy force acts as a resistance force for natural convecti on beat transfer ona downward facing horizontal heated surface in a confined space. For the estimation of the natural convection heat transfer under the present conditions, empirical correlations in which Nusselt number is expressed as a function of the Rayleigh number, or both Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers, may be used. When it is accurately predicted, the Nusselt number is expressed as a function of the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers, as well as the gap width-to-heated surface diameter ratio; and uses the temperature difference between the heated surface and the ambient fluid in the definition of Rayleigh number. The characteristic length is the gap size and the film temperature is the average fluid temperature.

Natural convection heat transfer in a rectangular pool with volumetric heat sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung Dong; Lee, Kang Hee; Suh, Kune Y.

2003-01-01

Natural convection plays an important role in determining the thermal load from debris accumulated in the reactor vessel lower head during a severe accident. The heat transfer within the molten core material can be characterized by buoyancy-induced flows resulting from internal heating due to decay of fission products. The thermo-fluid dynamic characteristics of the molten pool depend strongly on the thermal boundary conditions. The spatial and temporal variation of heat flux on the pool wall boundaries and the pool superheat are mainly characterized by the natural convection flow inside the molten pool. In general, natural convection involving internal heat generation is delineated in terms of the modified Rayleigh number, Ra', which quantifies the internal heat source and hence the strength of buoyancy. The test section is of rectangular cavity whose length, width, and height are 500 mm, 80 mm, and 250 mm, respectively. A total of twenty-four T-type thermocouples were installed in the test loop to measure temperature distribution. Four T-type thermocouples were utilized to measure temperatures on the boundary. A direct heating method was adopted in this test to simulate the uniform heat generation. The experiments covered a range of Rayleigh number, Ra, between 4.87x10 7 and 2.32x10 14 and Prandtl number, Pr, between 0.7 and 3.98. Tests were conducted with water and air as simulant. The upper and lower boundary conditions were maintained at a uniform temperature of 10degC. (author)

Stability analysis of natural convection in superposed fluid and porous layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirata, S.C.; Goyeau, B.; Gobin, D.; Cotta, R.M.

2005-01-01

A linear stability analysis of the onset of thermal natural convection in superposed fluid and porous layers is called out. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved using a integral transformation technique. The effect of the variation of the Darcy number on the stability of the system is analyzed. (authors)

Stability analysis of natural convection in superposed fluid and porous layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirata, S.C.; Goyeau, B.; Gobin, D. [Paris-11 Univ. - Paris-6, FAST - UMR CNRS 7608, 91 - Orsay (France); Cotta, R.M. [Rio de Janeiro Univ. (LTTC/PEM/EE/COPPE/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil)

2005-07-01

A linear stability analysis of the onset of thermal natural convection in superposed fluid and porous layers is called out. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved using a integral transformation technique. The effect of the variation of the Darcy number on the stability of the system is analyzed. (authors)

Adiabatic partition effect on natural convection heat transfer inside a square cavity: experimental and numerical studies

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoudinezhad, S.; Rezania, A.; Yousefi, T.; Shadloo, M. S.; Rosendahl, L. A.

2018-02-01

A steady state and two-dimensional laminar free convection heat transfer in a partitioned cavity with horizontal adiabatic and isothermal side walls is investigated using both experimental and numerical approaches. The experiments and numerical simulations are carried out using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a finite volume code, respectively. A horizontal and adiabatic partition, with angle of θ is adjusted such that it separates the cavity into two identical parts. Effects of this angel as well as Rayleigh number on the heat transfer from the side-heated walls are investigated in this study. The results are performed for the various Rayleigh numbers over the cavity side length, and partition angles ranging from 1.5 × 105 to 4.5 × 105, and 0° to 90°, respectively. The experimental verification of natural convective flow physics has been done by using FLUENT software. For a given adiabatic partition angle, the results show that the average Nusselt number and consequently the heat transfer enhance as the Rayleigh number increases. However, for a given Rayleigh number the maximum and the minimum heat transfer occurs at θ = 45°and θ = 90°, respectively. Two responsible mechanisms for this behavior, namely blockage ratio and partition orientation, are identified. These effects are explained by numerical velocity vectors and experimental temperatures contours. Based on the experimental data, a new correlation that fairly represents the average Nusselt number of the heated walls as functions of Rayleigh number and the angel of θ for the aforementioned ranges of data is proposed.

Influence of convective conditions on three dimensional mixed convective hydromagnetic boundary layer flow of Casson nanofluid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rauf, A., E-mail: raufamar@ciitsahiwal.edu.pk [Department of Mathematics, Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal 57000 (Pakistan); Siddiq, M.K. [Centre for Advanced Studies in Pure and Applied Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 63000 (Pakistan); Abbasi, F.M. [Department of Mathematics, Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Meraj, M.A. [Department of Mathematics, Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal 57000 (Pakistan); Ashraf, M. [Centre for Advanced Studies in Pure and Applied Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 63000 (Pakistan); Shehzad, S.A. [Department of Mathematics, Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal 57000 (Pakistan)

2016-10-15

The present work deals with the steady laminar three-dimensional mixed convective magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of Casson nanofluid over a bidirectional stretching surface. A uniform magnetic field is applied normal to the flow direction. Similarity variables are implemented to convert the non-linear partial differential equations into ordinary ones. Convective boundary conditions are utilized at surface of the sheet. A numerical technique of Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg (RFK45) is used to obtain the results of velocity, temperature and concentration fields. The physical dimensionless parameters are discussed through tables and graphs. - Highlights: • Mixed convective boundary layer flow of Casson nanofluid is taken into account. • Impact of magnetic field is examined. • Convective heat and mass conditions are imposed. • Numerical solutions are presented and discussed.

Multiregional coupled conduction--convection model for heat transfer in an HTGR core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giles, G.E. Jr.; Childs, K.W.; Sanders, J.P.

1978-01-01

HEXEREI is a three-dimensional, coupled conduction-convection heat transfer and multichannel fluid dynamic analysis computer code with both steady-state and transient capabilities. The program was developed to provide thermal-fluid dynamic analysis of a core following the general design for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs); its purpose was to provide licensing evaluations for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In order to efficiently model the HTGR core, the nodal geometry of HEXEREI was chosen as a regular hexagonal array perpendicular to the axis of and bounded by a right circular cylinder. The cylindrical nodal geometry surrounds the hexagonal center portion of the mesh; these two different types of nodal geometries must be connected by interface nodes to complete the accurate modeling of the HTGR core. HEXEREI will automatically generate a nodal geometry that will accurately model a complex assembly of hexagonal and irregular prisms. The accuracy of the model was proven by a comparison of computed values with analytical results for steady-state and transient heat transfer problems. HEXEREI incorporates convective heat transfer to the coolant in many parallel axial flow channels. Forced and natural convection (which permits different flow directions in parallel channels) is included in the heat transfer and fluid dynamic models. HEXEREI incorporates a variety of steady-state and transient solution techniques that can be matched with a particular problem to minimize the computational time. HEXEREI was compared with a code of similar capabilities that was based on a Cartesian mesh. This code modeled only one specific core design, and the mesh spacing was closer than that generated by HEXEREI. Good agreement was obtained with the detail provided by the representations

Numerical Investigation of Turbulent Natural Convection Heat Transfer in an Internally-Heated Melt Pool and Metallic Layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nourgaliev, R.R.; Dinh, A.T.; Dinh, T.N.; Sehgal, B.R.

1999-01-01

This paper presents results of numerical investigation of turbulent natural convection in an internally-heated oxidic pool, and in a metallic layer heated from below and cooled from top and sidewalls. Emphasis is placed upon applicability of the existing heat transfer correlations (obtained from simulant-material experiments) in assessments of a prototypic severe reactor accident. The objectives of this study are (i) to improve the current understanding of the physics of unstably stratified flows, and (ii) to reduce uncertainties associated with modeling and assessment of natural convection heat transfer in the above configuration. Prediction capabilities of different turbulence modeling approaches are first examined and discussed, based on extensive results of numerical investigations performed by present authors. Findings from numerical modeling of turbulent natural convection flow and heat transfer in melt pools and metallic layers are then described. (authors)

Hydrogen and helium recycling from a JxB-force convected liquid metal Ga{sub 67}In{sub 20.5}Sn{sub 12.5} under steady state plasma bombardment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirooka, Yoshi, E-mail: hirooka.yoshihiko@nifs.ac.jp [National institute for Fusion Science, Oroshi, Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Oroshi, Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Bi, Hailin [Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Oroshi, Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Shimada, Michiya [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Rokkasho, Kamikita, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan); Ono, Masa [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08543 (United States)

2017-04-15

A series of first-of-a-kind laboratory-scale experiments on the JxB-force convected liquid metal divertor concept have been carried out in the temperature range from room temperature to ∼200 °C, employing a eutectic alloy: Ga{sub 67}In{sub 20.5}Sn{sub 12.5}, the melting point of which is 10.5 °C. The electrical current conducted through the alloy is set at about 70A and the magnetic field is set at about 700 G. It has reproducibly been observed that hydrogen as well as helium particle recycling is noticeably reduced under steady state plasma bombardment when the liquid is convected by the JxB force.

Steady state magnetic field configurations for the earth's magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

Hau, L.-N.; Wolf, R. A.; Voigt, G.-H.; Wu, C. C.

1989-01-01

A two-dimensional, force-balance magnetic field model is presented. The theoretical existence of a steady state magnetic field configuration that is force-balanced and consistent with slow, lossless, adiabatic, earthward convection within the limit of the ideal MHD is demonstrated. A numerical solution is obtained for a two-dimensional magnetosphere with a rectangular magnetopause and nonflaring tail. The results are consistent with the convection time sequences reported by Erickson (1985).

Theoretical and experimental research of natural convection in the core of the high temperature pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuerenkraemer, M.

1984-04-01

The physical model of the developed THERMIX-2D-code for computing thermohydraulic behaviour of the core of high temperature pebble bed reactors is verified by experiments with natural convection flow. Such fluid flow behaviour can be of very high importance for the real reactor in the case of natural heat removal decay. The experiments are performed in a special set up testing-stand with pressures up to 30 bars and temperatures up to 300 0 C by using air and helium as fluid. In comparison with the experimental data the numerical results show that a good and useful simulation is given by the program. Pure natural convection flow in packed pebble beds is calculated with a very high degree of reliability. The investigation of flow stability demonstrate that radial-symmetric relations are not given temporarily when national convection is overlayed by forced convection flow. In the discussion it is explained when and to what extent the program leds to useful results in such situations. The test of the effective heat conductivity lambdasub(eff) results in an improvement of the lambdasub(eff)-data used so far for temperatures below 1300 0 C. (orig.) [de

Comparison of numerical results with experimental data for single-phase natural convection in an experimental sodium loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribando, R.J.

1979-01-01

A comparison is made between computed results and experimental data for a single-phase natural convection test in an experimental sodium loop. The test was conducted in the Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety (THORS) facility, an engineering-scale high temperature sodium loop at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used for thermal-hydraulic testing of simulated Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) subassemblies at normal and off-normal operating conditions. Heat generation in the 19 pin assembly during the test was typical of decay heat levels. The test chosen for analysis in this paper was one of seven natural convection runs conducted in the facility using a variety of initial conditions and testing parameters. Specifically, in this test the bypass line was open to simulate a parallel heated assembly and the test was begun with a pump coastdown from a small initial forced flow. The computer program used to analyze the test, LONAC (LOw flow and NAtural Convection) is an ORNL-developed, fast-running, one-dimensional, single-phase, finite-difference model used for simulating forced and free convection transients in the THORS loop

Study on the natural convection heat transfer characteristics in the air duct

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Y K; Lee, Y B; Choi, S K; Hwang, J S; Nam, H Y [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

Temperature distribution measurements in the mockup apparatus of reactor vessel were performed to determine the effective thermal conductivity of porous media with different geometry and to obtain the experimental data for the heat transfer processes by natural convection occurring in the air duct. The temperature distributions at four separated sections with different arrangements of porous media have different slopes according to the geometrical configuration. From the measured temperature distribution, effective thermal conductivity have been derived using the least square fitting method. The test at air duct was performed to the high heat removal at 3.4kW/m{sup 2} by the natural convection from the outer wall to the air. And also the temperature distributions in the sir duct agree well with the 1/7th power-law turbulent temperature distribution. The obtained heat transfer data have been compared with the Shin`s and Sieger`s correlations. 10 refs., 6 figs. (Author)

Study on the natural convection heat transfer characteristics in the air duct

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Y. K.; Lee, Y. B.; Choi, S. K.; Hwang, J. S.; Nam, H. Y. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

Temperature distribution measurements in the mockup apparatus of reactor vessel were performed to determine the effective thermal conductivity of porous media with different geometry and to obtain the experimental data for the heat transfer processes by natural convection occurring in the air duct. The temperature distributions at four separated sections with different arrangements of porous media have different slopes according to the geometrical configuration. From the measured temperature distribution, effective thermal conductivity have been derived using the least square fitting method. The test at air duct was performed to the high heat removal at 3.4kW/m{sup 2} by the natural convection from the outer wall to the air. And also the temperature distributions in the sir duct agree well with the 1/7th power-law turbulent temperature distribution. The obtained heat transfer data have been compared with the Shin`s and Sieger`s correlations. 10 refs., 6 figs. (Author)

Analysis of a molten pool natural convection in the APR1400 RPV at a severe accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Tae; Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik

2005-01-01

During a hypothetical severe accident, reactor fuel rods and structures supporting them are melted and relocated in the lower head of the reactor vessel. These relocated molten materials could be separated by their density difference and construct metal/oxide stratified pools in the lower head. A decay heat generated from the fuel material is transferred to the vessel wall and upper structures remaining in the reactor vessel by natural convection. As shown in Fig. 1 two-layered stratified molten pool is developed in the reactor lower vessel. The oxidic pool usually constructed by the mixture of uranium oxide and zirconium oxide. The melting temperature of the oxidic material is very high compared to the steel vessel and metallic layer. And highly turbulent natural convection generated by the decay heat enhances heat transfer to the boundary of the oxidic pool. By this thermal mechanism, oxide curst is developed around the oxidic layer as shown in Fig. 1. The oxidic pool is bounded thermally and fluid-dynamically by the developed crust. By this boundedness, the heat transfer structure in the stratified oxidic/metallic pool can be solved separately. The thermal boundary condition of the oxidic pool is isothermal with constant melting temperature of the oxidic material. The decay heat is transfer to side wall and upper interface between oxidic and metallic layer. Turbulent natural convection is dominant heat transfer mechanism in the oxidic pool. The heat transferred from the bottom oxidic layer is imposed to the upper metallic layer. This transferred heat in the metallic pool is removed through side and upper surface, which is augmented also by natural convection developed in the pool. In this study, a molten pool natural convection in the APR1400 RPV during a severe accident is simulated using the Lilac code and the calculated heat flux distribution on the reactor vessel wall is compared with a lumped-parameter (LP) prediction

Forced, combined and natural convections of water in a vertical nine-rod bundle with a square lattice and P/C = 1.5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Genk, M.S.; Su, Bingjing; Guo, Zhanxiong

1992-01-01

Heat transfer correlations are developed for forced turbulent and laminar, combined, and natural convections of water in a uniformly heated, square arranged, nine-rod bundle having a P/D ratio of 1.5. In all correlations, the heated equivalent diameter is used in all the dimensionless quantities, and the water physical properties are evaluated at the water bulk temperature. In the experiments, Re is varied from 300 to 2.5 X 10 4 , Pr from 4 to 9, Ra q from 3 x 10 6 to 3 x 10 8 for natural convection and from 5 x 10 7 to 7 , 10 8 for combined convection, and Ri from 0.04 to 100. In both upflow and downflow experiments, the transition from forced turbulent to forced laminar convection occurs at Re T = 6,700; while the transition from forced laminar to buoyancy assisted combined convection occurs at Ri = 2.0. Results show that the rod arrangement in the bundle has little effect on the values of Nu in the forced and natural convection regimes. In general, Nu values for the square arranged rod bundle are less than 8% higher and less than 10% lower than those for a triangularly arranged rod bundle in the forced and natural convection regimes, respectively. 16 refs., 7 figs

Feasibility of maintaining natural convection mode core cooling in research reactor power upgrades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, J.J.; Belhadj, M.; Aldemir, T.; Christensen, R.N.

1987-01-01

Two operational concerns for natural convection coooled research reactors using plate type fuels are: 1) pool top 16 N activity (PTNA), and 2) nucleate boiling in core channels. The feasibility assessment of a power upgrade while maintaining natural convection mode core cooling requires addressing these operational concerns. Previous studies have shown that: a) The conventional technique for reducing PTNA by plume dispersion may not be effective in a large power upgrade of research reactors with small pools. b) Currently used correlations to predict onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) in thin, rectangular core channels are not valid for low-velocity, upward flows such as encountered in natural convection cooling. The PTNA depends on the velocity distribution in the reactor pool. COMMIX-1A code is used to determine the three-dimensional velocity fields in The Ohio State University Research Reactor (OSURR) pool as a function of varying design conditions, following a power upgrade to 500 kW with LEU fuel. It is shown that a sufficiently deep stagnant water layer can be created below the pool top by properly choosing the disperser flow rate. The ONB heat flux is experimentally determined for channel gaps and upward flow velocities in the range 2mm-4mm and 3-16 cm/sec., respectively. Two alternatives to plume dispersion for reducing PTNA and a new correlation to determine the ONB heat flux in thin, rectangular channels under low-velocity, upward flow conditions are proposed. (Author)

Modelling and control of natural convection in canned foods

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez-Vazquez, L. J.; Martinez, A.

1999-12-01

In this paper we study mathematically an industrial problem related to sterilization processes involving heat transfer by natural convection. We give results of existence and regularity for the solution of this problem. We recast the whole problem as an optimal control problem with pointwise constraints on the state and the control in order to ensure the reduction of microorganism concentration and the retention of nutrients, and to save energy. Finally, we give results on existence of the optimal solution and optimality conditions for its characterization.

First Principles Analysis of Convection in the Earth's Mantle, Eustatic Sea Level and Earth Volume

Science.gov (United States)

Kinsland, G. L.

2011-12-01

Steady state convection (convection whereby heat leaving the mantle at the top is equal to the heat entering the mantle across the core mantle boundary and that created within the mantle) of the Earth's mantle is, to a very good approximation, both a constant mass and constant volume process. Mass or volume which moves to one place; e.g., an oceanic ridge; must be accompanied by mass or volume removed from another place. The location of removal, whether from underneath of an ocean or a continent, determines the relationship between oceanic ridge volume and eustatic sea level. If all of the volume entering a ridge were to come from under an oceanic basin then the size of the ridge would not affect eustatic sea level as it would be compensated by a lowering of the sea floor elsewhere. If the volume comes from under a continent then the hypsometry of the continent becomes important. Thus, eustatic sea level is not simply related to convection rate and oceanic ridge volume as posited by Hays and Pitman(1973). Non-steady state convection is still a constant mass process but is not a constant volume process. The mantle experiences a net gain of heat, warms and expands during periods of relatively slow convection (that being convection rate which is less than that necessary to transport incoming and internally created heat to the surface). Conversely, the mantle has a net loss of heat, cools and contracts during periods of relatively rapid convection. The Earth itself expands and contracts as the mantle does. During rapid convection more volume is delivered from the interior of the mantle to the Earth's ridge system than during slow convection. The integral of the difference of ridge system volume between fast and slow convection over a fast-slow convection cycle is a measure of the difference in volume of the mantle over a cycle. The magnitude of the Earth's volume expansion and contraction as calculated from published values for the volume of ocean ridges and is about

Convection in complex shaped vessel; Convection dans des enceintes de forme complexe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-07-01

The 8 november 2000, the SFT (Societe Francaise de Thermique) organized a technical day on the convection in complex shaped vessels. Nine papers have been presented in the domains of the heat transfers, the natural convection, the fluid distribution, the thermosyphon effect, the steam flow in a sterilization cycle and the transformers cooling. Eight papers are analyzed in ETDE and one paper dealing with the natural convection in spent fuels depository is analyzed in INIS. (A.L.B.)

Numerical investigation on natural convection and solidification of molten pool with OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xi; Meng Zhaocan; Cheng Xu

2015-01-01

The in-vessel retention is adopted by the third generation nuclear power technology as an important severe accident mitigation strategy. The integrity of reactor pressure vessel depends on the heat flux distribution of molten pool. In present study, the solidification model in open source CFD software OpenFOAM was applied to simulate solidification and natural convection which was driven by internal heat source or temperature difference. The stratified molten pool heat transfer experiment carried out by Royal Institute of Technology was analyzed in the paper, and the solidified crust, temperature and heat flux distributions were obtained. The simulation results were compared with experimental data. It is shown that this numerical method can be used in the simulation of natural convection and solidification of molten pool, and it will probably be used in the analysis of molten corium behavior in reactor lower head. (authors)

Combined natural convection and radiation in a volumetrically heated fluid layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chawla, T.C.; Chan, S.H.; Cheung, F.B.; Cho, D.H.

1980-01-01

The effect of radiation in combination with turbulent natural convection on the rates of heat transfer in volumetrically heated fluid layers characterized by high temperatures has been considered in this study. It is demonstrated that even at high Rayleigh numbers the radiation mode is as effective as the turbulent natural convection mode in removing the heat from the upper surface of the molten pools with adiabatic lower boundary. As a result of this improved heat transfer, it is shown that considerably thicker molten pools with internal heat generation can be supported without boiling inception. The total Nusselt number at a moderate but fixed value of conduction-radiation parameter, can be represented as a function of Rayleigh number in a simple power-law form. As a consequence of this relationship it is shown that maximum nonboiling pool thicknesses vary approximately inversely as the 0.9% power of internal heat generation rate. A comparison between exact analysis using the integral formulation of radiation flux and Rosseland approximation shows that the latter approximation bears out very adequately for optically thick pools with conduction-radiation parameters greater than or equal to 0.4 inspite of the fact that individual components of Nusselt number due to radiation and convection, respectively, are grossly in error. These errors in component heat fluxes are compensating due to the total heat balance constraint. However, the comparison between Rosseland approximation and exact formulation gets poorer as the value of conduction-radiation parameters decreases. This increase in error is principally incurred due to the error in estimating wall temperature differences

Combined natural convection and radiation in a volumetrically heated fluid layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chawla, T.C.; Chan, S.H.; Cheung, F.B.; Cho, D.H.

1980-01-01

The effect of radiation in combining with turbulent natural convection on the rates of heat transfer in volumetrically heated fluid layers characterized by high temperatures has been considered in this study. It is demonstrated that even at high Rayleigh numbers the radiation mode is as effective as the turbulent natural convection mode in removing the heat from the upper surface of molten pools with adiabatic lower boundary. As a result of this improved heat transfer, it is shown that considerably thicker molten pools with internal heat generation can be supported without boiling inception. The total Nusselt number at a moderate but fixed value of conduction-radiation parameter, can be represented as a function of Rayleigh number in a simple power-law form. As a consequence of this relationship it is shown that maximum nonboiling pool thicknesses vary approximately inversely as the 0.9 power of internal heat generation rate. A comparison between exact analysis using the integral formulation of radiation flux and Rosseland approximateion shows that the latter approximation bears out very adequately for optically thick pools with conduction-radiation parameter > or approx. =0.4 inspite of the fact that individual components of Nusselt number due to radiation and convection, respectively, are grossly in error. These errors in component heat fluxes are compensating due to the total heat balance constraint. However, the comparison between Rosseland approximation and exact formulation gets poorer as the value of conduction-radiation parameter decreases. This increase in error is principally incurred due to the error in estimating wall temperature differences

Conjugated heat transfer of natural convection in pool with internal heat sources and convection in the tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Longjian; Liu Hongtao; Cui Wenzhi

2007-01-01

The conjugated heat transfer of natural convection in pool with internal heat source and the forced convection in the tube was analyzed, and the corresponding three-dimensional physical and mathematical model was proposed. A control volume based finite element method was employed to solve numerically the problem. The computations were performed for different internal heat source intensity of the pool and the different flow velocity in the tube. The computed heat transfer coefficients on the inner and outer wall showed well consistency of those calculated with the empirical correlations. Compared with the measured total heat transfer coefficients between the fluids in and out of the tube, the computed ones showed also the well consistency, which implied that the numerical model proposed in this paper was reliable. The research results revealed that the total heat transfer coefficients between the fluids were strongly affected by the internal heat source intensity of the pool liquid and the flow velocity in the tube. (authors)

Numerical research on natural convection in molten salt reactor with non-uniformly distributed volumetric heat generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qian Libo; Qiu Suizheng; Zhang Dalin; Su Guanghui; Tian Wenxi

2010-01-01

Molten salt reactor is one of the six Generation IV systems capable of breeding and transmutation of actinides and long-lived fission products, which uses the liquid molten salt as the fuel solvent, coolant and heat generation simultaneously. The present work presents a numerical investigation on natural convection with non-uniform heat generation through which the heat generated by the fluid fuel is removed out of the core region when the reactor is under post-accident condition or zero-power condition. The two-group neutron diffusion equation is applied to calculated neutron flux distribution, which leads to non-uniform heat generation. The SIMPLER algorithm is used to calculate natural convective heat transfer rate with isothermal or adiabatic rigid walls. These two models are coupled through the temperature field and heat sources. The peculiarities of natural convection with non-uniform heat generation are investigated in a range of Ra numbers (10 3 ∼ 10 7 ) for the laminar regime of fluid motion. In addition, the numerical results are also compared with those containing uniform heat generation.

Theoretical investigation on the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of a new type of pressurized water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gou Junli; Qiu Suizheng; Su Guanghui; Jia Dounan

2006-01-01

This article presents a theoretical investigation on the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of a new type of pressurized water reactor. Through numerically solving the one-dimensional steady-state single-phase conservative equations for the primary circuit and the steady-state two-phase drift-flux conservative equations for the secondary side of the steam generator, the natural circulation characteristics were studied. On the basis of the preliminary calculation analysis, it was found that natural circulation mass flow rate was proportional to the exponential function of the power and that the value of the exponent is related to the operating conditions of the secondary side of the steam generator. The higher the outlet pressure of the secondary side of the steam generator, the higher the primary natural circulation mass flow rate. The larger height difference between the core center and the steam generator center is favorable for the heat removal capacity of the natural circulation. (authors)

Experimental investigation of the influence of natural convection and end-effects on Rayleigh streaming in a thermoacoustic engine.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadan, Islam A; Bailliet, Hélène; Valière, Jean-Christophe

2018-01-01

The influence of both the natural convection and end-effects on Rayleigh streaming pattern in a simple standing-wave thermoacoustic engine is investigated experimentally at different acoustic levels. The axial mean velocity inside the engine is measured using both Laser Doppler Velocimetry and Particle Image Velocimetry. The mean flow patterns are categorized in three different regions referred to as "cold streaming" region, "hot streaming" region, and "end-effects" region. In the cold streaming region, the dominant phenomenon is Rayleigh streaming and the mean velocity measurements correspond well with the theoretical expectations of Rayleigh streaming at low acoustic levels. At higher acoustic levels, the measurements deviate from the theoretical expectations which complies with the literature. In the hot streaming region, temperature measurements reveal that the non-uniformity of the resonator wall temperature is the origin of natural convection flow. Velocity measurements show that natural convection flow superimposes on the Rayleigh streaming flow so that the measured mean velocity deviates from the theoretical expectations of Rayleigh streaming. In the last region, the measured mean velocity is very different from Rayleigh streaming due to the combined effects of both the flow disturbances generated near the extremity of the stack and the natural convection flow.

Lattice Boltzmann model for melting with natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huber, Christian; Parmigiani, Andrea; Chopard, Bastien; Manga, Michael; Bachmann, Olivier

2008-01-01

We develop a lattice Boltzmann method to couple thermal convection and pure-substance melting. The transition from conduction-dominated heat transfer to fully-developed convection is analyzed and scaling laws and previous numerical results are reproduced by our numerical method. We also investigate the limit in which thermal inertia (high Stefan number) cannot be neglected. We use our results to extend the scaling relations obtained at low Stefan number and establish the correlation between the melting front propagation and the Stefan number for fully-developed convection. We conclude by showing that the model presented here is particularly well-suited to study convection melting in geometrically complex media with many applications in geosciences

Heat transfer enhancement in a turbulent natural convection boundary layer along a vertical flat plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuji, Toshihiro; Kajitani, Tsuyoshi; Nishino, Tatsuhiko

2007-01-01

An experimental study on heat transfer enhancement for a turbulent natural convection boundary layer in air along a vertical flat plate has been performed by inserting a long flat plate in the spanwise direction (simple heat transfer promoter) and short flat plates aligned in the spanwise direction (split heat transfer promoter) with clearances into the near-wall region of the boundary layer. For a simple heat transfer promoter, the heat transfer coefficients increase by a peak value of approximately 37% in the downstream region of the promoter compared with those in the usual turbulent natural convection boundary layer. It is found from flow visualization and simultaneous measurements of the flow and thermal fields with hot- and cold-wires that such increase of heat transfer coefficients is mainly caused by the deflection of flows toward the outer region of the boundary layer and the invasion of low-temperature fluids from the outer region to the near-wall region with large-scale vortex motions riding out the promoter. However, heat transfer coefficients for a split heat transfer promoter exhibit an increase in peak value of approximately 60% in the downstream region of the promoter. Flow visualization and PIV measurements show that such remarkable heat transfer enhancement is attributed to longitudinal vortices generated by flows passing through the clearances of the promoter in addition to large-scale vortex motions riding out the promoter. Consequently, it is concluded that heat transfer enhancement of the turbulent natural convection boundary layer can be substantially achieved in a wide area of the turbulent natural convection boundary layer by employing multiple column split heat transfer promoters. It may be expected that the heat transfer enhancement in excess of approximately 40% can be accomplished by inserting such promoters

Comparison of numerical results with experimental data for single-phase natural convection in an experimental sodium loop. [LMFBR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ribando, R.J.

1979-01-01

A comparison is made between computed results and experimental data for a single-phase natural convection test in an experimental sodium loop. The test was conducted in the Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety (THORS) facility, an engineering-scale high temperature sodium loop at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used for thermal-hydraulic testing of simulated Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) subassemblies at normal and off-normal operating conditions. Heat generation in the 19 pin assembly during the test was typical of decay heat levels. The test chosen for analysis in this paper was one of seven natural convection runs conducted in the facility using a variety of initial conditions and testing parameters. Specifically, in this test the bypass line was open to simulate a parallel heated assembly and the test was begun with a pump coastdown from a small initial forced flow. The computer program used to analyze the test, LONAC (LOw flow and NAtural Convection) is an ORNL-developed, fast-running, one-dimensional, single-phase, finite-difference model used for simulating forced and free convection transients in the THORS loop.

Simulation of natural convection in a rectangular loop using finite elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pepper, D.W.; Hamm, L.L.; Kehoe, A.B.

1984-01-01

A two-dimensional finite-element analysis of natural convection in a rectangular loop is presented. A psi-omega formulation of the Boussinesque approximation to the Navier-Stokes equation is solved by the false transient technique. Streamlines and isotherms at Ra = 10 4 are shown for three different modes of heating. The results indicate that corner effects should be considered when modeling flow patterns in thermosyphons

Solution for laminar natural convection flows in a square cavity with temperature dependent viscosity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez, J.G. [Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York, NY (United States)

1995-12-31

This paper presents an examination of numerical results for the buoyancy-driven convection heat transfer problem, in a two-dimensional enclosure under steady-state, laminar, incompressible, and temperature dependent viscosity fluid flow conditions. The vertical walls are exposed to different temperatures and the top and bottom are insulated. Rayleigh numbers of 10{sup 4}, 10{sup 5}, and 10{sup 6} are considered. Specific heat, thermal conductivity, and the thermal expansion coefficient are assumed constant. Density variation is included using the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation. The results are obtained using the SIMPLEC solution technique based on a power-law, finite-volume discretization scheme. The hydrodynamic and thermal fields are presented at various locations in the enclosures.

Asymptotic solution of natural convection problem in a square cavity heated from below

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grundmann, M; Mojtabi, A; vantHof, B

Studies a two-dimensional natural convection in a porous, square cavity using a regular asymptotic development in powers of the Rayleigh number. Carries the approximation through to the 34th order. Analyses convergence of the resulting series for the Nusselt number in both monocellular and

Natural convection in horizontal fluid layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suo-Antilla, A.J.

1977-02-01

The experimental work includes developing and using a thermal convection cell to obtain measurements of the heat flux and turbulent core temperature of a horizontal layer of fluid heated internally and subject to both stabilizing and destabilizing temperature differences. The ranges of Rayleigh numbers tested were 10 7 equal to or less than R/sub I/ equal to or less than 10 13 and -10 10 equal to or less than R/sub E/ equal to or less than 10 10 . Power integral methods were found to be adequate for interpolating and extrapolating the data. The theoretical work consists of the derivation, solution and use of the mean field equations for study of thermally driven convection in horizontal layers of infinite extent. The equations were derived by a separation of variables technique where the horizontal directions were described by periodic structures and the vertical being some function of z. The derivation resulted in a coupled set of momentum and energy equations. The equations were simplified by using the infinite Prandtl number limit and neglecting direct intermodal interaction. Solutions to these equations are used to predict the existence of multi-wavenumber flows at all supercritical Rayleigh numbers. Subsequent inspection of existing experimental photographs of convecting fluids confirms their existence. The onset of time dependence is found to coincide with the onset of the second convective mode. Each mode is found to consist of two wavenumbers and typically the velocity and temperature fields of the right modal branch are found to be out of phase

Formulation of natural convection around repository for dual reciprocity boundary element solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrankar, L.; Sarler, B.

1998-01-01

The disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in deep geological formations is of pronounced technological importance for nuclear safety. The understanding of related fluid flow, heat and mass transport in geological systems is of great interest. This article prepares necessary physical, mathematical and numerical fundamentals for computational modeling of related phenomena. The porous media is described by the simple Darcy law and momentum-energy coupling is due to Boussinesq approximation. The Dual Reciprocity of Boundary Element Method (DRBEM) is used for solving coupled mass, momentum and energy equations in two-dimensions for the steady buoyancy induced convection problem in an semi-infinite porous media. It is structured by weighting with the fundamental solution of the Laplace equation. The inverse multi quadrics are used in the DRBEM transformation. The solution is obtained in an iterative way.(author)

Adiabatic partition effect on natural convection heat transfer inside a square cavity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahmoudi Nezhad, Sajjad; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza; yousefi, Tooraj

2018-01-01

A steady state and two-dimensional laminar free convection heat transfer in a partitioned cavity with horizontal adiabatic and isothermal side walls is investigated using both experimental and numerical approaches. The experiments and numerical simulations are carried out using a Mach......-Zehnder interferometer and a finite volume code, respectively. A horizontal and adiabatic partition, with angle of θ is adjusted such that it separates the cavity into two identical parts. Effects of this angel as well as Rayleigh number on the heat transfer from the side-heated walls are investigated in this study...... partition angle, the results show that the average Nusselt number and consequently the heat transfer enhance as the Rayleigh number increases. However, for a given Rayleigh number the maximum and the minimum heat transfer occurs at θ = 45°and θ = 90°, respectively. Two responsible mechanisms...

Three dimensional modeling on airflow, heat and mass transfer in partially impermeable enclosure containing agricultural produce during natural convective cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chourasia, M.K.; Goswami, T.K.

2007-01-01

A three dimensional model was developed to simulate the transport phenomena in heat and mass generating porous medium cooled under natural convective environment. Unlike the previous works on this aspect, the present model was aimed for bulk stored agricultural produce contained in a permeable package placed on a hard surface. This situation made the bottom of the package impermeable to fluid flow as well as moisture transfer and adiabatic to heat transfer. The velocity vectors, isotherms and contours of rate of moisture loss were presented during transient cooling as well as at steady state using the commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code based on the finite volume technique. The CFD model was validated using the experimental data on the time-temperature history as well as weight loss obtained from a bag of potatoes kept in a cold store. The simulated and experimental values on temperature and moisture loss of the product were found to be in good agreement

Natural convective flows in a horizontal channel provided with heating isothermal blocks: Effect of the inter blocks spacing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakkas, M.; Hasnaoui, M.; Amahmid, A.

2010-01-01

A numerical study of laminar steady natural convection induced in a two dimensional horizontal channel provided with rectangular heating blocks, periodically mounted on its lower wall, is carried out. The blocks' surface temperature, T H ' , is maintained constant and the former are connected with adiabatic surfaces. The upper wall of the channel is maintained cold at a temperature T C ' H ' . Fluid flow, temperature fields and heat transfer rates are presented for different combinations of the governing parameters which are the Rayleigh number (10 2 ≤Ra≤2x10 6 ), the blocks' spacing (1/4≤C=l ' /H ' ≤1), the blocks' height (1/8≤B=h ' /H ' ≤1/2) and the relative width of the blocks (A=(L ' -l ' )/H ' =1/2). The results obtained in the case of air (Pr = 0.72) show that the flow structure and the heat transfer are significantly influenced by the control parameters. It is found that there are situations where the increase of the blocks' spacing leads to a reduction of heat transfer.

Experimental investigation of the influence of the air jet trajectory on convective heat transfer in buildings equipped with air-based and radiant cooling systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Le Dreau, Jerome; Heiselberg, Per; Jensen, Rasmus Lund

2015-01-01

-state and dynamic conditions. With the air-based cooling system, a dependency of the convective heat transfer on the air jet trajectory has been observed. New correlations have been developed, introducing a modified Archimedes number to account for the air flow pattern. The accuracy of the new correlations has been...... evaluated to±15%. Besides the study with an air-based cooling system, the convective heat transfer with a radiant cooling system has also been investigated. The convective flow at the activated surface is mainly driven by natural convection. For other surfaces, the complexity of the flow and the large......The complexity and diversity of airflow in buildings make the accurate definition of convective heat transfer coefficients (CHTCs) difficult. In a full-scale test facility, the convective heat transfer of two cooling systems (active chilled beam and radiant wall) has been investigated under steady...

Numerical simulation of double-diffusive mixed convective flow in rectangular enclosure with insulated moving lid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teamah, M.A. [Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Mech. Eng. Dept, Alexandria (Egypt); El-Maghlany, W.M. [Faculty of Engineering, Suez Canal University, Ismailia (Egypt)

2010-09-15

The present study is concerned with the mixed convection in a rectangular lid-driven cavity under the combined buoyancy effects of thermal and mass diffusion. Double-diffusive convective flow in a rectangular enclosure with moving upper surface is studied numerically. Both upper and lower surfaces are being insulated and impermeable. Constant different temperatures and concentration are imposed along the vertical walls of the enclosure, steady state laminar regime is considered. The transport equations for continuity, momentum, energy and spices transfer are solved. The numerical results are reported for the effect of Richardson number, Lewis number, and buoyancy ratio on the iso-contours of stream line, temperature, and concentration. In addition, the predicted results for both local and average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are presented and discussed for various parametric conditions. This study was done for 0.1 <= Le <= 50 and Prandtl number Pr = 0.7. Through out the study the Grashof number and aspect ratio are kept constant at 10{sup 4} and 2 respectively and -10 <= N <= 10, while Richardson number has been varied from 0.01 to 10 to simulate forced convection dominated flow, mixed convection and natural convection dominated flow. (authors)

CONVECTION IN CONDENSIBLE-RICH ATMOSPHERES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, F. [Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Pierrehumbert, R. T., E-mail: fding@uchicago.edu [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)

2016-05-01

Condensible substances are nearly ubiquitous in planetary atmospheres. For the most familiar case—water vapor in Earth’s present climate—the condensible gas is dilute, in the sense that its concentration is everywhere small relative to the noncondensible background gases. A wide variety of important planetary climate problems involve nondilute condensible substances. These include planets near or undergoing a water vapor runaway and planets near the outer edge of the conventional habitable zone, for which CO{sub 2} is the condensible. Standard representations of convection in climate models rely on several approximations appropriate only to the dilute limit, while nondilute convection differs in fundamental ways from dilute convection. In this paper, a simple parameterization of convection valid in the nondilute as well as dilute limits is derived and used to discuss the basic character of nondilute convection. The energy conservation properties of the scheme are discussed in detail and are verified in radiative-convective simulations. As a further illustration of the behavior of the scheme, results for a runaway greenhouse atmosphere for both steady instellation and seasonally varying instellation corresponding to a highly eccentric orbit are presented. The latter case illustrates that the high thermal inertia associated with latent heat in nondilute atmospheres can damp out the effects of even extreme seasonal forcing.

Thermal Sizing of Heat Exchanger Tubes for Air Natural Convective Cooling System of Emergency Cooling Tank

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Myoung Jun; Lee, Hee Joon [Kookmin Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Moon, Joo Hyung; Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Youngin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

For the long operation of secondary passive cooling system, however, water level goes down by evaporation in succession at emergency cooling tank. At the end there would be no place to dissipate heat from condensation heat exchanger. Therefore, steam cooling heat exchanger is put on the top of emergency cooling tank to maintain appropriate water level by collecting evaporating steam. Steam cooling heat exchanger is installed inside an air chimney and evaporated steam is cooled down by air natural convection. In this study, thermal sizing of steam cooling heat exchanger under air natural convection was conducted by TSCON program for the design of experimental setup as shown in Fig. 2. Thermal sizing of steam cooling heat exchanger tube under air natural convection was conducted by TSCON program for the design of experimental setup. 25 - 1' tubes which has a length 1687 mm was determined as steam cooling heat exchanger at 2 kW heat load and 100 liter water pool in emergency cooling tank (experimental limit condition). The corresponding width of two tubes is 50 mm and has 5 by 5 tube array for heat exchanger.

Thermal Sizing of Heat Exchanger Tubes for Air Natural Convective Cooling System of Emergency Cooling Tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Myoung Jun; Lee, Hee Joon; Moon, Joo Hyung; Bae, Youngmin; Kim, Youngin

2014-01-01

For the long operation of secondary passive cooling system, however, water level goes down by evaporation in succession at emergency cooling tank. At the end there would be no place to dissipate heat from condensation heat exchanger. Therefore, steam cooling heat exchanger is put on the top of emergency cooling tank to maintain appropriate water level by collecting evaporating steam. Steam cooling heat exchanger is installed inside an air chimney and evaporated steam is cooled down by air natural convection. In this study, thermal sizing of steam cooling heat exchanger under air natural convection was conducted by TSCON program for the design of experimental setup as shown in Fig. 2. Thermal sizing of steam cooling heat exchanger tube under air natural convection was conducted by TSCON program for the design of experimental setup. 25 - 1' tubes which has a length 1687 mm was determined as steam cooling heat exchanger at 2 kW heat load and 100 liter water pool in emergency cooling tank (experimental limit condition). The corresponding width of two tubes is 50 mm and has 5 by 5 tube array for heat exchanger

Convective nature of the planimetric instability in meandering river dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Camporeale, Carlo; Ridolfi, Luca

2006-02-01

The convective nature of the linear instability of meandering river dynamics is analytically demonstrated and the corresponding Green's function is derived. The wave packet due to impulsive disturbance migrates along a river either downstream or upstream, depending on the subresonant or superresonant conditions. The influence of the parameters that govern the meandering process is shown and the role of the fluid dynamic detail used to describe the morphodynamic problem is discussed. A numerical simulation of the river planimetry is also developed.

Double-diffusive natural convection in an enclosure filled with nanofluid using ISPH method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdelraheem M. Aly

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The double-diffusive natural convection in an enclosure filled with nanofluid is studied using ISPH method. The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. In addition the thermal energy equations include regular diffusion and cross-diffusion terms. In ISPH algorithm, a semi implicit velocity correction procedure is utilized and the pressure is implicitly evaluated by solving pressure Poisson equation. The results are presented with flow configurations, isotherms, concentration and nanoparticle volume fraction contours and average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers for different cases. The results from this investigation are well validated and have favorable comparisons with previously published results. It is found that, among all cases, a good natural convection can be obtained by considering the double diffusive case. An increase in Soret number accompanied by a decrease in Dufour number results in an increase in average Nusselt number and a decrease in average Sherwood number.

Natural Convection Heat Transfer of Oxide Pool During In-Vessel Retention of Core Melts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Hae-Kyun; Chung, Bum-Jin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The integrity of reactor vessel may be threatened by the heat generation at the oxide pool and to the natural convection heat transfer to the reactor vessel by those two layers. Therefore, External Reactor Vessel Cooling (ERVC) is performed in order to secure the integrity of the reactor vessel. Whether the IVR(In-Vessel Retention) Strategy can be applicable to a larger reactor is the technical concern, which nourished the research interest for the natural convection heat transfer of metal and oxide pool and ERVC performance. Especially, it is hard to simulate oxide pool by experimentally due to the high level of buoyancy. Moreover, the volumetrically exothermic working fluid should be adopted to simulate the behavior of the core melts. Therefore, the volumetric heat sources that immersed in the working fluid have been adopted to simulate oxide pool by experiment. We investigated oxide pool with two different designs of the volumetric heat sources that adopted previous experiments. The investigation was performed by mass transfer experiment using analogy between heat and mass transfers. The results were compared to previous studies. We simulated the natural convection heat transfer of the oxide pool by mass transfer experiment. The isothermally cooled condition was established by limiting current technique firstly. The results were compared to previous studies under identical design of the volumetric heat sources. The average Nu's of the curvature and the top plate were close to the previous studies.

Numerical simulation and experimental research for the natural convection in an annular space in LMFBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhou; Luo Rui; Yang Xianyong; Liang Taofeng

1999-01-01

In a pool fast reactor, the roof structure is penetrated by a number of pumps and heat exchanger units to form some annular spaces with various sizes. The natural convection of argon gas happens in the pool sky and the small annular gaps between those components and the roof containment due to thermosiphonic effects. The natural convection is studied experimentally and numerically to predict the temperature distributions inside the annular space and its surrounding structure. Numerical simulation is performed by using LVEL turbulence model and extending computational domain to the entire pool sky. The predicted results are in fair agreement with the experimental data. In comparison with commonly used k-ε model, LVEL model has better accuracy for the turbulent flow in a gap space

Study on Natural Convection around a vertical heated rod using PIV/LIF technique,

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szijarto, R.; Yamaji, B.; Aszodi, A.

2010-01-01

The Nuclear Training Reactor of the Institute of Nuclear Techniques (Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary) is a pool-type reactor with light water moderator and with a maximum thermal power of 100 kW. The fuel elements are cooled by natural convection. An experimental setup was built to analyse the nature of the natural convection around a heated rod. The flow field was investigated using an electrically heated rod, which models the geometry of a fuel pin in the training reactor. The electric power of the model rod is variable between 0-500 W. The rod was placed in a square-based glass tank. Particle Image Velocimetry and Laser Induced Fluorescence measurement techniques were used to study the velocity and temperature field in a two-dimensional area. The thermal and the hydraulic boundary layers were detected near a rod in a lower section of the aquarium. The laminar-turbulent transition of the flow regime was observed, the maximum velocity of the up-flow was 0.025-0.05 m/s. From the temperature measurements the local heat transfer coefficient was estimated. (Authors)

Prediction of flow instability during natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farhadi, Kazem

2005-01-01

The occurrence of flow excursion instability during passive heat removal for Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) has been analyzed at low-pressure and low-mass rate of flow conditions without boiling taking place. Pressure drop-flow rate characteristics in the general case are determined upon a developed code for this purpose. The code takes into account variations of different pressure drop components caused by different powers as well as different core inlet temperatures. The analysis revealed the fact that the instability can actually occur in the natural convection mode for a range of powers per fuel plates at a predetermined inlet temperature with fixed geometry of the core. Low mass rate of flow and high sub-cooling are the two important conditions for the occurrence of static instability in the TRR. The calculated results are compared with the existing data in the literature. (author)

Grid dependency of wall heat transfer for simulation of natural convection flow problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Seppänen, O.; Säteri, J.

2007-01-01

In the indoor environment natural convection is a well known air flow phenomenon. In numerical simulations applying the CFD technique it is also known as a flow problem that is difficult to solve. Alternatives are available to overcome the limitations of the default approach (standard k-e model with

A computational fluid dynamics model for designing heat exchangers based on natural convection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dirkse, M.H.; Loon, van W.K.P.; Walle, van der T.; Speetjens, S.L.; Bot, G.P.A.

2006-01-01

A computational fluid dynamics model was created for the design of a natural convection shell-and-tube heat exchanger with baffles. The flow regime proved to be turbulent and this was modelled using the k¿¿ turbulence model. The features of the complex geometry were simplified considerably resulting

Transient Convection, Diffusion, and Adsorption in Surface-Based Biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Rasmus; Bruus, Henrik; Callisen, Thomas H.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical and computational investigation of convection, diffusion, and adsorption in surface-based biosensors. In particular, we study the transport dynamics in a model geometry of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. The work, however, is equally relevant for other...... microfluidic surface-based biosensors, operating under flow conditions. A widely adopted approximate quasi-steady theory to capture convective and diffusive mass transport is reviewed, and an analytical solution is presented. An expression of the Damköhler number is derived in terms of the nondimensional...... concentration to the maximum surface capacity is critical for reliable use of the quasi-steady theory. Finally, our results provide users of surface-based biosensors with a tool for correcting experimentally obtained adsorption rate constants....

Steady parallel flow in an evaporating fluid heated from sidewalls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Kausik S.

2009-01-01

Evaporation is ubiquitous in nature, but very few attempts have been made in the past to couple the effects of evaporation with fluid flow behavior. In this theoretical paper we have discussed the effects of evaporation on the dynamics of steady state thermocapillary convection in a two-dimensional rectangular container. The liquid is heated by differentially heated sidewalls and mass loss from the interface due to evaporation is compensated by the liquid entering into the container through a lower inlet, thus keeping the thickness of the liquid layer constant. We show that for an evaporating liquid one can obtain a plane parallel base state profile which depends on the evaporative mass flux.

Transient heat transfer for forced convection flow of helium gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Qiusheng; Fukuda, Katsuya; Sasaki, Kenji; Yamamoto, Manabu

1999-01-01

Transient heat transfer coefficients for forced convection flow of helium gas over a horizontal cylinder were measured using a forced convection test loop. The platinum heater with a diameter of 1.0 mm was heated by electric current with an exponential increase of Q 0 exp(t/τ). It was clarified that the heat transfer coefficient approaches the steady-state one for the period τ over 1 s, and it becomes higher for the period of τ shorter than 1 s. The transient heat transfer shows less dependent on the gas flowing velocity when the period becomes very shorter. Semi-empirical correlations for steady-state and transient heat transfer were developed based on the experimental data. (author)

Comparison of numerical results with experimental data for single-phase natural convection in an experimental sodium loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribando, R.J.

1979-01-01

A comparison is made between computed results and experimental data for single-phase natural convection in an experimental sodium loop. The tests were conducted in the Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety (THORS) Facility, an engineering-scale high temperature sodium facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory used for thermal-hydraulic testing of simulated LMFBR subassemblies at normal and off-normal operating conditions. Heat generation in the 19 pin assembly during these tests was typical of decay heat levels. Tests were conducted both with zero initial forced flow and with a small initial forced flow. The bypass line was closed in most tests, but open in one. The computer code used to analyze these tests [LONAC (LOw flow and NAtural Convection)] is an ORNL-developed, fast running, one-dimensional, single-phase finite difference model for simulating forced and free convection transients in the THORS loop

Study of transient and permanent flow in the event of natural convection in a confined environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenchine, Denis.

1978-01-01

This report deals with natural convection in a confined environment, in connection with the studies on the safety of nuclear reactors of the sodium cooled breeder type (possibilities of removing the residual power of the fuel by natural convection in the liquid sodium). These natural convection exchanges develop in a confined environment between various sodium volumes separated by metallic structures. The study covered a cavity heated by the roof or by the bottom and cooled laterally. The results are compared with those achieved along heating plates, vertical or horizontal, in an infinite medium and the effect of the thermal limit conditions are highlighted by comparison with the case of bottom heated and roof cooled cavities. Placed in a bidimensional geometry situation, with water as fluid, this leads to tackling the problems of similitude between water and sodium flows. A digital code has been developed in plane bidimensional geometry with a laminar and permanent flow. A description is given of the 'BIDIM' experimental rig as well as the measuring and display devices. A permanent flow study of the two previously mentioned configurations produces references for the analysis of transient flows, particularly in the case of the heating bottom (field of medium temperatures and medium exchange coefficient). The turbulence intensity and frequency distribution determinations of the temperature changes are given. Then the determinations of the temperature changes are given. Then the determinations in transient flow are dealt with in the case of the heating bottom. The cavity being initially cold, a power rise is initiated in the heating plates and the establishment and growth of natural convection and the change in the field of medium temperatures and exchange coefficient are studied [fr

Numerical simulation of natural convection in annuli with internal fins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Man Yeong; Kim, Joo Goo

2004-01-01

The solution for the natural convection in internally finned horizontal annuli is obtained by using a numerical simulation of time-dependent and two-dimensional governing equations. The fins existing in annuli influence the flow pattern, temperature distribution and heat transfer rate. The variations of the fin configuration suppress or accelerate the free convective effects compared to those of the smooth tubes. The effects of fin configuration, number of fins and ratio of annulus gap width to the inner cylinder radius on the fluid flow and heat transfer in annuli are demonstrated by the distribution of the velocity vector, isotherms and streamlines. The governing equations are solved efficiently by using a parallel implementation. The technique is adopted for reduction of the computation cost. The parallelization is performed with the domain decomposition technique and message passing between sub-domains on the basis of the MPI library. The results from parallel computation reveal in consistency with those of the sequential program. Moreover, the speed-up ratio shows linearity with the number of processor

Study of heat removal by natural convection from the internal core catcher in PFBR using water model experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jasmin Sudha, A.; Punitha, G.; Das, S.K.; Lydia, G.; Murthy, S.S.; Malarvizhi, B.; Harvey, J.; Kannan, S.E.

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: In the event of a core meltdown accident in a Fast Breeder Reactor, the molten core material settling on the bottom of the main vessel can endanger the structural integrity of the main vessel. In the design of Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in India, the construction of which is about to commence, a core catcher is provided as the internal core retention device to collect and retain the core debris in a coolable configuration. Heat transfer by natural convection above and below the core catcher plate, in the zone beneath the core support structure is evaluated from water mockup experiments in the 1:4 geometrically scaled setup. These studies were undertaken towards comparison of experimentally measured temperatures at different locations with the numerical results. The core catcher assembly consists of a core catcher plate, a heat shield plate and a chimney. Decay heat from the core debris is simulated by electrical heating of the heat shield plate. An opening is provided in the cover plate to reproduce the situation in the actual accident where the core debris would have breached a part of the core support structure. Experiments were carried out with different heat flux levels prevailing upon the heat shield plate. Temperature monitoring was done at more than 100 locations, distributed both on the solid components and in water. The temperature data was analysed to get the temperature profile at different steady state conditions. Flow visualisation was also carried out using water soluble dye to establish the direction of the convective currents. The captured images show that water flows through the slots provided in the top portion of the chimney in the upward direction as evidenced from the diffusion of dye injected inside the chimney. Both the temperature data and flow visualisation confirm mixing of water through the opening in the core support structure which indicates that natural convection is set up in that zone

Natural convection in square enclosure induced by inner circular cylinder with time-periodic pulsating temperature

KAUST Repository

Huang, Zhu; Zhang, Wei; Xi, Guang

2015-01-01

The periodic unsteady natural convection flow and heat transfer in a square enclosure containing a concentric circular cylinder is numerically studied. The temperature of the inner circular cylinder fluctuates periodically with time at higher

Radiation effects on bifurcation and dual solutions in transient natural convection in a horizontal annulus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Kang; Yi, Hong-Liang, E-mail: yihongliang@hit.edu.cn; Tan, He-Ping, E-mail: tanheping@hit.edu.cn [School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2014-05-15

Transitions and bifurcations of transient natural convection in a horizontal annulus with radiatively participating medium are numerically investigated using the coupled lattice Boltzmann and direct collocation meshless (LB-DCM) method. As a hybrid approach based on a common multi-scale Boltzmann-type model, the LB-DCM scheme is easy to implement and has an excellent flexibility in dealing with the irregular geometries. Separate particle distribution functions in the LBM are used to calculate the density field, the velocity field and the thermal field. In the radiatively participating medium, the contribution of thermal radiation to natural convection must be taken into account, and it is considered as a radiative term in the energy equation that is solved by the meshless method with moving least-squares (MLS) approximation. The occurrence of various instabilities and bifurcative phenomena is analyzed for different Rayleigh number Ra and Prandtl number Pr with and without radiation. Then, bifurcation diagrams and dual solutions are presented for relevant radiative parameters, such as convection-radiation parameter Rc and optical thickness τ. Numerical results show that the presence of volumetric radiation changes the static temperature gradient of the fluid, and generally results in an increase in the flow critical value. Besides, the existence and development of dual solutions of transient convection in the presence of radiation are greatly affected by radiative parameters. Finally, the advantage of LB-DCM combination is discussed, and the potential benefits of applying the LB-DCM method to multi-field coupling problems are demonstrated.

Stellar convection and dynamo theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jennings, R L

1989-10-01

In considering the large scale stellar convection problem the outer layers of a star are modelled as two co-rotating plane layers coupled at a fluid/fluid interface. Heating from below causes only the upper fluid to convect, although this convection can penetrate into the lower fluid. Stability analysis is then used to find the most unstable mode of convection. With parameters appropriate to the Sun the most unstable mode is steady convection in thin cells (aspect ratio {approx equal} 0.2) filling the convection zone. There is negligible vertical motion in the lower fluid, but considerable thermal penetration, and a large jump in helicity at the interface, which has implications for dynamo theory. An {alpha}{omega} dynamo is investigated in isolation from the convection problem. Complexity is included by allowing both latitudinal and time dependence in the magnetic fields. The nonlinear dynamics of the resulting partial differential equations are analysed in considerable detail. On varying the main control parameter D (the dynamo number), many transitions of behaviour are found involving many forms of time dependence, but not chaos. Further, solutions which break equatorial symmetry are common and provide a theoretical explanation of solar observations which have this symmetry. Overall the behaviour was more complicated than expected. In particular, there were multiple stable solutions at fixed D, meaning that similar stars can have very different magnetic patterns, depending upon their history. (author).

Correlation development of natural convection heat transfer in consideration of aspect ratio change and coolant boiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, L. J.; Cho, Y. L.; Kang, K. H.; Kim, S. B.; Kim, H. D.; Cho, J. S.; Jung, C. H.

1999-01-01

A new correlation on natural convection heat transfer with crust formation in the molten metal pool has been developed in consideration of coolant boiling effect and of aspect ratio change by an increase in crust thickness. Two test results of the convection cooling case, natural and forced convection cooling cases, and of the boiling case were used in the present study. The experimental results have shown that the Nusselt number of the case with boiling condition in the molten metal pool is greater than that of the case with non-boiling condition at the same Rayleigh number. Even though the Rayleigh number rapidly decreases due to an increase of the crust thickness, the Nusselt number does not rapidly decrease because of the aspect ratio effect. From the experimental results, the new correlation between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool with the crust formation has been developed as Nu 0.051(Ra) 1/3 (AR) . 0 .2441 (Φ) 0.025 using Globe and Dropkin correlation

Characteristic of The RSG-Gas Oxide Fuel Element Temperature Under Forced Convection And Natural Convection Mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudarmono

2000-01-01

One of the methods used for fuel element plate temperature measurement in RSG-Gas is a direct measurement. Evaluation on the measurement results were done by using HEATHYDE and NATCON code, which was then compared to the safety margin criteria. Results of thermalhydraulic measurement on transitional core both under forced and natural convection were compared with the results of calculations using the two codes. Measurement result for maximum fuel element plate temperature at typical working core of 30 MW, was 121 o C. The deviation between calculation and measurement result was under 9.75 %. Under normal operation, safety margin on DNB and OFI are 3.56 and 2.60, respectively. Natcon calculation result showed that the typical working core under the natural circulation mode, an onset of nucleate boiling (ONB)occurred at a core power level of 826 kW (2.8% of the nominal power)

Scaling of the steady state and stability behaviour of single and two-phase natural circulation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayan, P.K.; Nayak, A.K.; Bade, M.H.; Kumar, N.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2002-01-01

Scaling methods for both single-phase and two-phase natural circulation systems have been presented. For single-phase systems, simulation of the steady state flow can be achieved by preserving just one nondimensional parameter. For uniform diameter two-phase systems also, it is possible to simulate the steady state behaviour with just one non-dimensional parameter. Simulation of the stability behaviour requires geometric similarity in addition to the similarity of the physical parameters appearing in the governing equations. The scaling laws proposed have been tested with experimental data in case of single-phase natural circulation. (author)

'Butterfly effect' in porous Bénard convection heated from below

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siri, Z.; Liew, K. Y. [Institute of Mathematical Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Ibrahim, R. I. [Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, 71800 Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus (Malaysia)

2014-07-10

Transition from steady to chaos for the onset of Bénard convection in porous medium was analyzed. The governing equation is reduced to ordinary differential equation and solved using built in MATLAB ODE45. The transition from steady to chaos take over from a limit cycle followed by homoclinic explosion.

Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection in Heterogeneous Porous media for CO2 Geological Storage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ranganathan, P.; Farajzadeh, R.; Bruining, J.; Zitha, P.L.J.

2012-01-01

We report a modeling and numerical simulation study of density-driven natural convection during geological CO2 storage in heterogeneous formations. We consider an aquifer or depleted oilfield overlain by gaseous CO2, where the water density increases due to CO2 dissolution. The heterogeneity of the

Steady state magnetic field configurations for the earth's magnetotail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hau, L.N.; Wolf, R.A.; Voigt, G.H.; Wu, C.C.

1989-01-01

The authors present a two-dimensional, force-balanced magnetic field model in which flux tubes have constant pVγ throughout an extended region of the nightside plasma sheet, between approximately 36 R E geocentric distance and the region of the inner edge of the plasma sheet. They have thus demonstrated the theoretical existence of a steady state magnetic field configuration that is force-balanced and also consistent with slow, lossless, adiabatic, earthward convection within the limit of the ideal MHD (isotropic pressure, perfect conductivity). The numerical solution was constructed for a two-dimensional magnetosphere with a rectangular magnetopause and nonflaring tail. The primary characteristics of the steady state convection solution are (1) a pressure maximum just tailward of the inner edge of the plasma sheet and (2) a deep, broad minimum in equatorial magnetic field strength B ze , also just tailward of the inner edge. The results are consistent with Erickson's (1985) convection time sequences, which exhibited analogous pressure peaks and B ze minima. Observations do not indicate the existence of a B ze minimum, on the average. They suggest that the configurations with such deep minima in B ze may be tearing-mode unstable, thus leading to substorm onset in the inner plasma sheet

Natural convection and boiling heat transfer of a liquid metal in a magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seki, Masahiro; Kawamura, Hiroshi

1983-02-01

A liquid metal is often assumed as a coolant and a breeding material of a Tokamak fusion reactor. However, many problems on the thermo-hydraulics of a liquid metal in a magnetic field are still remained to be studied. In the present report, natural convection and boiling of a liquid metal in a strong magnetic field are studied to examine a fundamental feasibility of a fusion reactor cooled by a liquid metal. In the experimental study of the natural convection, the circulation of a liquid metal was found to be surpressed even by a magnetic field parallel to the gravity. A numerical study has confirmed the conclusion drawn by the experiment. In the study of boiling heat transfer, stable boiling of a liquid metal has been found also in a strong magnetic field. The burnout heat flux hardly affected by the magnetic field. These indicate a fundamental feasibility of the liquid-metal cooling for a Tokamak fusion reactor. (author)

SULTAN test facility for large-scale vessel coolability in natural convection at low pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouge, S.

1997-01-01

The SULTAN facility (France/CEA/CENG) was designed to study large-scale structure coolability by water in boiling natural convection. The objectives are to measure the main characteristics of two-dimensional, two-phase flow, in order to evaluate the recirculation mass flow in large systems, and the limits of the critical heat flux (CHF) for a wide range of thermo-hydraulic (pressure, 0.1-0.5 MPa; inlet temperature, 50-150 C; mass flow velocity, 5-4400 kg s -1 m -2 ; flux, 100-1000 kW m -2 ) and geometric (gap, 3-15 cm; inclination, 0-90 ) parameters. This paper makes available the experimental data obtained during the first two campaigns (90 , 3 cm; 10 , 15 cm): pressure drop differential pressure (DP) = f(G), CHF limits, local profiles of temperature and void fraction in the gap, visualizations. Other campaigns should confirm these first results, indicating a favourable possibility of the coolability of large surfaces under natural convection. (orig.)

A generalised correlation for the steady state flow in single-phase natural circulation loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayan, P.K.; Bade, M.H.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.; Venkat Raj, V.

2000-08-01

To establish the heat transport capability of natural circulation loops, it is essential to know the flow rate. A generalized correlation for steady state flow valid for uniform and non-uniform diameter loops has been theoretically derived

Parameters, which effect the mass flow in the PRHRS under a natural convection condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y. J.; Lee, G. H.; Kim, H. C.; Kim, K. K.; Zee, S. Q.

2004-01-01

Small and medium sized integral type reactors for the diverse utilization of nuclear energy are getting much attention from the international nuclear community. They diversify the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the areas of seawater desalination, district heating, industrial heat-generation process and ship propulsion. The SMART (System integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) is a small modular integral type pressurized water reactor, which was developed for the dual purposes application of seawater desalination and small-scaled power generation in KOREA. The reactor is designed for a forced convection core cooling during start-up and normal operating conditions and for a natural circulation core cooling during accidental conditions. The main safety objective of the SMART is to increase the degree of inherent safety features by advanced designs such as a passive residual heat removal system (PRHRS). The passive residual heat removal system removes the core decay heat and sensible heat by a natural circulation in the case of emergency conditions. This study focuses on the flow behavior in the passive residual heat removal system of the integral reactor. The system necessitates a hydraulic head to achieve the required natural circulation flow rate, which in turn, may cause a larger two-phase pressure drop and flow oscillation. Also, it is of interest to investigate the complex effects of the boiling and condensation in such low frequency thermo-hydraulic oscillations. Thermal hydraulic analysis for the passive residual heat removal system has been carried out by means of the MARS code for a full range of reactor operating conditions. The MARS code has been developed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute by consolidating and restructuring the RELAP5/MOD3.2 and COBRA-TF which has the capabilities of analyzing the one-dimensional or three-dimensional best estimated thermal-hydraulic system and the fuel responses of the light water reactor transients. A selected

Natural convection cooling of LEU cores for Pakistan research reactor-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, L.A.; Bokhari, I.H.; Akhtar, K.M.

1991-08-01

The first high power and equilibrium LEU cores of PARR-1 have been analysed to assess the maximum operating power based on natural convection cooling, need for forced cooling to remove the decay heat and to estimate safety margins that commensurate with the predetermined power limit. Computer code NATCON and standard correlations have been used for the analysis. The parameters studied includes coolant velocity, temperature distribution in the core, heat fluxes at onset of nucleate boiling, pulsed boiling and burnup. (author)

Modeling of plasma-sheet convection: implications for substorms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erickson, G.M.

1985-01-01

An answer is suggested to the question of why plasma and magnetic energy accumulate in the Earth's magnetotail to be released in sporadic events, namely substorms. It is shown that the idea of steady convection is inconsistent with the idea of slow, approximately lossless, plasma convection in a long, closed-field-line region that extends into a long magnetotail, such as occurs during Earthward convection in the Earth's plasma sheet. This inconsistency is argued generally and demonstrated specifically using several quantitative models of the Earth's magnetospheric magnetic field. These results suggest that plasma-sheet convection is necessarily time dependent. If flux tubes are to convect adiabatically earthward, the confining magnetic pressure in the tail lobes must increase with time, and the magnetotail must evolve into a more stretched configuration. Eventually, the magnetosphere must find some way to release plasma from inner-plasma-sheet flux tubes. This suggests an obvious role for the magnetospheric substorm in the convection process. To probe this process further, a two-dimensional, self-consistent, quasi-static convection model was developed. This model self consistently includes a dipole field and can reasonably account for the effects of inner-magnetospheric shielding

Adjoint optimization of natural convection problems: differentially heated cavity

Science.gov (United States)

Saglietti, Clio; Schlatter, Philipp; Monokrousos, Antonios; Henningson, Dan S.

2017-12-01

Optimization of natural convection-driven flows may provide significant improvements to the performance of cooling devices, but a theoretical investigation of such flows has been rarely done. The present paper illustrates an efficient gradient-based optimization method for analyzing such systems. We consider numerically the natural convection-driven flow in a differentially heated cavity with three Prandtl numbers (Pr=0.15{-}7) at super-critical conditions. All results and implementations were done with the spectral element code Nek5000. The flow is analyzed using linear direct and adjoint computations about a nonlinear base flow, extracting in particular optimal initial conditions using power iteration and the solution of the full adjoint direct eigenproblem. The cost function for both temperature and velocity is based on the kinetic energy and the concept of entransy, which yields a quadratic functional. Results are presented as a function of Prandtl number, time horizons and weights between kinetic energy and entransy. In particular, it is shown that the maximum transient growth is achieved at time horizons on the order of 5 time units for all cases, whereas for larger time horizons the adjoint mode is recovered as optimal initial condition. For smaller time horizons, the influence of the weights leads either to a concentric temperature distribution or to an initial condition pattern that opposes the mean shear and grows according to the Orr mechanism. For specific cases, it could also been shown that the computation of optimal initial conditions leads to a degenerate problem, with a potential loss of symmetry. In these situations, it turns out that any initial condition lying in a specific span of the eigenfunctions will yield exactly the same transient amplification. As a consequence, the power iteration converges very slowly and fails to extract all possible optimal initial conditions. According to the authors' knowledge, this behavior is illustrated here for

Natural equilibria in steady-state neutron diffusion with temperature feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pounders, J. M.; Ingram, R.

2013-01-01

The critical diffusion equation with feedback is investigated within the context of steady-state multiphysics. It is proposed that for critical configurations there is no need to include the multiplication factor k in the formulation of the diffusion equation. This is notable because exclusion of k from the coupled system of equations precludes the mathematically tenuous notion of a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. On the other hand, it is shown that if the factor k is retained in the diffusion equation, as is currently common practice, then the resulting problem is equivalent to the constrained minimization of a functional representing the critical equilibrium of neutron and temperature distributions. The unconstrained solution corresponding to k = 1 represents the natural equilibrium of a critical system at steady-state. Computational methods for solving the constrained problem (with k) are briefly reviewed from the literature and a method for the unconstrained problem (without k) is outlined. A numerical example is studied to examine the effects of the constraint in the nonlinear system. (authors)

Investigation of natural convection in Miniature Neutron Source Reactor of Isfahan by applying the porous media approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbassi, Yasser, E-mail: y.abbassi@mihanmail.ir [Department of Engineering, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Asgarian, Shahla [Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ghahremani, Esmaeel; Abbasi, Mohammad [Department of Engineering, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-12-01

Highlights: • We carried out a CFD study to investigate transient natural convection in MNSR. • We applied porous media approach to simplify the complex core of MNSR. • Method have been verified with experimental data. • Temperature difference between the core inlet and outlet has been obtained. • Flow pattern and temperature distribution have been presented. - Abstract: The small and complex core of Isfahan Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) in addition to its large tank makes a parametric study of natural convection difficult to perform in aspects of time and computational resources. In this study, in order to overcome this obstacle the porous media approximation has been used. This numerical technique includes two steps, (a) calculation of porous media variables such as porosity and pressure drops in the core region, (b) simulation of natural convection in the reactor tank by assuming the core region as a porous medium. Simulation has been carried out with ANSYS FLUENT® Academic Research, Release 16.2. The core porous medium resistance factors have been estimated to be, D{sub ij} = 1850 [1/m] and C{sub ij} = 415 [1/m{sup 2}]. Natural Convection simulation with Boussinesq approximation and variable property assumption have been performed. The experimental data and nuclear codes available in the literature, have verified the method. The average temperature difference between the experimental data and this study results was less than 0.5 °C and 2.0 °C for property variable technique and Boussinesq approximation, respectively. Temperature distribution and flow pattern in the entire reactor have been obtained. Results have shown that the temperature difference between core outlet and inlet is about 18°C and in this situation flow rate is about 0.004 kg/s. A full parametric study could be the topic of future investigations.

Visualization of Two Phase Natural Convection Flow in a Vertical Pipe using the Sulfuric Acid - Copper Sulfate Electroplating System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohk, Seung-Min; Chae, Myeong-Seon; Chung, Bum-Jin [Kyung Hee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

The passive containment cooling system (PCCS) driven by natural forces convection gain draws research interests after Fukushima NPP accident. The PCCS was classified into three categories: Containment pressure suppression, Containment passive heat removal/pressure suppression systems and Passive containment spray. Among the types of containment passive heat removal/pressure suppression systems, the system composed of an internal heat exchanger and an external coolant tank is considered. In a severe accident condition, the heat from the containment atmosphere is transferred to the outer surface of the heat exchanger by the convection and condensation of the mixture of steam and gases. On the other hand, the heat is transferred to external pool by single phase or two phase natural convection inside of heat exchanger pipes. The study aimed at investigating the influence of the diameter (D) and height (H) of the heat exchanger pipes on the single phase and two phase natural convection heat transfer. As the initial stage of the study, the two phase natural convection flow inside a vertical pipe is visualized. In order to achieve the aim with ample test rig, a sulfuric acid - cooper sulfate electroplating system was employed based on the analogy between heat and mass transfer. The reduction of hydrogen ion at the cathode surface at high potential was used to simulate the boiling phenomena. This study tried to visualize the boiling heat transfer inside a vertical pipe using a cupric acid-copper sulfate (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}-CuSO{sub 4}) electroplating system. This seems to be successful so far. However further study has to be done to compare the result with real two phase flow situation. The surface tension and surface characteristics are to be tuned to simulate the real situation.

Experimental study on convective heat transfer of water flow in a heated tube under natural circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Ruichang; Liu Ruolei; Zhong Yong; Liu Tao

2006-01-01

This paper reports on an experimental study on transitional heat transfer of water flow in a heated vertical tube under natural circulation conditions. In the experiments the local and average heat transfer coefficients were obtained. The experimental data were compared with the predictions by a forced flow correlation available in the literature. The comparisons show that the Nusselt number value in the fully developed region is about 30% lower than the predictions by the forced flow correlation due to flow laminarization in the layer induced by co-current bulk natural circulation and free convection. By using the Rayleigh number Ra to represent the influence of free convection on heat transfer, the empirical correlations for the calculation of local and average heat transfer behavior in the tube at natural circulation have been developed. The empirical correlations are in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the experimental results, the effect of the thermal entry-length behavior on heat transfer design in the tube under natural circulation was evaluated

The Asymptotic Solution for the Steady Variable-Viscosity Free ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Under an arbitrary time-dependent heating of an infinite vertical plate (or wall), the steady viscosity-dependent free convection flow of a viscous incompressible fluid is investigated. Using the asymptotic method of solution on the governing equations of motion and energy, the resulting Ordinary differential equations were ...

Stability, accuracy and numerical diffusion analysis of nodal expansion method for steady convection diffusion equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Xiafeng; Guo, Jiong; Li, Fu

2015-01-01

Highlights: • NEMs are innovatively applied to solve convection diffusion equation. • Stability, accuracy and numerical diffusion for NEM are analyzed for the first time. • Stability and numerical diffusion depend on the NEM expansion order and its parity. • NEMs have higher accuracy than both second order upwind and QUICK scheme. • NEMs with different expansion orders are integrated into a unified discrete form. - Abstract: The traditional finite difference method or finite volume method (FDM or FVM) is used for HTGR thermal-hydraulic calculation at present. However, both FDM and FVM require the fine mesh sizes to achieve the desired precision and thus result in a limited efficiency. Therefore, a more efficient and accurate numerical method needs to be developed. Nodal expansion method (NEM) can achieve high accuracy even on the coarse meshes in the reactor physics analysis so that the number of spatial meshes and computational cost can be largely decreased. Because of higher efficiency and accuracy, NEM can be innovatively applied to thermal-hydraulic calculation. In the paper, NEMs with different orders of basis functions are successfully developed and applied to multi-dimensional steady convection diffusion equation. Numerical results show that NEMs with three or higher order basis functions can track the reference solutions very well and are superior to second order upwind scheme and QUICK scheme. However, the false diffusion and unphysical oscillation behavior are discovered for NEMs. To explain the reasons for the above-mentioned behaviors, the stability, accuracy and numerical diffusion properties of NEM are analyzed by the Fourier analysis, and by comparing with exact solutions of difference and differential equation. The theoretical analysis results show that the accuracy of NEM increases with the expansion order. However, the stability and numerical diffusion properties depend not only on the order of basis functions but also on the parity of

Stability, accuracy and numerical diffusion analysis of nodal expansion method for steady convection diffusion equation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Xiafeng, E-mail: zhou-xf11@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn; Guo, Jiong, E-mail: guojiong12@tsinghua.edu.cn; Li, Fu, E-mail: lifu@tsinghua.edu.cn

2015-12-15

Highlights: • NEMs are innovatively applied to solve convection diffusion equation. • Stability, accuracy and numerical diffusion for NEM are analyzed for the first time. • Stability and numerical diffusion depend on the NEM expansion order and its parity. • NEMs have higher accuracy than both second order upwind and QUICK scheme. • NEMs with different expansion orders are integrated into a unified discrete form. - Abstract: The traditional finite difference method or finite volume method (FDM or FVM) is used for HTGR thermal-hydraulic calculation at present. However, both FDM and FVM require the fine mesh sizes to achieve the desired precision and thus result in a limited efficiency. Therefore, a more efficient and accurate numerical method needs to be developed. Nodal expansion method (NEM) can achieve high accuracy even on the coarse meshes in the reactor physics analysis so that the number of spatial meshes and computational cost can be largely decreased. Because of higher efficiency and accuracy, NEM can be innovatively applied to thermal-hydraulic calculation. In the paper, NEMs with different orders of basis functions are successfully developed and applied to multi-dimensional steady convection diffusion equation. Numerical results show that NEMs with three or higher order basis functions can track the reference solutions very well and are superior to second order upwind scheme and QUICK scheme. However, the false diffusion and unphysical oscillation behavior are discovered for NEMs. To explain the reasons for the above-mentioned behaviors, the stability, accuracy and numerical diffusion properties of NEM are analyzed by the Fourier analysis, and by comparing with exact solutions of difference and differential equation. The theoretical analysis results show that the accuracy of NEM increases with the expansion order. However, the stability and numerical diffusion properties depend not only on the order of basis functions but also on the parity of

Thermo-fluid analysis of water cooled research reactors in natural convection; Analise termofluidodinamica de reatores nucleares de pesquisa refrigerados a agua em regime de conveccao natural

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veloso, Maria Auxiliadora Fortini

2004-07-01

The STHIRP-1 computer program, which fundamentals are described in this work, uses the principles of the subchannels analysis and has the capacity to simulate, under steady state and transient conditions, the thermal and hydraulic phenomena which occur inside the core of a water-refrigerated research reactor under a natural convection regime. The models and empirical correlations necessary to describe the flow phenomena which can not be described by theoretical relations were selected according to the characteristics of the reactor operation. Although the primary objective is the calculation of research reactors, the formulation used to describe the fluid flow and the thermal conduction in the heater elements is sufficiently generalized to extend the use of the program for applications in power reactors and other thermal systems with the same features represented by the program formulations. To demonstrate the analytical capacity of STHIRP-l, there were made comparisons between the results calculated and measured in the research reactor TRIGA IPR-R1 of CDTN/CNEN. The comparisons indicate that the program reproduces the experimental data with good precision. Nevertheless, in the future there must be used more consistent experimental data to corroborate the validation of the program. (author)

Study of natural convection heat transfer characteristics. (2) Verification for numerical simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, Hiroshi; Nakada, Kotaro; Ikeda, Tatsumi; Wakamatsu, Mitsuo; Iwaki, Chikako; Morooka, Shinichi; Masaki, Yoshikazu

2008-01-01

In the natural cooling system for waste storage, it is important to evaluate the flow by natural draft enough to remove the decay heat from the waste. In this study, we carried out the fundamental study of natural convection on vertical cylindrical heater by experiment and numerical simulation. The dimension of test facility is about 4m heights with single heater. Heating power is varied in the range of 33-110W, where Rayleigh number is over 10 10 . We surveyed the velocity distribution around heater by some turbulent models, mesh sizes around heated wall and turbulent Prandtl numbers. Results of numerical simulation of the velocity distribution and averaged heat transfer coefficient agreed well with experimental data and references. (author)

Prediction of refrigerant absorption and onset of natural convection in lubricant oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbosa, Jader R.; Marcelino Neto, Moises A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC 88040900 (Brazil); Thoma, Stefan M. [Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Sonneggstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich (Switzerland)

2008-11-15

Refrigerant absorption and mixing in lubricant oil are important in the design of refrigeration compressors and refrigeration systems. Experimental work is reported on absorption of R-134a vapour through the top interface of an initially stagnant layer of pure lubricant oil. Since the liquid refrigerant is heavier than the oil, mixing is enhanced due to natural mass convection. In the present paper, the behaviour of the liquid temperature during absorption is described based on measurements carried out in a test rig consisting of a transparent 70 mm ID, 150 mm long, vertical glass tube through which absorption can be directly observed. Transient liquid temperatures were measured at three different heights in the test section (two in the vapour, one in the liquid). The experimental work is complemented by a theoretical analysis of the critical time for the onset of mass transfer induced Rayleigh instability. The model is based on a critical mass transfer Rayleigh number criterion widely reported in the literature and takes into account the variation of physical properties in the liquid layer. The critical time for the onset of natural mass convection increases with decreasing system pressure as a result of a lower equilibrium concentration at the vapour-liquid interface. (author)

Numerical experimentation on convective coolant flow in Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Numerical experiments on one dimensional convective coolant flow during steady state operation of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-I) were performed to determine the thermal hydraulic parameters of temperature, density and flow rate. The computational domain was the reactor vessel, including the reactor core.

Natural convection heat transfer for a staggered array of heated, horizontal cylinders within a rectangular enclosure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Triplett, C.E.

1996-12-01

This thesis presents the results of an experimental investigation of natural convection heat transfer in a staggered array of heated cylinders, oriented horizontally within a rectangular enclosure. The main purpose of this research was to extend the knowledge of heat transfer within enclosed bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods sealed within a shipping or storage container. This research extends Canaan`s investigation of an aligned array of heated cylinders that thermally simulated a boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel assembly sealed within a shipping or storage cask. The results are presented in terms of piecewise Nusselt-Rayleigh number correlations of the form Nu = C(Ra){sup n}, where C and n are constants. Correlations are presented both for individual rods within the array and for the array as a whole. The correlations are based only on the convective component of the heat transfer. The radiative component was calculated with a finite-element code that used measured surface temperatures, rod array geometry, and measured surface emissivities as inputs. The correlation results are compared to Canaan`s aligned array results and to other studies of natural convection in horizontal tube arrays.

Natural convection heat transfer for a staggered array of heated, horizontal cylinders within a rectangular enclosure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Triplett, C.E.

1996-12-01

This thesis presents the results of an experimental investigation of natural convection heat transfer in a staggered array of heated cylinders, oriented horizontally within a rectangular enclosure. The main purpose of this research was to extend the knowledge of heat transfer within enclosed bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods sealed within a shipping or storage container. This research extends Canaan's investigation of an aligned array of heated cylinders that thermally simulated a boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel assembly sealed within a shipping or storage cask. The results are presented in terms of piecewise Nusselt-Rayleigh number correlations of the form Nu = C(Ra) n , where C and n are constants. Correlations are presented both for individual rods within the array and for the array as a whole. The correlations are based only on the convective component of the heat transfer. The radiative component was calculated with a finite-element code that used measured surface temperatures, rod array geometry, and measured surface emissivities as inputs. The correlation results are compared to Canaan's aligned array results and to other studies of natural convection in horizontal tube arrays

A Coupled Model for Natural Convection and Condensation in Heated Subsurface Enclosures Embedded in Fractured Rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halecky, N.; Birkholzer, J.T.; Webb, S.W.; Peterson, P.F.; Bodvarsson, G.S.

2006-01-01

In heated tunnels such as those designated for emplacement of radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, axial temperature gradients may cause natural convection processes that can significantly influence the moisture conditions in the tunnels and in the surrounding fractured rock. Large-scale convection cells would provide an effective mechanism for axial vapor transport, driving moisture out of the formation away from the heated tunnel section into cool end sections (where no waste is emplaced). To study such processes, we have developed and applied an enhanced version of TOUGH2 (Pruess et al., 1999) adding a new module that solves for natural convection in open cavities. The new TOUGH2 simulator simultaneously handles (1) the flow and energy transport processes in the fractured rock; (2) the flow and energy transport processes in the cavity; and (3) the heat and mass exchange at the rock-cavity interface. The new module is applied to simulate the future thermal-hydrological (TH) conditions within and near a representative waste emplacement tunnel at Yucca Mountain. Particular focus is on the potential for condensation along the emplacement section, a possible result of heat output differences between individual waste packages

Simulation of natural convection in an inclined polar cavity using a finite-difference lattice Boltzmann method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Fan; Yang, Haicheng; Guo, Xueyan; Ren Dai [University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai (China); Yan, Yonghua [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer in Power Engineering, Shanghai (China); Liu, Chaoqun [University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington (United States)

2017-06-15

Natural convection heat transfer in an inclined polar cavity was studied using a Finite-difference lattice Boltzmann method (FDLBM) based on a double-population approach for body-fitted coordinates. A D2G9 model coupled with the simplest TD2Q4 lattice model was applied to determine the velocity field and temperature field. For both velocity and temperature fields, the discrete spatial derivatives were obtained by combining the upwind scheme with the central scheme, and the discrete temporal term is obtained using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme. Studies were carried out for different Rayleigh numbers and different inclination angles. The results in terms of streamlines, isotherms, and Nusselt numbers explain the heat transfer mechanism of natural convection in an inclined polar cavity due to the change of Rayleigh number and inclination angle.

Decoupled Scheme for Time-Dependent Natural Convection Problem II: Time Semidiscreteness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong Zhang

2014-01-01

stability and the corresponding optimal error estimates are presented. Furthermore, a decoupled numerical scheme is proposed by decoupling the nonlinear terms via temporal extrapolation; optimal error estimates are established. Finally, some numerical results are provided to verify the performances of the developed algorithms. Compared with the coupled numerical scheme, the decoupled algorithm not only keeps good accuracy but also saves a lot of computational cost. Both theoretical analysis and numerical experiments show the efficiency and effectiveness of the decoupled method for time-dependent natural convection problem.

Steady flow in shallow channel bends

OpenAIRE

De Vriend, H.J.

1981-01-01

Making use of a mathematical model solving the complete NavierStokes equations for steady flow in coiled rectangular pipes, fully-developed laminar flow in shallow curved channels is analysed physically and mathematically. Transverse convection of momentum by the secondary flow is shown to cause important deformations of the main velocity distribution. The model is also used to investigate simplified computation methods for shallow channels. The usual 'shallow water approximation' is shown to...

Use of a vibrating plate to enhance natural convection cooling of a discrete heat source in a vertical channel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Florio, L.A.; Harnoy, A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States)

2007-09-15

A numerical investigation was conducted into an alternative method of natural convection enhancement by the transverse oscillations of a thin short plate, strategically positioned in close proximity to a rectangular heat source. The heat source is attached to a mounting board in a vertical channel. Two-dimensional laminar flow finite element studies were carried out with the oscillation parameters, the oscillating plate-heat source mean clearance spacing, and the oscillating plate position varied. Significant cooling was found for displacement amplitudes of at least one-third of the mean clearance together with frequencies (Re/{radical}(Gr)) of over 2{pi} with the displacement being more critical to the cooling level. For the parameters investigated, up to a 52% increase in the local heat transfer coefficient relative to standard natural convection was obtained. The results indicate that this method can serve as a feasible, simpler, more energy and space efficient alternative to common methods of cooling for low power dissipating devices operating at conditions just beyond the reach of pure natural convection. (author)

Eulerian-Lagrangian solution of the convection-dispersion equation in natural coordinates

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ralph T.; Casulli, Vincenzo; Milford, S. Nevil

1984-01-01

The vast majority of numerical investigations of transport phenomena use an Eulerian formulation for the convenience that the computational grids are fixed in space. An Eulerian-Lagrangian method (ELM) of solution for the convection-dispersion equation is discussed and analyzed. The ELM uses the Lagrangian concept in an Eulerian computational grid system. The values of the dependent variable off the grid are calculated by interpolation. When a linear interpolation is used, the method is a slight improvement over the upwind difference method. At this level of approximation both the ELM and the upwind difference method suffer from large numerical dispersion. However, if second-order Lagrangian polynomials are used in the interpolation, the ELM is proven to be free of artificial numerical dispersion for the convection-dispersion equation. The concept of the ELM is extended for treatment of anisotropic dispersion in natural coordinates. In this approach the anisotropic properties of dispersion can be conveniently related to the properties of the flow field. Several numerical examples are given to further substantiate the results of the present analysis.

Steady-state nucleate pool boiling mechanism at low heat fluxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastos, L.E.G.

1979-01-01

Heat is transfered in the steady state to a horizontal cooper disc inmersed in water at saturation temperature. Levels of heat flux are controlled so that convection and the nucleate boiling can be observed. The value of heat flux is determined experimentally and high speed film is used to record bubble growth. In order to explain the phenomenon the oretical model is proposed in which part of the heat is transfered by free convection during nucleate boiling regime. Agreement between the experiments and the theoretical model is good. (Author) [pt

NATBWR: a steady-state model for natural circulation in boiling-water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Healzer, J.M.; Abdollahian, D.

1983-02-01

This report documents the NATBWR steady-state BWR natural-circulation model and activities under EPRI Project RP1561-1 to gather data and predict the natural-circulation operation of the BWR. The report is organized into two parts, with the first part describing the NATBWR model and applications of the model to available BWR natural-circulation data and the second part providing user and programming information about the model. Five different operating BWR's were selected to demonstrate the application of the NATBWR model, one of each type from BWR/1 through BWR/4. For each operating plant, the available natural circulation data has been compared to model predictions. In addition to the data predictions, the behavior of the BWR system at reduced inventory, where the system is isolated and scrammed, and cooling provided by natural circulation has been analyzed. Finally, included as an appendix to Part 1 of this report is a discussion of the stability of the BWR system at natural-circulation conditions

Numerical analysis of experiments modeling LWR sump cooling by natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

An optional sump cooling concept for the European pressurized water reactor EPR was investigated at the Research Center Karlsruhe. This concept foresees to utilize single phase natural convection in water to remove the decay heat from the core melt. The natural convection was investigated by the SUCOS-2D and -3D scaled experiments. A numerical investigation and interpretation of these experiments was performed by means of the computer code FLUTAN. In this paper, the numerical investigation of SUCOS-3D is summarized. Following the results of the former 2d experiments and the numerical analysis of both experiments, an unexpected temperature distribution is found in this 3d experiment. Basing on the experimental data it had to be postulated that one of the horizontal coolers was slightly tilled against the main flow direction. Additional numerical investigations show that a slope of only one percent would explain the experimental flow field. Conclusions are also drawn on the limits of scalability and transferability of the experimental results to a reactor sump. A detailed transformation will only be possible by applying well validated CFD-codes and experienced code users. As the flow in the reactor sump will be turbulent and this flow is strongly three-dimensional and time-dependent, only the method of Large Eddy Simulation is considered of being an adequate tool for reliable trans formation of the gained experience to analyses for the reactor sump at 1:1 scales. (author)

Development of natural convection heat transfer correlation for liquid metal with overlying boiling coolant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Jae Seon; Suh, Kune Y.; Chung, Chang Hyun; Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik

1999-01-01

Experimental study was performed to investigate the natural convection heat transfer characteristics and the crust formation of the molten metal pool concurrent with forced convective boiling of the overlying coolant. Tests were performed under the condition of the bottom surface heating in the test section and the forced convection of the coolant being injected onto the molten metal pool. The constant temperature and constant heater input power conditions were adopted for the bottom heating. Test results showed that the temperature distribution and crust layer thickness in the metal layer are appreciably affected by the heated bottom surface temperature of the test section, but not much by the coolant injection rate. The relationship between the Nu number and Ra number in the molten metal pool region is determined and compared with the correlations in the literature, and the experiment without coolant boiling. A new correlation on the relationship between the Nu number and Ra number in the molten metal pool with crust formation is developed from the experimental data

Steady state and linear stability analysis of a supercritical water natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Manish; Pilkhwal, D.S.; Vijayan, P.K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R.K.

2010-01-01

Supercritical water (SCW) has excellent heat transfer characteristics as a coolant for nuclear reactors. Besides it results in high thermal efficiency of the plant. However, the flow can experience instabilities in supercritical water reactors, as the density change is very large for the supercritical fluids. A computer code SUCLIN using supercritical water properties has been developed to carry out the steady state and linear stability analysis of a SCW natural circulation loop. The conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy have been linearized by imposing small perturbation in flow rate, enthalpy, pressure and specific volume. The equations have been solved analytically to generate the characteristic equation. The roots of the equation determine the stability of the system. The code has been qualitatively assessed with published results and has been extensively used for studying the effect of diameter, height, heater inlet temperature, pressure and local loss coefficients on steady state and stability behavior of a Supercritical Water Natural Circulation Loop (SCWNCL). The present paper describes the linear stability analysis model and the results obtained in detail.

Modes of convection in the magnetotail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumjohann, Wolfgang

2002-01-01

The flow of plasma in the Earth's magnetotail cannot reach a steady state, since adiabatic convection would lead to exceedingly high pressure of the associated magnetic flux tubes closer to the Earth, the so-called pressure catastrophe. The natural way to avoid the pressure catastrophe is to significantly reduce the flux tube volume by reconnection, and observations show a near-Earth reconnection line typically around 20-25 Earth radii down tail. Earthward flows from this reconnection line are rather bursty and typically seen outside of 10 Earth radii. At this point they are strongly braked by the here dominant dipolar magnetic field. The pressure gradients piled up by the flow lead to the substorm current wedge, and possibly other substorm phenomena observed in the Earth's ionosphere. When more and more flux tubes are piled up, the dipolarization front moves tailward and finally shuts off near-Earth reconnection

The effect of thermal conductance of vertical walls on natural convection in a rectangular enclosure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuchi, Y.; Yoshino, A.; Taii, K.

2004-01-01

This paper deals with the experimental results of natural convective heat transfer in a rectangular water layer bounded by vertical walls of different thermal conductance. The vertical walls were made of copper or stainless steel. A minimum was observed in the horizontal distribution of temperature near the heating wall since a secondary reverse flow occurred outside the boundary layer. For copper case the experimental results of Nusselt number agreed well with calculations under an isothermal wall condition. For stainless steel case, however, the measured values were lower than the calculations since a three-dimensional effect appeared in convection due to non-uniformity in wall temperature. (author)

Modifications in the Teach-C computer code for convection analysis-two-dimensional transient diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sampaio, P.A.B. de.

1987-08-01

Some modifications in Teach-C computer program to analyse the heat conduction with convective heat transport are presented. The utilization of the program to solve a convective - diffusion problem is studied and the results are compared with an analysis of the same problem, in steady - state conditions, by finite element method [pt

Experimental investigations on the transient behaviour of nuclear heat plants with natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adam, E.; Sydow, J.; Wolff, J.

1988-01-01

Apart from the theoretical approach, practical experiments concerning the transient behaviour of the primary loop of reactors with natural coolant convection are necessary in order to evaluate the safety systems of reactors providing heat for industrial and communal consumers. The article presents experiments concerning the transient behaviour of the experimental plant DANTON, which models the reactor AST-500, and gives a preview of further research. (orig.) [de

Natural convection of Al2O3-water nanofluid in a wavy enclosure

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, Mitchell; Mozumder, Aloke K.; Mahmud, Shohel; Das, Prodip K.

2017-06-01

Natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow inside enclosures filled with fluids, such as air, water or oil, have been extensively analysed for thermal enhancement and optimisation due to their applications in many engineering problems, including solar collectors, electronic cooling, lubrication technologies, food processing and nuclear reactors. In comparison, little effort has been given to the problem of natural convection inside enclosures filled with nanofluids, while the addition of nanoparticles into a fluid base to alter thermal properties can be a feasible solution for many heat transfer problems. In this study, the problem of natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow inside a wavy enclosure filled with Al2O3-water nanofluid is investigated numerically using ANSYS-FLUENT. The effects of surface waviness and aspect ratio of the wavy enclosure on the heat transfer and fluid flow are analysed for various concentrations of Al2O3 nanoparticles in water. Flow fields and temperature fields are investigated and heat transfer rate is examined for different values of Rayleigh number. Results show that heat transfer within the enclosure can be enhanced by increasing surface waviness, aspect ratio or nanoparticles volume fraction. Changes in surface waviness have little effect on the heat transfer rate at low Rayleigh numbers, but when Ra ≥ 105 heat transfer increases with the increase of surface waviness from zero to higher values. Increasing the aspect ratio causes an increase in heat transfer rate, as the Rayleigh number increases the effect of changing aspect ratio is more apparent with the greatest heat transfer enhancement seen at higher Rayleigh numbers. Nanoparticles volume fraction has a little effect on the average Nusselt number at lower Rayleigh numbers when Ra ≥ 105 average Nusselt number increases with the increase of volume fraction. These findings provide insight into the heat transfer effects of using Al2O3-water nanofluid as a heat

Oscillatory magneto-convection under magnetic field modulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Palle Kiran

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we investigate an oscillatory mode of nonlinear magneto-convection under time dependant magnetic field. The time dependant magnetic field consists steady and oscillatory parts. The oscillatory part of the imposed magnetic field is assumed to be of third order. An externally imposed vertical magnetic field in an electrically conducting horizontal fluid layer is considered. The finite amplitude analysis is discussed while perturbing the system. The complex Ginzburg-Landau model is used to derive an amplitude of oscillatory convection for weakly nonlinear mode. Heat transfer is quantified in terms of the Nusselt number, which is governed by the Landau equation. The variation of the modulation excitation of the magnetic field alternates heat transfer in the layer. The modulation excitation of the magnetic field is used either to enhance or diminish the heat transfer in the system. Further, it is found that, oscillatory mode of convection enhances the heat transfer and than stationary convection. The results have possible technological applications in magnetic fluid based systems involving energy transmission. Keywords: Weakly nonlinear theory, Oscillatory convection, Complex Ginzburg Landau model, Magnetic modulation

Thermally optimum spacing of vertical, natural convection cooled, parallel plates

Science.gov (United States)

Bar-Cohen, A.; Rohsenow, W. M.

Vertical two-dimensional channels formed by parallel plates or fins are a frequently encountered configuration in natural convection cooling in air of electronic equipment. In connection with the complexity of heat dissipation in vertical parallel plate arrays, little theoretical effort is devoted to thermal optimization of the relevant packaging configurations. The present investigation is concerned with the establishment of an analytical structure for analyses of such arrays, giving attention to useful relations for heat distribution patterns. The limiting relations for fully-developed laminar flow, in a symmetric isothermal or isoflux channel as well as in a channel with an insulated wall, are derived by use of a straightforward integral formulation.

Unsteady three-dimensional behavior of natural convection in horizontal annulus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohya, Toshizo; Miki, Yasutomi; Morita, Kouji; Fukuda, Kenji; Hasegawa, Shu

1988-01-01

An numerical analysis has been performed on unsteady three-dimensional natural convection in a concentric horizontal annulus filled with air. The explicit leap-frog scheme is used for integrating three-dimensional time-dependent equations and the fast Fourier transform (FFT) for solving the Poisson equations for pressure. An oscillatory flow is found to occur at high Rayleigh numbers, which agree qualitatively with the experimental observation made by Bishop et al. An experiment is also conducted to measure temperature fluctuations; a comparison between periods of fluctuations obtained numerically and experimentally shows a good agreement. Numerical calculations yield various statistical parameters of turbulence at higher Rayleigh numbers, which wait experimental verificaions, however. (author)

Investigation on natural convection decay heat removal for the EFR status of the program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hofmann, F [Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany); Essig, C [Siemens AG, Bergisch Gladbach (Germany); Georgeoura, S [AEA Reactor Service, Dounreay (United Kingdom); Tenchine, D [CEA Grenoble (France)

1993-02-01

The European Research and Development (R+D) Program on decay heat removal by natural convection for the European Fast Reactor (EFR) covers the calculational methods and the model experiments performed for code validation. The studies concentrate on important physical effects of the cooling modes within the primary system and the direct reactor cooling circuits and include reactor experiments. (author)

Investigation on natural convection decay heat removal for the EFR status of the program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, F.; Essig, C; Georgeoura, S.; Tenchine, D.

1993-01-01

The European Research and Development (R+D) Program on decay heat removal by natural convection for the European Fast Reactor (EFR) covers the calculational methods and the model experiments performed for code validation. The studies concentrate on important physical effects of the cooling modes within the primary system and the direct reactor cooling circuits and include reactor experiments. (author)

Convection Cells in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Fodor, Katherine; Mellado, Juan-Pedro

2017-04-01

In dry, shear-free convective boundary layers (CBLs), the turbulent flow of air is known to organise itself on large scales into coherent, cellular patterns, or superstructures, consisting of fast, narrow updraughts and slow, wide downdraughts which together form circulations. Superstructures act as transport mechanisms from the surface to the top of the boundary layer and vice-versa, as opposed to small-scale turbulence, which only modifies conditions locally. This suggests that a thorough investigation into superstructure properties may help us better understand transport across the atmospheric boundary layer as a whole. Whilst their existence has been noted, detailed studies into superstructures in the CBL have been scarce. By applying methods which are known to successfully isolate similar large-scale patterns in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection, we can assess the efficacy of those detection techniques in the CBL. In addition, through non-dimensional analysis, we can systematically compare superstructures in various convective regimes. We use direct numerical simulation of four different cases for intercomparison: Rayleigh-Bénard convection (steady), Rayleigh-Bénard convection with an adiabatic top lid (quasi-steady), a stably-stratified CBL (quasi-steady) and a neutrally-stratified CBL (unsteady). The first two are non-penetrative and the latter two penetrative. We find that although superstructures clearly emerge from the time-mean flow in the non-penetrative cases, they become obscured by temporal averaging in the CBL. This is because a rigid lid acts to direct the flow into counter-rotating circulation cells whose axis of rotation remains stationary, whereas a boundary layer that grows in time and is able to entrain fluid from above causes the circulations to not only grow in vertical extent, but also to move horizontally and merge with neighbouring circulations. Spatial filtering is a useful comparative technique as it can be performed on boundary

Neutral beam injection and plasma convection in a magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuda, H.; Hiroe, S.

1988-06-01

Injection of a neutral beam into a plasma in a magnetic field has been studied by means of numerical plasma simulations. It is found that, in the absence of a rotational transform, the convection electric field arising from the polarization charges at the edges of the beam is dissipated by turbulent plasma convection, leading to anomalous plasma diffusion across the magnetic field. The convection electric field increases with the beam density and beam energy. In the presence of a rotational transform, polarization charges can be neutralized by the electron motion along the magnetic field. Even in the presence of a rotational transform, a steady-state convection electric field and, hence, anomalous plasma diffusion can develop when a neutral beam is constantly injected into a plasma. Theoretical investigations on the convection electric field are described for a plasma in the presence of rotational transform. 11 refs., 19 figs

Assessment of MELCOR condensation models with the presence of noncondensable gas in natural convection flow regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Dhongik S; Jo, HangJin; Corradini, Michael L

2017-01-01

Condensation of steam vapor is an important mode of energy removal from the reactor containment. The presence of noncondensable gas complicates the process and makes it difficult to model. MELCOR, one of the more widely used system codes for containment analyses, uses the heat and mass transfer analogy to model condensation heat transfer. To investigate previously reported nodalization-dependence in natural convection flow regime, MELCOR condensation model as well as other models are studied. The nodalization-dependence issue is resolved by using physical length from the actual geometry rather than node size of each control volume as the characteristic length scale for MELCOR containment analyses. At the transition to turbulent natural convection regime, the McAdams correlation for convective heat transfer produces a better prediction compared to the original MELCOR model. The McAdams correlation is implemented in MELCOR and the prediction is validated against a set of experiments on a scaled AP600 containment. The MELCOR with our implemented model produces improved predictions. For steam molar fractions in the gas mixture greater than about 0.58, the predictions are within the uncertainty margin of the measurements. The simulation results still underestimate the heat transfer from the gas-steam mixture, implying that conservative predictions are provided.

Analysis Of Convective Plane Stagnation Point Chemically Reactive Mhd Flow Past A Vertical Porous Plate With A Convective Boundary Condition In The Presence Of A Uniform Magnetic Field.

OpenAIRE

Adeniyan, A.,

2013-01-01

The numerical investigation of a stagnation point boundary layer flow , mass and heat transfer of a steady two dimensional , incompressible , viscous electrically conducting, chemically reacting laminar fluid over a vertical convectively heated , electrically neutral flat plate exposed to a transverse uniform magnetic field has been carried out to examine the influence of the simultaneous presence of the effects of a convective boundary condition, chemical reaction, heat transfer and suctio...

Time dependent convection electric fields and plasma injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaye, S.M.; Kivelson, M.G.

1979-01-01

Large-scale electric fields associated with storms or substorms are responsible for inward convection and energization of plasma sheet plasma. Calculations based on steady state convection theory show that the response to such electric fields qualitatively accounts for many features of the injected particle distribution, but quantitative agreement with the theory has not yet been obtained. It is known that the predictions can be improved by introducing the concept of convection in response to a time dependent electric field. On the other hand, time dependent calculations are sensitive to the choice of initial conditions, and most models have failed to incorporate these conditions in a realistic and self-consistent manner. In this paper we present a more complete model consisting of realisic initial conditions and time dependent convection to explain a typical substorm-associated electron injection event. We find very good agreement between the observed electron flux changes and those predicted by our model

Effect of steady and time-harmonic magnetic fields on macrosegragation in alloy solidification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Incropera, F.P.; Prescott, P.J. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

1995-12-31

Buoyancy-induced convection during the solidification of alloys can contribute significantly to the redistribution of alloy constituents, thereby creating large composition gradients in the final ingot. Termed macrosegregation, the condition diminishes the quality of the casting and, in the extreme, may require that the casting be remelted. The deleterious effects of buoyancy-driven flows may be suppressed through application of an external magnetic field, and in this study the effects of both steady and time-harmonic fields have been considered. For a steady magnetic field, extremely large field strengths would be required to effectively dampen convection patterns that contribute to macrosegregation. However, by reducing spatial variations in temperature and composition, turbulent mixing induced by a time-harmonic field reduces the number and severity of segregates in the final casting.

Large scale circulation in the convection zone and solar differential rotation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belvedere, G [Instituto di Astronomia dell' Universita di Catania, 95125 Italy; Paterno, L [Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, 95125 Italy

1976-04-01

In this paper the dependence on depth and latitude of the solar angular velocity produced by a meridian circulation in the convection zone is studied assuming that the main mechanism responsible for setting up and driving the circulation is the interaction of rotation with convection. The first order equations (perturbation of the spherically symmetric state are solved in the Boussinesq approximation and in the steady state for the axissymmetric case. The interaction of convection with rotation is modelled by a convective transport coefficient. The model is consistent with the fact that the interaction of convection with rotation sets up a circulation (driven by the temperature gradient) which carries angular momentum toward the equator against the viscous friction. Unfortunately also a large flux variation at the surface is obtained. Nevertheless it seems that the model has the basic requisites for correct dynamo action.

Heat and mass transfer during cooling and storage of agricultural products as influenced by natural convection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beukema, K.J.

1980-01-01

Three different models of bulk-stored agricultural products with air flow through the bulk, predicting the temperature profiles or the velocity of natural convection, are developed. The temperature distribution in a cylindrical container with insulated walls and open top and bottom, filled

Study of turbulent natural-circulation flow and low-Prandtl-number forced-convection flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, K.S.; Thompson, D.H.

1980-01-01

Calculational methods and results are discussed for the coupled energy and momentum equations of turbulent natural circulation flow and low Prandtl number forced convection flow. The objective of this paper is to develop a calculational method for the study of the thermal-hydraulic behavior of coolant flowing in a liquid metal fast breeder reactor channel under natural circulation conditions. The two-equation turbulence model is used to evaluate the turbulent momentum transport property. Because the analogy between momentum transfer and heat transfer does not generally hold for low Prandtl number fluid and natural circulation flow conditions, the turbulent thermal conductivity is calculated independently using equations similar to the two-equation turbulence model. The numerical technique used in the calculation is the finite element method

Investigation on natural convection decay heat removal for the EFR: Status of the program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffmann, H; Weinberg, D [Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH, IATF, Karlsruhe (Germany); Webster, R [AEA Reactor Services, Dounreay (United Kingdom)

1991-07-01

The European Research and Development Program on decay heat removal by natural convection for the European Fast Reactor (EFR) covers the calculational methods and the model experiments performed for code validation. The studies concentrate on important physical effects of the cooling modes withinthe primary system and the direct reactor cooling circuits and include fundamental tests as well as reactor experiments. (author)

Numerical analysis of natural convection in a double-layer immiscible system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gubaidullin, A.A.; Sehgal, B.R.

2001-01-01

In the present paper numerical analysis has been applied to study the natural convection heat transfer in a system composed of two immiscible fluids with uniform internal heat generation in the lower layer or in both layers enclosed in a rectangular or in a semi-circular vessel. The objective of the work is to perform a parametric study to assess the effect of physical properties on the heat transfer characteristics as well as to complement results obtained from experiments by means of CFD simulations for a range of lower Rayleigh number and combine the experimental data and the computational results. (author)

Localized traveling pulses in natural doubly diffusive convection

Science.gov (United States)

Lo Jacono, D.; Bergeon, A.; Knobloch, E.

2017-09-01

Two-dimensional natural doubly diffusive convection in a vertical slot driven by an imposed temperature difference in the horizontal is studied using numerical continuation and direct numerical simulation. Two cases are considered and compared. In the first a concentration difference that balances thermal buoyancy is imposed in the horizontal and stationary localized structures are found to be organized in a standard snakes-and-ladders bifurcation diagram. Disconnected branches of traveling pulses TPn consisting of n ,n =1 ,2 ,⋯ , corotating cells are identified and shown to accumulate on a tertiary branch of traveling waves. With Robin or mixed concentration boundary conditions on one wall all localized states travel and the hitherto stationary localized states may connect up with the traveling pulses. The stability of the TPn states is determined and unstable TPn shown to evolve into spatio-temporal chaos. The calculations are done with no-slip boundary conditions in the horizontal and periodic boundary conditions in the vertical.

A fission-fusion hybrid reactor in steady-state L-mode tokamak configuration with natural uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, Mark; Parker, Ronald R.; Forget, Benoit

2012-01-01

This work develops a conceptual design for a fusion-fission hybrid reactor operating in steady-state L-mode tokamak configuration with a subcritical natural or depleted uranium pebble bed blanket. A liquid lithium-lead alloy breeds enough tritium to replenish that consumed by the D-T fusion reaction. The fission blanket augments the fusion power such that the fusion core itself need not have a high power gain, thus allowing for fully non-inductive (steady-state) low confinement mode (L-mode) operation at relatively small physical dimensions. A neutron transport Monte Carlo code models the natural uranium fission blanket. Maximizing the fission power gain while breeding sufficient tritium allows for the selection of an optimal set of blanket parameters, which yields a maximum prudent fission power gain of approximately 7. A 0-D tokamak model suffices to analyze approximate tokamak operating conditions. This fission blanket would allow the fusion component of a hybrid reactor with the same dimensions as ITER to operate in steady-state L-mode very comfortably with a fusion power gain of 6.7 and a thermal fusion power of 2.1 GW. Taking this further can determine the approximate minimum scale for a steady-state L-mode tokamak hybrid reactor, which is a major radius of 5.2 m and an aspect ratio of 2.8. This minimum scale device operates barely within the steady-state L-mode realm with a thermal fusion power of 1.7 GW. Basic thermal hydraulic analysis demonstrates that pressurized helium could cool the pebble bed fission blanket with a flow rate below 10 m/s. The Brayton cycle thermal efficiency is 41%. This reactor, dubbed the Steady-state L-mode non-Enriched Uranium Tokamak Hybrid (SLEUTH), with its very fast neutron spectrum, could be superior to pure fission reactors in terms of breeding fissile fuel and transmuting deleterious fission products. It would likely function best as a prolific plutonium breeder, and the plutonium it produces could actually be more

Hydrogen transfer in Pb–Li forced convection flow with permeable wall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukada, Satoshi, E-mail: sfukada@nucl.kyushu-u.ac.jp; Muneoka, Taiki; Kinjyo, Mao; Yoshimura, Rhosuke; Katayama, Kazunari

2015-10-15

Highlights: • The paper presents experimental and analytical results of Pb–Li eutectic alloy forced convection flow. • Analytical results are in good agreement with ones of hydrogen permeation in Pb–Li forced convection flow. • The results are useful for the design of liquid blanket of fusion reactors. - Abstract: Transient- or steady-state hydrogen permeation from a primary fluid of Li{sub 17}Pb{sub 83} (Pb–Li) through a permeable tube of Inconel-625 alloy to a secondary Ar purge is investigated experimentally under a forced convection flow in a dual cylindrical tube system. Results of the overall hydrogen permeation flux are correlated in terms of diffusivity, solubility and an average axial velocity of Pb–Li and diffusivity and solubility of the solid wall. Analytical solutions under proper assumptions are derived to simulate the transient- and steady-state rates of the overall hydrogen permeation, and close agreement is obtained between experiment and analysis. Two things are clarified from the comparison: (i) how the steady-state permeation rate is affected by the mass-transfer properties and the average velocity of Pb–Li and the properties of Inconel-625, and (ii) how its transient behavior is done by the diffusivity of the two materials. The results obtained here will give important information to estimate or to analyze the tritium transfer rate in fluidized Pb–Li blankets of DEMO or the future commercial fusion reactors.

Experimental investigation of natural convection in a core of a marine reactor in rolling motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murata, Hiroyuki; Sawada, Ken-ichi; Kobayashi, Michiyuki

2000-01-01

A series of single-phase natural circulation experiments in a simulated marine reactor mounted on a rolling bed was performed and the average Nusselt number in the core was evaluated in order to investigate effects of the rolling motion on the heat transfer in the core. Heat transfer with an upright attitude is well correlated with the Rayleigh number and is slightly lower than El-Genk's correlation. Heat transfer in the core is not affected by the inclination angle because the inclination of the present experiment is not large enough to cause any remarkable changes in the flow pattern of the core. Heat transfer in the core is enhanced by the rolling motion which is thought to cause internal flow in the core. Heat transfer during the rolling motion is correlated with the Richardson number for rolling motion, Ri R , and is classified into three regimes: (1) region A (0.05 R ≤0.3) where heat transfer is dominated by the inertial force due to the rolling motion; (2) region B (0.3 R ≤2) where heat transfer is affected by the combined effect of the inertial force and natural convection; and (3) region C (Ri R >2) where heat transfer is affected only by the natural convection. (author)

Calculation of Post-Closure Natural Convection Heat and Mass Transfer in Yucca Mountain Drifts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webb, S.; Itamura, M.

2004-01-01

Natural convection heat and mass transfer under post-closure conditions has been calculated for Yucca Mountain drifts using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. Calculations have been performed for 300, 1000, 3000, and 10,000 years after repository closure. Effective dispersion coefficients that can be used to calculate mass transfer in the drift have been evaluated as a function of time and boundary temperature tilt

Thermal performance of a porus radial fin with natural convection and radiative heat losses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darvishi M.T.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An analytic (series solution is developed to describe the thermal performance of a porous radial fin with natural convection in the fluid saturating the fin and radiation heat loss from the top and bottom surfaces of the fin. The HAM results for the temperature distribution and base heat flux are compared with the direct numerical results and found to be very accurate.

A theory for natural convection turbulent boundary layers next to heated vertical surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, W.K. Jr.; Capp, S.P.

1979-01-01

The turbulent natural convection boundary layer next to a heated vertical surface is analyzed by classical scaling arguments. It is shown that the fully developed turbulent boundary layer must be treated in two parts: and outer region consisting of most of the boundary layer in which viscous and conduction terms are negligible and an inner region in which the mean convection terms are negligible. The inner layer is identified as a constant heat flux layer. A similarity analysis yields universal profiles for velocity and temperature in the outer and constant heat flux layers. An asymptotic matching of these profiles in an intermediate layer (the buoyant sublayer) yields analytical expressions for the buoyant sublayer profiles. Asymptotic heat transfer and friction laws are obtained for the fully developed boundary layers. Finally, conductive and thermo-viscous sublayers characterized by a linear variation of velocity and temperature are shown to exist at the wall. All predictions are seen to be in excellent agreement with the abundant experimental data. (author)

Numerical study of natural convection heat transfer in a horizontal channel provided with rectangular blocks releasing uniform heat flux and mounted on its lower wall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakkas, M.; Amahmid, A.; Hasnaoui, M.

2008-01-01

Two-dimensional laminar steady natural convection in a horizontal channel with the upper wall maintained cold at a constant temperature and the lower one provided with rectangular heating blocks, periodically distributed, has been studied numerically. The blocks are connected with adiabatic segments and their surfaces are assumed to release a uniform heat flux. The study is performed using air as the working fluid (Pr = 0.72). The spacing between the blocks is maintained constant (C = l'/H' = 0.5) while the Rayleigh number and the relative height of the blocks are respectively varied in the ranges 10 2 ≤ Ra ≤ 2 x 10 6 and 1/8 ≤ B = h'/H' ≤ 1/2. The effect of the computational domain length on the multiplicity of solutions is investigated. Flow and temperature fields are also produced for various combinations of the governing parameters. It is demonstrated that, depending on the length of the computational domain and the governing parameters, different flow structures can be obtained

Comparisons of RELAP5-3D Analyses to Experimental Data from the Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bucknor, Matthew; Hu, Rui; Lisowski, Darius; Kraus, Adam

2016-04-17

The Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) is an important passive safety system being incorporated into the overall safety strategy for high temperature advanced reactor concepts such as the High Temperature Gas- Cooled Reactors (HTGR). The Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility (NSTF) at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) reflects a 1/2-scale model of the primary features of one conceptual air-cooled RCCS design. The project conducts ex-vessel, passive heat removal experiments in support of Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Technology (ART) program, while also generating data for code validation purposes. While experiments are being conducted at the NSTF to evaluate the feasibility of the passive RCCS, parallel modeling and simulation efforts are ongoing to support the design, fabrication, and operation of these natural convection systems. Both system-level and high fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses were performed to gain a complete understanding of the complex flow and heat transfer phenomena in natural convection systems. This paper provides a summary of the RELAP5-3D NSTF model development efforts and provides comparisons between simulation results and experimental data from the NSTF. Overall, the simulation results compared favorably to the experimental data, however, further analyses need to be conducted to investigate any identified differences.

Nonlinear instability and convection in a vertically vibrated granular bed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shukla, P.; Ansari, I.H.; van der Meer, Roger M.; Lohse, Detlef; Alam, M.

2014-01-01

The nonlinear instability of the density-inverted granular Leidenfrost state and the resulting convective motion in strongly shaken granular matter are analysed via a weakly nonlinear analysis of the hydrodynamic equations. The base state is assumed to be quasi-steady and the effect of harmonic

Natural convection as the way of heat removal from fast reactor core at cooldown regimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhukov, A.V.; Kuzina, J.A.; Uhov, V.A.; Sorokin, G.A.

2000-01-01

The problems of thermohydraulics in fast reactors at cooldown regimes at heat removal by natural convection are considered The results of experiments and calculations obtained in various countries in this area are presented. The special attention is given to heat removal through inter-assembly space in the core and also to problems of thermohydraulics in the upper plenum. (author)

Effects of heater location and heater size on the natural convection heat transfer in a square cavity using finite element method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ngo, Ich Long; Byon, Chan [Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-07-15

Finite element method was used to investigate the effects of heater location and heater size on the natural convection heat transfer in a 2D square cavity heated partially or fully from below and cooled from above. Rayleigh number (5 X 10{sup 2} ≤ Ra ≤ 5X10{sup 5}), heater size (0.1 ≤ D/L ≤ 1.0), and heater location (0.1 ≤ x{sub h}/L ≤ 0.5) were considered. Numerical results indicated that the average Nusselt number (Nu{sub m}) increases as the heater size decreases. In addition, when x{sub h}/L is less than 0.4, Nu{sub m} increases as x{sub h}/L increases, and Num decreases again for a larger value of x{sub h}/L. However, this trend changes when Ra is less than 10{sup 4}, suggesting that Nu{sub m} attains its maximum value at the region close to the bottom surface center. This study aims to gain insight into the behaviors of natural convection in order to potentially improve internal natural convection heat transfer.

Natural convection in wavy enclosures with volumetric heat sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oztop, H.F.; Varol, Y.; Abu-Nada, E.; Chamkha, A.

2011-01-01

In this paper, the effects of volumetric heat sources on natural convection heat transfer and flow structures in a wavy-walled enclosure are studied numerically. The governing differential equations are solved by an accurate finite-volume method. The vertical walls of enclosure are assumed to be heated differentially whereas the two wavy walls (top and bottom) are kept adiabatic. The effective governing parameters for this problem are the internal and external Rayleigh numbers and the amplitude of wavy walls. It is found that both the function of wavy wall and the ratio of internal Rayleigh number (Ra I ) to external Rayleigh number (Ra E ) affect the heat transfer and fluid flow significantly. The heat transfer is predicted to be a decreasing function of waviness of the top and bottom walls in case of (IRa/ERa)>1 and (IRa/ERa)<1. (authors)

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of natural convection under the influence of magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moessner, R.

1996-04-01

This report deals with the influence of strong magnetic fields on three-dimensional natural convection. First the dimensionless basic equations are derived in cartesian coordinates. This equations are solved numerically in rectangular domains with a Finite-Difference-Method. The following calculations investigate the flow in an electrically insulated cube which is heated and cooled at side walls. It is possible to perform systematic computations for the variation of the direction of the magnetic field and thermal boundary conditions. (orig.)

Parametric numerical investigaion of natural convection in a heat-generating fluid with phase transitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aksenova, A.E.; Chudanov, V.V.; Strizhov, V.F.; Vabishchevich, P.N. [Institute of Nuclear Safety Russian Academy Science, Moscow (Russian Federation)

1995-09-01

Unsteady natural convection of a heat-generating fluid with phase transitions in the enclosures of a square section with isothermal rigid walls is investigated numerically for a wide range of dimensionless parameters. The quasisteady state solutions of conjugate heat and mass transfer problem are compared with available experimental results. Correlation relations for heat flux distributions at the domain boundaries depending on Rayleigh and Ostrogradskii numbers are obtained. It is shown that generally heat transfer is governed both by natural circulation and crust formation phenomena. Results of this paper may be used for analysis of experiments with prototypic core materials.

Effective thermal conductivity of a heat generating rod bundle dissipating heat by natural convection and radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senve, Vinay; Narasimham, G.S.V.L.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Transport processes in isothermal hexagonal sheath with 19 heat generating rods is studied. → Correlation is given to predict the maximum temperature considering all transport processes. → Effective thermal conductivity of rod bundle can be obtained using max temperature. → Data on the critical Rayleigh numbers for p/d ratios of 1.1-2.0 is presented. → Radiative heat transfer contributes to heat dissipation of 38-65% of total heat. - Abstract: A numerical study of conjugate natural convection and surface radiation in a horizontal hexagonal sheath housing 19 solid heat generating rods with cladding and argon as the fill gas, is performed. The natural convection in the sheath is driven by the volumetric heat generation in the solid rods. The problem is solved using the FLUENT CFD code. A correlation is obtained to predict the maximum temperature in the rod bundle for different pitch-to-diameter ratios and heat generating rates. The effective thermal conductivity is related to the heat generation rate, maximum temperature and the sheath temperature. Results are presented for the dimensionless maximum temperature, Rayleigh number and the contribution of radiation with changing emissivity, total wattage and the pitch-to-diameter ratio. In the simulation of a larger system that contains a rod bundle, the effective thermal conductivity facilitates simplified modelling of the rod bundle by treating it as a solid of effective thermal conductivity. The parametric studies revealed that the contribution of radiation can be 38-65% of the total heat generation, for the parameter ranges chosen. Data for critical Rayleigh number above which natural convection comes into effect is also presented.

Extensional basin evolution in the presence of small-scale convection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kenni Dinesen; Nielsen, S.B.; Clausen, O.R.

2011-01-01

-steady-state. Extension of the convecting equilibrium model causes the formation of rifts or continental margins which, posterior to extension, cools and subsides as predicted by the plate model. However, in contrast to the plate model, the ascended asthenosphere is not instantaneously decoupled from the convecting upper...... mantle below, and cooling is thus not entirely conductive above the former base of the lithosphere. This causes significantly protracted cooling and subsidence.We show that our model features improved consistency with subsidence data from several rifted margins and intracontinental basins. Furthermore...

Development and validation of a new LBM-MRT hybrid model with enthalpy formulation for melting with natural convection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miranda Fuentes, Johann [Université de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5008, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); INSA-Lyon, CETHIL, F-69621 Villeurbanne (France); Kuznik, Frédéric, E-mail: frederic.kuznik@insa-lyon.fr [Université de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5008, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); INSA-Lyon, CETHIL, F-69621 Villeurbanne (France); Johannes, Kévyn; Virgone, Joseph [Université de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5008, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Université Lyon 1, CETHIL, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France)

2014-01-17

This article presents a new model to simulate melting with natural convection of a phase change material. For the phase change problem, the enthalpy formulation is used. Energy equation is solved by a finite difference method, whereas the fluid flow is solved by the multiple relaxation time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann method. The model is first verified and validated using the data from the literature. Then, the model is applied to a tall brick filled with a fatty acid eutectic mixture and the results are presented. The main results are (1) the spatial convergence rate is of second order, (2) the new model is validated against data from the literature and (3) the natural convection plays an important role in the melting process of the fatty acid mixture considered in our work.

Thermal convection and nonlinear effects of a superfluid 3He-4He mixture in a porous medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chien, L.C.L.

1986-01-01

The convective instability of one-component classical fluids in a porous medium confined between two unbounded slabs was studied. This system behaves like a high Prandtl number bulk fluid. It has boundary conditions similar to the stress-free boundary conditions of bulk one-component classical fluids. Both the amplitude expansion method and the Galerkin method were used to investigate the nonlinear steady convection. Two dimensional rolls are the only stable motion at the onset of convection. Beyond threshold, the steady convection rolls become unstable to formation of cross-roll and zigzag instabilities. Applying the phase-dynamics approach for the zigzag instability, the author obtained the diffusion coefficient D, which can signal the onset of instability. Also investigated was the convective instability of superfluid 3 He- 4 He mixtures in porous media. Assuming no interaction between the average superflow and the porous medium and treating the normal flow in the equation of motion like a classical fluid in a porous medium, it was found that the superfluid mixtures in a porous medium. To investigate the effects of a lateral boundary, the convective instability of classical one-component fluids in porous media inside a box was studied. The zigzag instability does not exist because of the boundary conditions at the side of the box

Entropy Generation in Natural Convection Under an Evanescent Magnetic Field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magherbi, Mourad; El Jery, Atef; Ben Brahim, Ammar

2009-01-01

We numerically study the effect of an externally-evanescent magnetic field on total entropy generation in conducting and non-reactive fluid enclosed in a square cavity. The horizontal walls of the enclosure are assumed to be insulated while the vertical walls are kept isothermal. A control volume finite element method is used to solve the conservation equations at Prandtl number of 0.71. The values of relaxation time of the magnetic field are chosen, so that the Lorentz force acts only in the transient state of entropy generation in natural convection. The total entropy generation was calculated for fixed value of irreversibility distribution ratio, different relaxation time varying from 0 to 1/5 and Grashof number equal to 10 5

Passive decay heat removal by natural air convection after severe accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erbacher, F.J.; Neitzel, H.J. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe Institut fur Angewandte Thermo- und Fluiddynamik, Karlsruhe (Germany); Cheng, X. [Technische Universitaet Karlsruhe Institut fur Stroemungslehre und Stroemungsmaschinen, Karlsruhe (Germany)

1995-09-01

The composite containment proposed by the Research Center Karlsruhe and the Technical University Karlsruhe is to cope with severe accidents. It pursues the goal to restrict the consequences of core meltdown accidents to the reactor plant. One essential of this new containment concept is its potential to remove the decay heat by natural air convection and thermal radiation in a passive way. To investigate the coolability of such a passive cooling system and the physical phenomena involved, experimental investigations are carried out at the PASCO test facility. Additionally, numerical calculations are performed by using different codes. A satisfying agreement between experimental data and numerical results is obtained.

Natural convection of high-temperature, high-pressure gas in a horizontal annular layer of thermal insulator, (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Masuro; Takizuka, Takakazu; Sanokawa, Konomo

1979-02-01

Numerical calculations are described of the natural convection in a horizontal annular layer of thermal insulator. The purpose is to compare the numerical results for variable physical properties with those for constant properties. The numerical procedure and typical results are presented. (author)

Oscillatory Convection in Rotating Liquid Metals

Science.gov (United States)

Bertin, Vincent; Grannan, Alex; Aurnou, Jonathan

2016-11-01

We have performed laboratory experiments in a aspect ratio Γ = 2 cylinder using liquid gallium (Pr = 0 . 023) as the working fluid. The Ekman number varies from E = 4 ×10-5 to 4 ×10-6 and the Rayleigh number varies from Ra = 3 ×105 to 2 ×107 . Using heat transfer and temperature measurements within the fluid, we characterize the different styles of low Pr rotating convective flow. The convection threshold is first overcome in the form of a container scale inertial oscillatory mode. At stronger forcing, wall-localized modes develop, coexisting with the inertial oscillatory modes in the bulk. When the strength of the buoyancy increases further, the bulk flow becomes turbulent while the wall modes remain. Our results imply that rotating convective flows in liquid metals do not develop in the form of quasi-steady columns, as in Pr = 1 planetary and stellar dynamo models, but in the form of oscillatory motions. Therefore, convection driven dynamo action in low Pr fluids can differ substantively than that occurring in typical Pr = 1 numerical models. Our results also suggest that low wavenumber, wall modes may be dynamically and observationally important in liquid metal dynamo systems. We thank the NSF Geophysics Program for support of this project.

Experimental study on cavity flow natural convection in porous medium, saturated with an Al(sub2)0(sub3) 60% EG-40% water nanofluid

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Grobler, Carla

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Natural convection is convection where the fluid motion is driven by buoyancy forces. Porous media and nanofluids have an impact on the heat transfer capabilities of thermal systems. The present experimental study is part of ongoing research...

Turbulent natural convection in an enclosure formed by an array of vertical cylinders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McEligot, D.M.; Stoots, C.M.; Christenson, W.A.; O'Brien, J.E.; Larson, T.K.; Mecham, D.C.; Lussie, W.G.

1992-04-01

A number of situations can be hypothesized to occur in an advanced or special purpose nuclear reactor such that the core is filled with a gas but there is no forced flow to remove the thermal energy evolved. Typically, the dimensions are so large that the magnitudes of the governing parameters indicate that the flow regime is probably turbulent. The generic situation considered in the present work is natural convection between heated, slender, vertical, circular cylinders and a surrounding array of cooler vertical cylinders in a triangular pattern. Experiments were conducted by resistively heating a vertical circular cylinder of length-to-diameter ratio of about 160 centered inside a concentric perforated tube which was, in turn, surrounded by three larger diameter tubes cooled internally with water flow. The medium was air. In order to deduce the contribution due to thermal radiation, thermal emissivities of the tubes were determined in-situ during the experiment and the emissivities of samples of the surfaces involved were measured separately. The ratio of the test section temperature to the cooling tube temperature was varied up to 2.6 by adjusting the electrical power. The Rayleigh number, based on tube diameter and properties evaluated at the cooling tube temperature, ranged from 2.9 x 10 4 to 9.2 x 10 5 . Results indicate that the convective heat transfer parameters for the perforated tube are about fifteen per cent higher than for the smooth bare tube centered in the same position relative to the array. The Nusselt number for convective heat transfer across the annulus-between the heated test section and the perforated tube corresponded to parallel laminar flow. Data with water films flowing down the outside surfaces of the cooling tubes demonstrated no significant change in the convective heat transfer parameters deduced

Transport Phenomena Projects: Natural Convection between Porous, Concentric Cylinders--A Method to Learn and to Innovate

Science.gov (United States)

Saatadjian, Esteban; Lesage, Francois; Mota, Jose Paulo B.

2013-01-01

A project that involves the numerical simulation of transport phenomena is an excellent method to teach this subject to senior/graduate chemical engineering students. The subject presented here has been used in our senior/graduate course, it concerns the study of natural convection heat transfer between two concentric, horizontal, saturated porous…

Simulation benchmark based on THAI-experiment on dissolution of a steam stratification by natural convection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freitag, M., E-mail: freitag@becker-technologies.com; Schmidt, E.; Gupta, S.; Poss, G.

2016-04-01

Highlights: . • We studied the generation and dissolution of steam stratification in natural convection. • We performed a computer code benchmark including blind and open phases. • The dissolution of stratification predicted only qualitatively by LP and CFD models during the blind simulation phase. - Abstract: Locally enriched hydrogen as in stratification may contribute to early containment failure in the course of severe nuclear reactor accidents. During accident sequences steam might accumulate as well to stratifications which can directly influence the distribution and ignitability of hydrogen mixtures in containments. An international code benchmark including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Lumped Parameter (LP) codes was conducted in the frame of the German THAI program. Basis for the benchmark was experiment TH24.3 which investigates the dissolution of a steam layer subject to natural convection in the steam-air atmosphere of the THAI vessel. The test provides validation data for the development of CFD and LP models to simulate the atmosphere in the containment of a nuclear reactor installation. In test TH24.3 saturated steam is injected into the upper third of the vessel forming a stratification layer which is then mixed by a superposed thermal convection. In this paper the simulation benchmark will be evaluated in addition to the general discussion about the experimental transient of test TH24.3. Concerning the steam stratification build-up and dilution of the stratification, the numerical programs showed very different results during the blind evaluation phase, but improved noticeable during open simulation phase.

Numerical model for the solution of two-dimensional natural convection problems in arbitrary cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milioli, F.E.

1985-01-01

In this research work a numerical model for the solution of two-dimensional natural convection problems in arbitrary cavities of a Boussinesq fluid is presented. The conservation equations are written in a general curvilinear coordinate system which matches the irregular boundaries of the domain. The nonorthogonal system is generated by a suitable system of elliptic equations. The momentum and continuity equations are transformed from the Cartesian system to the general curvilinear system keeping the Cartesian velocity components as the dependent variables in the transformed domain. Finite difference equations are obtained for the contravariant velocity components in the transformed domain. The numerical calculations are performed in a fixed rectangular domain and both the Cartesian and the contravariant velocity components take part in the solutiomn procedure. The dependent variables are arranged on the grid in a staggered manner. The numerical model is tested by solving the driven flow in a square cavity with a moving side using a nonorthogoanl grid. The natural convenction in a square cavity, using an orthogonal and a nonorthogonal grid, is also solved for the model test. Also, the solution for the buoyancy flow between a square cylinder placed inside a circular cylinder is presented. The results of the test problems are compared with those available in the specialized literature. Finally, in order to show the generality of the model, the natural convection problem inside a very irregular cavity is presented. (Author) [pt

Numerical study of natural turbulent convection of nanofluids in a tall cavity heated from below

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mebrouk Ridha

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the present paper a numerical study of natural turbulent convection in a tall cavity filled with nanofluids. The cavity has a heat source embedded on its bottom wall, while the left, right and top walls of the cavity are maintained at a relatively low temperature. The working fluid is a water based nanofluid having three nanoparticle types: alumina, copper and copper oxid. The influence of pertinent parameters such as Rayleigh number, the type of nanofluid and solid volume fraction of nanoparticles on the cooling performance is studied. Steady forms of twodimensional Reynolds-Averaged-Navier-Stokes equations and conservation equations of mass and energy, coupled with the Boussinesq approximation, are solved by the control volume based discretisation method employing the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure-velocity coupling. Turbulence is modeled using the standard k-ε model. The Rayleigh number, Ra, is varied from 2.491009 to 2.491011. The volume fractions of nanoparticles were varied in the interval 0≤φ≤ 6% . Stream lines, isotherms, velocity profiles and Temperature profiles are presented for various combinations of Ra, the type of nanofluid and solid volume fraction of nanoparticles. The results are reported in the form of average Nusselt number on the heated wall. It is shown that for all values of Ra, the average heat transfer rate from the heat source increases almost linearly and monotonically as the solid volume fraction increases. Finally the average heat transfer rate takes on values that decrease according to the ordering Cu, CuO and Al2O3.

Optimization of Steady Wall Temperature for Disturbance Control

OpenAIRE

Pralits, Jan; Ardeshir, Hanifi

2003-01-01

We present a theory for computing the optimal steady wall temperature distribution to suppress the growth of convectively unstable disturbances in compressible boundary layer flows on flat plates. A gradient based iterative procedure is used to minimize an objective function measuring the disturbance kinetic energy. The gradient of interest is obtained from the solution of the adjoint of the boundary layer and parabolized stability equations, which are derived using a Lagrange multiplier tech...

On the mapping of ionospheric convection into the magnetosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesse, M.; Birn, J.; Hoffman, R.A.

1997-01-01

Under steady state conditions and in the absence of parallel electric fields, ionospheric convection is a direct map of plasma and magnetic flux convection in the magnetosphere, and quantitative estimates can be obtained from the mapping along magnetic field lines of electrostatic ionospheric electric fields. The resulting magnetospheric electrostatic potential distribution then provides the convection electric field in various magnetospheric regions. We present a quantitative framework for the investigation of the applicability and limitations of this approach based on an analytical theory derived from first principles. Particular emphasis is on the role of parallel electric field regions and on inductive effects, such as expected during the growth and expansive phases of magnetospheric substorms. We derive quantitative estimates for the limits in which either effect leads to a significant decoupling between ionospheric and magnetospheric convection and provide an interpretation of ionospheric convection which is independent of the presence of inductive electric fields elsewhere in the magnetosphere. Finally, we present a study of the relation between average and instantaneous convection, using two periodic dynamical models. The models demonstrate and quantify the potential mismatch between the average electric fields in the ionosphere and the magnetosphere in strongly time-dependent cases that may exist even when they are governed entirely by ideal MHD

Experimental transient natural convection heat transfer from a vertical cylindrical tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez-Seara, Jose; Uhia, Francisco J.; Alberto Dopazo, J.

2011-01-01

In this paper heat transfer experimental data is presented and compared to general correlations proposed in the literature for transient laminar free convection from a vertical cylindrical tank. The experimental data has been obtained from heating and cooling experiments carried out with a cylindrical full-scale hot water storage tank working under real operating conditions. The experimental device and the data acquisition system are described. The calculation procedures established to obtain the experimental values of the heat transfer coefficients, as well as the data reduction process, are detailed. The local convection and radiation heat transfer coefficients are obtained from different heating power conditions for local Rayleigh numbers within the range of 1x10 5 -3x10 8 . The great quantity of available experimental data allows a detailed analysis with a reliable empirical base. The experimental local convection heat transfer coefficients are correlated and compared to correlations proposed in open literature for engineering calculations. - Highlights: → Experimental data of transient local convection heat transfer coefficients from a cylindrical tank for heating and cooling processes is obtained. → The transient behaviour of the convection coefficients is dependent on temperature difference evolutions between the surface and the air. → The Nu.Ra -1/4 ratio decreases proportionally in (T s -T ∞ ) -0.9 . → A new correlation based on the semi-infinite region theory for laminar transient free convection is proposed.

Experimental analysis of natural convection in a cavity with relation 2:1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes S, M.

1994-01-01

This work develop an experimental study of the natural convection in Transient State in a cavity of the relation 2:1 (long-height), heated by a heat flux on a side wall with the opposite wall at constant temperature and equal at the temperature of the fluid. The experimental work was made for a Rayleigh number of approximately 10 9 , and the Prandtl number of 7.69. The work objective is to describe the velocity fields by mean of optic methods at different times, wide of limit layers, and searching the best visual conditions for know widely the phenomena in study. We carry out a comparison of the experimental results with the analysis of scales of Patterson and Imberger (9), with the adaptations of Poujol (19), for the condition of a constant heat flux, given this theories good results. The experimental work it have the formation of a vortex near of the hot wall, this vortex, decrease only in size during the heat transfer. In the top of the cavity in the right corner we found a divergence zone such as a H ydraulic jump , mentioned by Ivey (13), and we found too a second vortex in the bottom of the wall with constant temperature, that decrease and finally disappear when the fluid reach a permanent state. This work contribute to the mechanical design of the cavity, and at the description of the best photographic conditions for the study of the natural convection, giving good results for the study of the limit layers, thermic, hydrodynamic and the intrusion. (Author)

Bifurcations and chaos in convection taking non-Fourier heat-flux

Science.gov (United States)

Layek, G. C.; Pati, N. C.

2017-11-01

In this Letter, we report the influences of thermal time-lag on the onset of convection, its bifurcations and chaos of a horizontal layer of Boussinesq fluid heated underneath taking non-Fourier Cattaneo-Christov hyperbolic model for heat propagation. A five-dimensional nonlinear system is obtained for a low-order Galerkin expansion, and it reduces to Lorenz system for Cattaneo number tending to zero. The linear stability agreed with existing results that depend on Cattaneo number C. It also gives a threshold Cattaneo number, CT, above which only oscillatory solutions can persist. The oscillatory solutions branch terminates at the subcritical steady branch with a heteroclinic loop connecting a pair of saddle points for subcritical steady-state solutions. For subcritical onset of convection two stable solutions coexist, that is, hysteresis phenomenon occurs at this stage. The steady solution undergoes a Hopf bifurcation and is of subcritical type for small value of C, while it becomes supercritical for moderate Cattaneo number. The system goes through period-doubling/noisy period-doubling transition to chaos depending on the control parameters. There after the system exhibits Shil'nikov chaos via homoclinic explosion. The complexity of spiral strange attractor is analyzed using fractal dimension and return map.

Convective behaviour in severe accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clement, C.F.

1988-01-01

The nature and magnitude of the hazard from radioactivity posed by a possible nuclear accident depend strongly on convective behaviour within and immediately adjacent to the plant in question. This behaviour depends upon the nature of the vapour-gas-aerosol mixture concerned, and can show unusual properties such as 'upside-down' convection in which hot mixtures fall and cold mixtures rise. Predictions and criteria as to the types of behaviour which could possibly occur are summarised. Possible applications to present reactors are considered, and ways in which presently expected convection could be drastically modified are described. In some circumstances these could be used to suppress the radioactive source term or to switch its effect between distant dilute contamination and severe local contamination. (author). 8 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs

Numerical Analyses of a single-phase natural convection system for Molten Flibe using MARS-FLIBE code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Sarah; Bang, In Cheol [Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

These advantages make the MSR attractive and to be one of the six candidates for the Generation IV Reactor. Therefore, the researches related to the MSR are being conducted. To analyze the molten salt-cooled systems in the laboratory, this study generated the properties of molten salt using MARS-LMR. In this research, the implemented salts were Flibe (LiF-BeF{sub 2}) in a molar mixture that is 66% LiF and 34% BeF{sub 2}, respectively. Table 1 indicates the comparison of thermal properties of various coolants in nuclear power plants. Molten salt was added to the MARS-LMR code to support the analysis of Flibe-cooled systems. The molten salt includes LiF-BeF{sub 2} in a molar mixture that is 66% LiF and 34% BeF{sub 2}, respectively. MARS-LMR code for liquid metals uses the soft sphere model based on Monte Carlo calculations for particles interacting with pair potentials. Although MARS was originally intended for a safety analysis of light water reactor, Flibe properties were newly added to this code as so-called MARS-FLIBE which is applicable for Flibe-cooled systems. By using this thermodynamic property table file, the thermal hydraulic systems of Flibe can be simulated for numerical and parametric studies. In this study, the natural convection phenomena in the rectangular natural convection loop and IVR-ERVC in APR 1400 were simulated. Through the simulations in Flibe-cooled systems, the temperature distribution and mass flowrate of Flibe can be calculated and the heat transfer coefficients of Flibe in natural convection loop will be calculated by adding the related heat transfer correlations in the MARS-FLIBE code. MARS-FLIBE code will be used to predict and design of Flibe-cooled systems.

Natural convection heat transfer on two horizontal cylinders in liquid sodium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hata, K.; Shiotsu, M.; Takeuchi, Y. [Institute of Atomic Energy, Kyoto Univ. (Japan)] [and others

1995-09-01

Natural convection heat transfer on two horizontal 7.6 mm diameter test cylinders assembled with the ratio of the distance between each cylinder axis to the cylinder diameter, S/D, of 2 in liquid sodium was studied experimentally and theoretically. The heat transfer coefficients on the cylinder surface due to the same heat inputs ranging from 1.0 X 10{sup 7} to 1.0 x 10{sup 9} W/m{sup 3} were obtained experimentally for various setting angeles, {gamma}, between vertical direction and the plane including both of these cylinder axis over the range of zero to 90{degrees}. Theoretical equations for laminar natural convection heat transfer from the two horizontal cylinders were numerically solved for the same conditions as the experimental ones considering the temperature dependence of thermophysical properties concerned. The average Nusselt numbers, Nu, values on the Nu versus modified Rayleigh number, R{sub f}, graph. The experimental values of Nu for the upper cylinder are about 20% lower than those for the lower cylinder at {gamma} = 0{degrees} for the range of R{sub f} tested here. The value of Nu for the upper cylinder becomes higher and approaches that for the lower cylinder with the increase in {gamma} over range of 0 to 90{degrees}. The values of Nu for the lower cylinder at each {gamma} are almost in agreement with those for a single cylinder. The theoretical values of Nu on two cylinders except those for R{sub f}<4 at {gamma} = 0{degrees} are in agreement with the experimental data at each {gamma} with the deviations less than 15%. Correlations for Nu on the upper and lower cylinders were obtained as functions of S/D and {gamma} based n the theoretical solutions for the S/D ranged over 1.5 to 4.0.

A Stochastic Framework for Modeling the Population Dynamics of Convective Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Hagos, Samson; Feng, Zhe; Plant, Robert S.; Houze, Robert A.; Xiao, Heng

2018-02-01

A stochastic prognostic framework for modeling the population dynamics of convective clouds and representing them in climate models is proposed. The framework follows the nonequilibrium statistical mechanical approach to constructing a master equation for representing the evolution of the number of convective cells of a specific size and their associated cloud-base mass flux, given a large-scale forcing. In this framework, referred to as STOchastic framework for Modeling Population dynamics of convective clouds (STOMP), the evolution of convective cell size is predicted from three key characteristics of convective cells: (i) the probability of growth, (ii) the probability of decay, and (iii) the cloud-base mass flux. STOMP models are constructed and evaluated against CPOL radar observations at Darwin and convection permitting model (CPM) simulations. Multiple models are constructed under various assumptions regarding these three key parameters and the realisms of these models are evaluated. It is shown that in a model where convective plumes prefer to aggregate spatially and the cloud-base mass flux is a nonlinear function of convective cell area, the mass flux manifests a recharge-discharge behavior under steady forcing. Such a model also produces observed behavior of convective cell populations and CPM simulated cloud-base mass flux variability under diurnally varying forcing. In addition to its use in developing understanding of convection processes and the controls on convective cell size distributions, this modeling framework is also designed to serve as a nonequilibrium closure formulations for spectral mass flux parameterizations.

Natural convection heat transfer of fluid with temperature-dependent specific heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Amane; Kubo, Shinji; Akino, Norio

1998-01-01

The present study investigates natural convection from a heated vertical plate of fluid with temperature-dependent specific heat, which is introduced as a model of microencapsulated phase change material slurries (MCPCM slurries). The temperature dependence of specific heat is represented by Gauss function with three physical parameters (peak temperature, width of phase change temperature and latent heat). Boundary layer equations are solved numerically, and the velocity and temperature fields of the flow are obtained. The relation between the heat transfer coefficients and the physical parameters of specific heat is discussed. The results show that the velocities and temperatures are smaller, and the heat transfer coefficients are larger comparing with those of the fluid with constant specific heat. (author)

Unsteady MHD free convection flow and heat transfer along an ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Steady free convection flow of an electrically conducting fluid along an infinite vertical porous plate under Arrhenius kinetics are investigated in the presence of strong transverse magnetic field imposed perpendicularly to the plate .A similarity parameter length scale (h) as a function of time and the suction velocity are ...

Validation of Numerical Schemes in a Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis Code for a Natural Convection Heat Transfer of a Molten Pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Tae; Ha, Kwang Soon; Kim, Hwan Yeol; Park, Rae Joon; Song, Jin Ho

2010-01-01

It is postulated that a fuel of a water-cooled nuclear reactor can be melted during a hypothetical severe accident. There are two strategies for cooling the molten corium, which are in-vessel corium cooling and exvessel corium cooling. They can be chosen depending on cooling characteristics of the reactor. The coolability of the molten pool is determined by comparing the thermal load from the pool and the maximum heat flux removable by cooling mechanism such as radiative or boiling heat transfer on the pool boundaries. In order to evaluate the molten pool coolability, it is important to correctly expect the thermal load by a natural convection heat transfer of the corium pool. Many correlations have been developed by conducting experiments for the natural convection of a pool. The main parameters of the heat transfer by the natural convection are Rayleigh (Ra) number, Prandtl (Pr) number and the geometry of the pool. Sometimes, the use of the correlations for the evaluation of the thermal load from the molten pool is limited by a high Ra number of the pool and its different shape from the existing correlations. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used for the analysis of the heat transfer by a natural convection. In principle, CFD is applicable to the corium pool analysis. But unfortunately, some difficulties are encountered during the analysis, which are from numerical and physical instabilities. The physical instability is from turbulence fluctuation and inverted thermal layer near the upper surface of the volumetric-heated molten pool with a high Ra number. In order to resolve turbulent natural convection, buoyancy-modified two-equation turbulence models such as a k-e or k-w model with time-averaged Navier- Stokes equations are commonly used. Because an unsteadiness of a natural convection becomes nontrivial in a high Ra number pool, it is very difficult to get accurate heat flux on the pool surface with the time averaged turbulence model. Recently

Experimental analysis on a novel solar collector system achieved by supercritical CO2 natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Lin; Zhang, Xin-Rong

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Supercritical CO 2 flow is proposed for natural circulation solar water heater system. • Experimental system established and consists of supercritical fluid high pressure side and water side. • Stable supercritical CO 2 natural convective flow is well induced and water heating process achieved. • Seasonal solar collector system efficiency above 60% achieved and optimization discussed. - Abstract: Solar collector has become a hot topic both in scientific research and engineering applications. Among the various applications, the hot water supply demand accounts for a large part of social energy consumption and has become one promising field. The present study deals with a novel solar thermal conversion and water heater system achieved by supercritical CO 2 natural circulation. Experimental systems are established and tested in Zhejiang Province (around N 30.0°, E 120.6°) of southeast China. The current system is designed to operate in the supercritical region, thus the system can be compactly made and achieve smooth high rate natural convective flow. During the tests, supercritical CO 2 pipe flow with Reynolds number higher than 6700 is found. The CO 2 fluid temperature in the heat exchanger can be as high as 80 °C and a stable supply of hot water above 45 °C is achieved. In the seasonal tests, relative high collector efficiency generally above 60.0% is obtained. Thermal and performance analysis is carried out with the experiment data. Comparisons between the present system and previous solar water heaters are also made in this paper

Characterization of boundary layer thickness of nano fluid ZrO_2 on natural convection process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

V-Indriati Sri Wardhani; Henky P Rahardjo

2015-01-01

Cooling system is highly influenced by the process of convection heat transfer from the heat source to the cooling fluid. The cooling fluid usually used conventional fluid such as water. Cooling system performance can be improved by using fluids other than water such as nano fluid that is made from a mixture of water and nano-sized particles. Researchers at BATAN Bandung have made nano fluid ZrO_2 from local materials, as well as experimental equipment for studying the thermohydraulic characteristics of nano fluid as the cooling fluid. In this study, thermohydraulic characteristics of nano fluid ZrO_2 are observed through experimentation. Nano fluid ZrO_2 is made from a mixture of water with ZrO_2 nano-sized particles of 10-7-10-9 nm whose concentration is 1 g/liter. This nano fluid is used as coolant in the cooling process of natural convection. The natural convection process depends on the temperature difference between heat source and the cooling fluid, which occur in the thermal boundary layer. Therefore it is necessary to study the thermal boundary layer thickness of nano fluid ZrO_2, which is also able to determine the local velocity. Experimentations are done with several variation of the heater power and then the temperature are measured at several horizontal points to see the distribution of the temperatures. The temperature distribution measurement results can be used to determine the boundary layer thickness and flow rate. It is obtained that thermal boundary layer thickness and velocity of nano fluid ZrO_2 is not much different from the conventional fluid water. (author)

Convective parameters in fuel elements for research nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Martinez, C.D.

1992-01-01

The study of a prototype for the simulation of fuel elements for research nuclear reactors by natural convection in water is presented in this paper. This project is carry out in the thermofluids laboratory of National Institute of Nuclear Research. The fuel prototype has already been test for natural convection in air, and the first results in water are presented in this work. In chapter I, a general description of Triga Mark III is made, paying special atention to fuel-moderator components. In chapter II and III an approach to convection subject in its global aspects is made, since the intention is to give a general idea of the events occuring around fuel elements in a nuclear reactor. In chapter II, where an emphasis on forced convection is made, some basic concepts for forced convection as well as for natural convection are included. The subject of flow through cylinders is annotated only as a comparative reference with natural convection in vertical cylinders, noting the difference between used correlations and the involved variables. In chapter III a compilation of correlation found in the bibliography about natural convection in vertical cylinders is presented, since its geometry is the more suitable in the analysis of a fuel rod. Finally, in chapter IV performed experiments in the test bench are detailed, and the results are presented in form of tables and graphs, showing the used equations for the calculations and the restrictions used in each case. For the analysis of the prototypes used in the test bench, a constant and uniform flow of heat in the whole length of the fuel rod is considered. At the end of this chapter, the work conclusions and a brief explanation of the results are presented (Author)

Time evolution simulation of heat removal in a small water tank by natural convection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freitas, Carlos Alberto de, E-mail: carlos.freitas1950@hotmail.com [Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), Nilopolis, RJ (Brazil); Jachic, Joao; Moreira, Maria de Lourdes, E-mail: jjachic@ien.gov.br, E-mail: malu@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2013-07-01

One of the cooling modes for any source of heat such as in a shutdown nuclear core is the natural convection. The design specifications of any cooling pool can only be done when the removal heat rate and the corresponding mass flow rate is reasonably established. In our simulation scheme, we assumed that the body forces acting in the cubic water cell are: the weight, the drag force and the integrated pressure forces on the horizontal surfaces, the viscosity shear forces on the vertical surfaces and also a special viscosity drag force due to the mass dislocation along a Bernoulli type current tube outside the motive region. For a suitable time step, the uprising convection velocity is determined by an implicit and also by an explicit solution algorithm. The resulting differential equation depends on updating specific mass, dynamic viscosity and constant pressure heat coefficient with the last known temperature in the cell that absorbed heat. Numerical calculation software was performed using MATLAB’s technical computing language and then applied for a heat generation plate simulating a spent fuel assembler from a shutdown nuclear core. The results show time evolution of convection, terminal velocity and water temperature distribution. Pool dimension as well as pool level decrement are also determined for various air exhausting system conditions and heat rate of the spent fuel plate being cooled. (author)

Analysis of ginger drying inside a natural convection indirect solar dryer: An experimental study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. K. Sansaniwal

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a natural convection indirect solar cabinet dryer has been fabricated to study the drying behaviour of ginger rhizomes in terms of its convective heat transfer coefficient and moisture removing rate (% db. Various experiments were conducted during the months of March and April 2014 at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar (29o5’5’’N, 75o45’55’’E, India. Experimental data obtained were used to evaluate the Nusselt number constants using linear regression method. Considering these constants, the average value of convective heat transfer coefficient was obtained and observed to decrease with increase in mass of ginger samples and progression of drying days with variation from 0.59 to 5.42 W/m2˚C for different mass of ginger samples. The moisture removing rate was reported to increase with increase in mass of ginger samples and decreases significantly with the progression of drying days. The average collector efficiency was also observed to vary from 14.97 to 16.14% under increasing and decreasing trends of solar radiations from morning to noon and noon to evening respectively. Modified page model was reported best for describing the drying behaviour of different mass of ginger samples. The experimental error in terms of percent uncertainty ranged from 29.19 to 46.25%.

Time evolution simulation of heat removal in a small water tank by natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitas, Carlos Alberto de; Jachic, Joao; Moreira, Maria de Lourdes

2013-01-01

One of the cooling modes for any source of heat such as in a shutdown nuclear core is the natural convection. The design specifications of any cooling pool can only be done when the removal heat rate and the corresponding mass flow rate is reasonably established. In our simulation scheme, we assumed that the body forces acting in the cubic water cell are: the weight, the drag force and the integrated pressure forces on the horizontal surfaces, the viscosity shear forces on the vertical surfaces and also a special viscosity drag force due to the mass dislocation along a Bernoulli type current tube outside the motive region. For a suitable time step, the uprising convection velocity is determined by an implicit and also by an explicit solution algorithm. The resulting differential equation depends on updating specific mass, dynamic viscosity and constant pressure heat coefficient with the last known temperature in the cell that absorbed heat. Numerical calculation software was performed using MATLAB’s technical computing language and then applied for a heat generation plate simulating a spent fuel assembler from a shutdown nuclear core. The results show time evolution of convection, terminal velocity and water temperature distribution. Pool dimension as well as pool level decrement are also determined for various air exhausting system conditions and heat rate of the spent fuel plate being cooled. (author)

Steady-state heat transfer in an inverted U-tube steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucher, T.J.

1986-01-01

Experimental results are presented involving U-tube steam generator tube bundle local heat transfer and fluid conditions during steady-state, full-power operations performed at high temperatures and pressures with conditions typical of a pressurized water reactor (15.0 MPa primary pressure, 600 K hot-leg fluid temperatures, 6.2 MPa secondary pressure). The MOD-2C facility represents the state-of-the-art in measurement of tube local heat transfer data and average tube bundle secondary fluid density at several elevations, which allows an estimate of the axial heat transfer and void distributions during steady-state and transient operations. The method of heat transfer data reduction is presented and the heat flux, secondary convective heat transfer coefficient, and void fraction distributions are quantified for steady-state, full-power operations

Natural convection in ternary mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kremer, G.M.; Kai, L.

1981-01-01

The field equations for a mixture of a viscous fluid, a deformable solid and a non-viscous fluid are studied, based on a linearized theory proposed by Bowen. The fields of density of each constituent, temperature, velocity of each fluid and displacement of the solid are determined, for steady states flow of the mixture between two parallel planes and between two concentric cylinders which are maintained at diferent temperatures. (Author) [pt

Oscillatory magneto-convection under magnetic field modulation

OpenAIRE

Kiran, Palle; Bhadauria, B.S.; Narasimhulu, Y.

2017-01-01

In this paper we investigate an oscillatory mode of nonlinear magneto-convection under time dependant magnetic field. The time dependant magnetic field consists steady and oscillatory parts. The oscillatory part of the imposed magnetic field is assumed to be of third order. An externally imposed vertical magnetic field in an electrically conducting horizontal fluid layer is considered. The finite amplitude analysis is discussed while perturbing the system. The complex Ginzburg-Landau model is...

Industrial Application of Topology Optimization for Combined Conductive and Convective Heat Transfer Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Mingdong; Alexandersen, Joe; Sigmund, Ole

2016-01-01

This paper presents an industrial application of topology optimization for combined conductive and convective heat transfer problems. The solution is based on a synergy of computer aided design and engineering software tools from Dassault Systemes. The considered physical problem of steady......-state heat transfer under convection is simulated using SIMULIA-Abaqus. A corresponding topology optimization feature is provided by SIMULIA-Tosca. By following a standard workflow of design optimization, the proposed solution is able to accommodate practical design scenarios and results in efficient...

Numerical solution of problems concerning the thermal convection of a variable-viscosity liquid

Science.gov (United States)

Zherebiatev, I. F.; Lukianov, A. T.; Podkopaev, Iu. L.

A stabilizing-correction scheme is constructed for integrating the fourth-order equation describing the dynamics of a viscous incompressible liquid. As an example, a solution is obtained to the problem of the solidification of a liquid in a rectangular region with allowance for convective energy transfer in the liquid phase as well as temperature-dependent changes of viscosity. It is noted that the proposed method can be used to study steady-state problems of thermal convection in ingots obtained through continuous casting.

Characterization of Radial Curved Fin Heat Sink under Natural and Forced Convection

Science.gov (United States)

Khadke, Rishikesh; Bhole, Kiran

2018-02-01

Heat exchangers are important structures widely used in power plants, food industries, refrigeration, and air conditioners and now widely used in computing systems. Finned type of heat sink is widely used in computing systems. The main aim of the design of the heat sink is to maintain the optimum temperature level. To achieve this goal so many geometrical configurations are implemented. This paper presents a characterization of radially curved fin heat sink under natural and forced convection. Forced convection is studied for the optimization of temperature for better efficiency. The different alternatives in geometry are considered in characterization are heat intensity, the height of the fin and speed of the fan. By recognizing these alternatives the heat sink is characterized by the heat flux usually generated in high-end PCs. The temperature drop characteristics across height and radial direction are presented for the constant heat input and air flow in the heat sink. The effect of dimensionless elevation height (0 ≤ Z* ≤ 1) and Elenbaas Number (0.4 ≤ El ≤ 2.8) of the heat sink were investigated for study of the Nusselt number. Based on experimental characterization, process plan has been developed for the selection of the similar heat sinks for desired output (heat dissipation and temperature distribution).

Laminar Mixed Convection Heat Transfer Correlation for Horizontal Pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chae, Myeong Seon; Chung, Bum Jin

2013-01-01

This study aimed at producing experimental results and developing a new heat transfer correlation based upon a semi-empirical buoyancy coefficient. Mixed convection mass transfers inside horizontal pipe were investigated for the pipe of various length-to-diameters with varying Re. Forced convection correlation was developed using a very short cathode. With the length of cathode increase and Re decrease, the heat transfer rates were enhanced and becomes higher than that of forced convection. An empirical buoyancy coefficient was derived from correlation of natural convection and forced convection with the addition of L/D. And the heat transfer correlation for laminar mixed convection was developed using the buoyancy coefficient, it describes not only current results, but also results of other studies. Mixed convection occurs when the driving forces of both forced and natural convections are of comparable magnitude (Gr/Re 2 ∼1). It is classical problem but is still an active area of research for various thermal applications such as flat plate solar collectors, nuclear reactors and heat exchangers. The effect of buoyancy on heat transfer in a forced flow is varied by the direction of the buoyancy force. In a horizontal pipe the direction of the forced and buoyancy forces are perpendicular. The studies on the mixed convections of the horizontal pipes were not investigated very much due to the lack of practical uses compared to those of vertical pipes. Even the definitions on the buoyancy coefficient that presents the relative influence of the forced and the natural convections, are different by scholars. And the proposed heat transfer correlations do not agree

Natural convection heat transfer enhancement using Microencapsulated Phase-Change-Material slurries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubo, Shinji; Akino, Norio; Tanaka, Amane; Nakano, Fumihiko; Nagashima, Akira.

1997-01-01

The present study investigates natural convection heat transfer from a heated cylinder cooled by a water slurry of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material (MCPCM). A normal paraffin hydrocarbon with carbon number of 18 and melting point of 27.9degC, is microencapsulated by Melamine resin into particles of which average diameter is 9.5μm and specific weight is same as water. The slurry of the MCPCM and water is put into a test apparatus, which is a rectangular enclosure with a heated horizontal cylinder. As the concentrations of PCM in the slurry are changed in 1,3 and 5%, the heat transfer coefficients of the cylinder are larger than that of water as working fluid, by 3,20 and 35% enhancements respectively. (author)

Experimental analysis of natural convection within a thermosyphon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarksean, R.

1993-01-01

The heat transfer characteristics of a thermosyphon designed to passively cool cylindrical heat sources are experimentally studied. The analysis is based on recognizing the physics of the flow within different regions of the thermosyphon to develop empirical heat transfer correlations. The basic system consists of three concentric cylinders, with an outer channel between the outer two cylinders, and an inner channel between the inner two cylinders. Tests were conducted. with two different process material container diameters, representing the inner cylinder, and several different power levels. The experimentally determined local and average Nu numbers for the inner channel are in good agreement with previous work for natural convection between vertical parallel plates, one uniformly heated and the other thermally insulated. The implication is that the heat transfer off of each surface is independent of the adjacent surface for sufficiently high Ra numbers. The heat transfer is independent because of limited interaction between the boundary layers at sufficiently high Ra numbers. As a result of the limited interaction, the maximum temperature within the system remained constant, or decreased slightly when the radii of the inner cylinders increased for the same amount of heat removal

From convection rolls to finger convection in double-diffusive turbulence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yang, Yantao; Verzicco, Roberto; Lohse, Detlef

2015-01-01

Double-diffusive convection (DDC), which is the buoyancy-driven flow with fluid density depending on two scalar components, is ubiquitous in many natural and engineering environments. Of great interests are scalars’ transfer rate and flow structures. Here we systematically investigate DDC flow

Effect of surface radiation on natural convection in an asymmetrically heated channel-chimney system

Science.gov (United States)

Nasri, Zied; Derouich, Youssef; Laatar, Ali Hatem; Balti, Jalloul

2018-05-01

In this paper, a more realistic numerical approach that takes into account the effect of surface radiation on the laminar air flow induced by natural convection in a channel-chimney system asymmetrically heated at uniform heat flux is used. The aim is to enrich the results given in Nasri et al. (Int J Therm Sci 90:122-134, 2015) by varying all the geometric parameters of the system and by taking into account the effect of surface radiation on the flows. The numerical results are first validated against experimental and numerical data available in the literature. The computations have allowed the determination of optimal configurations that maximize the mass flow rate and the convective heat transfer and minimize the heated wall temperatures. The analysis of the temperature fields with the streamlines and the pressure fields has helped to explain the effects of surface radiation and of the different thermo-geometrical parameters on the system performances to improve the mass flow rate and the heat transfer with respect to the simple channel. It is shown that the thermal performance of the channel-chimney system in terms of lower heated wall temperatures is little affected by the surface radiation. At the end, simple correlation equations have been proposed for quickly and easily predict the optimal configurations as well as the corresponding enhancement rates of the induced mass flow rate and the convective heat transfer.

Performance analysis of greenhouse dryer by using insulated north-wall under natural convection mode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prashant Singh Chauhan

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A prototype north wall insulated greenhouse dryer has been fabricated and tested in no-load conditions under natural convection mode. Experimentation has been conducted in two different cases. Case-I is when solar collector placed inside the dryer and Case-II is North wall insulated greenhouse dryer without solar collector. Coefficient of performance, heat utilisation factor, convective heat transfer coefficient and coefficient of diffusivity have been evaluated in thermal performance analysis. The difference of the highest convective heat transfer coefficient of both cases is 29.094W/m2°C which is showing the effectiveness of insulated north wall and solar collector. The maximum coefficient of diffusivity (0.0827 was achieved during the third day of experiment in Case-II. The inside room temperature of wall insulated greenhouse dryer for Case-I is 4.11%, 5.08 % and 11.61 % higher than the Case-II during the day 1, day 2 and day 3 respectively. This result is also showing the effectiveness of solar collector and insulated north wall. The highest heat utilisation factor (0.616 is obtained during the second day for Case-I while for Case-II it is 0.769 during the third day of experimentation. Maximum coefficient of performance achieved is 0.892 during the third day of the experiment for Case-I whereas 0.953 is obtained on the first day of experimentation for Case-II.

Combined convective heat and airborne pollutant removals in a slot vented enclosure under different flow schemes: Parametric investigations and non unique flow solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, Xiu-Hong; Hu, Jiang-Tao; Liu, Di; Zhao, Fu-Yun; Li, Xiao-Hong; Wang, Han-Qing

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Combined convective heat and airborne transports under different flow schemes. • Natural and forced convection dominated regimes were identified with transition. • Dual solution branches were sustained for the transitional mixing flow scheme. • Rest solutions evolving from motionless flows coincided with other solution branch. • Heat and species lines were presented to delineate heat and mass transport structures. - Abstract: This paper reports a numerical study of mixed convection on a heated and polluted strip within a slot ventilated enclosure in which the displacement and mixing flow schemes are considered. Contours of streamfunction, heatfunction, and massfunction are presented to clearly scrutinize the mechanism of heat and airborne pollutant transports. For the displacement flow scheme, thermal Nusselt and pollutant Sherwood numbers under different Reynolds numbers remain almost constant as the value of Gr/Re 2 decreases down to the regime of forced convection dominated. However, as Ar increases up to the regime of natural convection dominated, both Nu and Sh increase sharply with Ar (Gr/Re 2 ). Similar trends could be observed for the situation of mixing ventilated flow scheme. In the mixing scheme, non unique steady flow solutions could be observed for the range of transitional flow regime. Upward solutions, downward solutions and rest solutions have been exemplified with varying Gr/Re 2 . Dual solution branches could be sustained at the range of 39.0 ≤ Gr/Re 2  ≤ 6.0 × 10 3 , while the rest solutions obtained from rest states were completely coinciding with former continuous solutions. The present work could be significant for the natural optimization and passive control of heat and pollutant removals from the electronic boxes or building enclosures.

Temporal direct numerical simulation of transitional natural-convection boundary layer under conditions of considerable external turbulence effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abramov, Alexey G; Smirnov, Evgueni M; Goryachev, Valery D

2014-01-01

Results of direct numerical simulations for time-developing air natural-convection boundary layer are presented. Computations have been performed assuming periodicity conditions in both the directions parallel to the vertical isothermal hot plate. The contribution is mainly focused on understanding of laminar–turbulent transition peculiarities in the case of perturbation action of external turbulence that is modeled by isotropic disturbances initially introduced into the computational domain. Special attention is paid to identification and analysis of evolving three-dimensional vortices that clearly manifest themselves through the whole stages of laminar–turbulent transition in the boundary layer. A comparison of computed profiles of mean velocity, mean temperature and fluctuation characteristics for turbulent regimes of convection with experimental data is performed as well. (paper)

Boundary Layer Control of Rotating Convection Systems

Science.gov (United States)

King, E. M.; Stellmach, S.; Noir, J.; Hansen, U.; Aurnou, J. M.

2008-12-01

Rotating convection is ubiquitous in the natural universe, and is likely responsible for planetary processes such magnetic field generation. Rapidly rotating convection is typically organized by the Coriolis force into tall, thin, coherent convection columns which are aligned with the axis of rotation. This organizational effect of rotation is thought to be responsible for the strength and structure of magnetic fields generated by convecting planetary interiors. As thermal forcing is increased, the relative influence of rotation weakens, and fully three-dimensional convection can exist. It has long been assumed that rotational effects will dominate convection dynamics when the ratio of buoyancy to the Coriolis force, the convective Rossby number, Roc, is less than unity. We investigate the influence of rotation on turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection via a suite of coupled laboratory and numerical experiments over a broad parameter range: Rayleigh number, 10310; Ekman number, 10-6≤ E ≤ ∞; and Prandtl number, 1≤ Pr ≤ 100. In particular, we measure heat transfer (as characterized by the Nusselt number, Nu) as a function of the Rayleigh number for several different Ekman and Prandtl numbers. Two distinct heat transfer scaling regimes are identified: non-rotating style heat transfer, Nu ~ Ra2/7, and quasigeostrophic style heat transfer, Nu~ Ra6/5. The transition between the non-rotating regime and the rotationally dominant regime is described as a function of the Ekman number, E. We show that the regime transition depends not on the global force balance Roc, but on the relative thicknesses of the thermal and Ekman boundary layers. The transition scaling provides a predictive criterion for the applicability of convection models to natural systems such as Earth's core.

Ventilation and internal structure effects on naturally induced flows in a static aircraft wing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, Daithi; Newport, David; Egan, Vanessa; Lacarac, Vesna

2012-01-01

The ventilation performance within an aircraft wing leading edge is investigated for a number of enclosure and ventilation configurations. The natural convection regime present is found to be highly sensitive to enclosure conditions, particularly the introduction of a partition. The presence of a partition reduced the overall heat exhausted from the cavity by up to 60%. The optimum ventilation strategy is also changed from a forward biased vent orientation (found for the unpartitioned case), to one where both the rear and front vents within the enclosure had the same open area. Cylinder plume effects dominate within the enclosure and were the main driver of the convective regime, with steady-state enclosure conditions highly dependent upon cylinder placement and plume orientation. An externally heated enclosure with internal heat source, combined with ventilation and an internal structure produced a complex natural convection regime which is sensitive to enclosure conditions. Hence an adequate knowledge of such conditions is necessary in order to fully appreciate the convective regime. - Highlights: → Optimum ventilation strategy changed between unpartitioned and partitioned cases. → Flow path and plume orientation are important to consider when analysing ventilation. → Bleed duct placement significantly alters flow path and temperature distribution. → Enclosure partitioning reduced heat exhaustion by 60%.

Natural convection and dispersion in a tilted fracture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, A.W.; Linz, S.J.

1992-01-01

In many geophysical situations, fluid is contained in long narrow fractures embedded within an impermeable medium of different thermal conductivity; and there may be a uniform vertical temperature gradient imposed upon the system. We show that whenever the slot is tilted to the vertical, convection develops in the fluid, even if the background temperature increases with height. Using typical values for the physical properties of a water-filled fracture, we show that the Earth's geothermal gradient produces a convective flow in a fracture; this has an associated dispersion coefficient D T ∼10 2 -10 3 D in fractures about a centimetre wide. We show that this shear dispersion could transport radioactive material, of half-life 10 4 years, tens of metres along the fracture within one half-life; without this dispersion, the material would only diffuse a few metres along the fracture within one half-life. (author)

Primary Issues of Mixed Convection Heat Transfer Phenomena

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chae, Myeong-Seon; Chung, Bum-Jin [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The computer code analyzing the system operating and transient behavior must distinguish flow conditions involved with convective heat transfer flow regimes. And the proper correlations must be supplied to those flow regimes. However the existing safety analysis codes are focused on the Light Water Reactor and they are skeptical to be applied to the GCRs (Gas Cooled Reactors). One of the technical issues raise by the development of the VHTR is the mixed convection, which occur when the driving forces of both forced and natural convection are of comparable magnitudes. It can be encountered as in channel of the stacked with fuel elements and a decay heat removal system and in VHTR. The mixed convection is not intermediate phenomena with natural convection and forced convection but independent complicated phenomena. Therefore, many researchers have been studied and some primary issues were propounded for phenomena mixed convection. This paper is to discuss some problems identified through reviewing the papers for mixed convection phenomena. And primary issues of mixed convection heat transfer were proposed respect to thermal hydraulic problems for VHTR. The VHTR thermal hydraulic study requires an indepth study of the mixed convection phenomena. In this study we reviewed the classical flow regime map of Metais and Eckert and derived further issues to be considered. The following issues were raised: (1) Buoyancy aided an opposed flows were not differentiated and plotted in a map. (2) Experimental results for UWT and UHF condition were also plotted in the same map without differentiation. (3) The buoyancy coefficient was not generalized for correlating with buoyancy coefficient. (4) The phenomenon analysis for laminarization and returbulization as buoyancy effects in turbulent mixed convection was not established. (5) The defining to transition in mixed convection regime was difficult.

Boundary-modulated Thermal Convection Model in the Mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Kurita, K.; Kumagai, I.

2008-12-01

Analog experiments have played an important role in the constructing ideas of mantle dynamics. The series of experiments by H. Ramberg is one of the successful examples. Recently, however the realm of the analog experiments seems to be overwhelmed by steady progress of computer simulations. Is there still room for the analog experiments? This might be a main and hidden subject of this session. Here we propose a working hypothesis how the convecting mantle behaves based on the analog experiments in the system of viscous fluid and particles. The essential part is the interaction of convecting flow with heterogeneities existing in the boundaries. It is proposed the preexisting topographical heterogeneity in the boundary could control the flow pattern of convecting fluid. If this kind of heterogeneity can be formed as a consequence of convective motion and mobilized by the flow, the convection also can control the heterogeneity. We can expect interactions in two ways, by which the system behaves in a self-organize fashion. To explore the mutual interactions between convection flow and heterogeneity the system of viscous fluid and particles with slightly higher density is selected as 2D Rayleigh-Benard type convection. The basic structure consists of a basal particulate layer where permeable convection transports heat and an upper viscous fluid layer. By reducing the magnitude of the density difference the convective flow can mobilize the particles and can erode the basal layer. The condition of this erosion can be identified in the phase diagram of the particle Shields"f and the Rayleigh numbers. At Ra greater than 107 the convection style drastically changed before and after the erosion. Before the erosion where the flat interface of the boundary is maintained small scaled turbulent convection pattern is dominant. After the erosion where the interface becomes bumpy the large scale convective motion is observed. The structure is coherent to that of the boundary. This

Natural convection of the oxide pool in a three-layer configuration of core melts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Su-Hyeon; Park, Hae-Kyun; Chung, Bum-Jin, E-mail: bjchung@khu.ac.kr

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Natural convection of oxide pool in 3-layer configuration during IVR was investigated. • High Ra was achieved by using mass transfer experiments based on analogy concept. • Heat ratio to light metal layer was 14% higher for 3-layer configuration than 2-layer one. • Heat transfer to heavy metal layer was poor and hence heat load to side wall increased. • Angular heat loads to side wall showed strengthened heat focusing at uppermost location. - Abstract: We investigated the natural convection of the oxide layer in a three-layer configuration of core melts in a severe accident. In order to achieve high modified Rayleigh numbers of 10{sup 12}–10{sup 13}, mass transfer experiments were performed using a copper sulfate electroplating system based upon the analogy between heat and mass transfer. Four different cooling conditions of the top and the bottom plates were tested. The upward heat ratios were 14% higher for three-layer than for two-layer due to the reduced heights and the downward heat ratios were lower the same amount. The local Nusselt numbers for the top and the bottom plates were measured and compared with the two layer configuration. To explore the heat load to the reactor vessel, the angle-dependent heat fluxes at the side wall, were measured and compared with the two-layer configuration. Heat load to the side wall and peak heat at the uppermost location were intensified for the three-layer configuration.

Natural convection in asymmetric triangular enclosures heated from below

Science.gov (United States)

Kamiyo, O. M.; Angeli, D.; Barozzi, G. S.; Collins, M. W.

2014-11-01

Triangular enclosures are typical configurations of attic spaces found in residential as well as industrial pitched-roof buildings. Natural convection in triangular rooftops has received considerable attention over the years, mainly on right-angled and isosceles enclosures. In this paper, a finite volume CFD package is employed to study the laminar air flow and temperature distribution in asymmetric rooftop-shaped triangular enclosures when heated isothermally from the base wall, for aspect ratios (AR) 0.2 <= AR <= 1.0, and Rayleigh number (Ra) values 8 × 105 <= Ra <= 5 × 107. The effects of Rayleigh number and pitch angle on the flow structure and temperature distributions within the enclosure are analysed. Results indicate that, at low pitch angle, the heat transfer between the cold inclined and the hot base walls is very high, resulting in a multi-cellular flow structure. As the pitch angle increases, however, the number of cells reduces, and the total heat transfer rate progressively reduces, even if the Rayleigh number, being based on the enclosure height, rapidly increases. Physical reasons for the above effect are inspected.

Natural convection solar dryer with biomass back-up heater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bena, B.; Fuller, R.J. [University of Melbourne (Australia). Faculty of Engineering

2002-07-01

A direct-type natural convection solar dryer and a simple biomass burner have been combined to demonstrate a drying technology suitable for small-scale processors of dried fruits and vegetables in non-electrified areas of developing countries. From a series of evaluation trials of the system, the capacity of the dryer was found to be 20-22kg of fresh pineapple arranged in a single layer of 0.01-m-thick slices. The overall drying efficiency of the unit was calculated to be {approx} 9%. During the same trial, the drying efficiency of the solar component alone was found to be 22%. Other trials estimated the efficiency of the burner in producing useful heat for drying to be 27%. Key features of the biomass burner were found to be the addition of thermal mass on the upper surface, an internal baffle plate to lengthen the exhaust gas exit path and a variable air inlet valve. Further modifications to further improve the performance of both the solar and biomass components of the dryer are suggested. (author)

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF NATURAL CONVECTION IN A PRISMATIC ENCLOSURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walid AICH

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow have been examined numerically using the control-volume finite-element method in an isosceles prismatic cavity, submitted to a uniform heat flux from below when inclined sides are maintained isothermal and vertical walls are assumed to be perfect thermal insulators, without symmetry assumptions for the flow structure. The aim of the study is to examine a pitchfork bifurcation occurrence. Governing parameters on heat transfer and flow fields are the Rayleigh number and the aspect ratio of the enclosure. It has been found that the heated wall is not isothermal and the flow structure is sensitive to the aspect ratio. It is also found that heat transfer increases with increasing of Rayleigh number and decreases with increasing aspect ratio. The effects of aspect ratio become significant especially for higher values of Rayleigh number. Eventually the obtained results show that a pitchfork bifurcation occurs at a critical Rayleigh number, above which the symmetric solutions becomes unstable and asymmetric solutions are instead obtained.

SUPERENERGY-2: a multiassembly, steady-state computer code for LMFBR core thermal-hydraulic analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basehore, K.L.; Todreas, N.E.

1980-08-01

Core thermal-hydraulic design and performance analyses for Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs) require repeated detailed multiassembly calculations to determine radial temperature profiles and subchannel outlet temperatures for various core configurations and subassembly structural analyses. At steady-state, detailed core-wide temperature profiles are required for core restraint calculations and subassembly structural analysis. In addition, sodium outlet temperatures are routinely needed for each reactor operating cycle. The SUPERENERGY-2 thermal-hydraulic code was designed specifically to meet these designer needs. It is applicable only to steady-state, forced-convection flow in LMFBR core geometries.

SUPERENERGY-2: a multiassembly, steady-state computer code for LMFBR core thermal-hydraulic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basehore, K.L.; Todreas, N.E.

1980-08-01

Core thermal-hydraulic design and performance analyses for Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs) require repeated detailed multiassembly calculations to determine radial temperature profiles and subchannel outlet temperatures for various core configurations and subassembly structural analyses. At steady-state, detailed core-wide temperature profiles are required for core restraint calculations and subassembly structural analysis. In addition, sodium outlet temperatures are routinely needed for each reactor operating cycle. The SUPERENERGY-2 thermal-hydraulic code was designed specifically to meet these designer needs. It is applicable only to steady-state, forced-convection flow in LMFBR core geometries

On a Five-Dimensional Chaotic System Arising from Double-Diffusive Convection in a Fluid Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Idris

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A chaotic system arising from double-diffusive convection in a fluid layer is investigated in this paper based on the theory of dynamical systems. A five-dimensional model of chaotic system is obtained using the Galerkin truncated approximation. The results showed that the transition from steady convection to chaos via a Hopf bifurcation produced a limit cycle which may be associated with a homoclinic explosion at a slightly subcritical value of the Rayleigh number.

Quantifying near-wall coherent structures in turbulent convection

Science.gov (United States)

Gunasegarane, G. S.; A Puthenveettil, Baburaj; K Agrawal, Yogesh; Schmeling, Daniel; Bosbach, Johannes; Arakeri, Jaywant; IIT Madras-DLR-IISc Collaboration

2011-11-01

We present planforms of line plumes formed on horizontal surfaces in turbulent convection, along with the length of near- wall line plumes measured from these planforms, in a six decade range of Rayleigh numbers (105 < Ra <1011) and at three Prandtl numbers (Pr = 0 . 7 , 6 , 602). Using geometric constraints on the relations for the mean plume spacings, we obtain expressions for the total length of these near-wall plumes in turbulent convection. The plume length per unit area (Lp / A), made dimensionless by the near-wall length scale in turbulent convection (Zw) remains a constant for a given fluid. The Nusselt number is shown to be directly proportional to Lp H / A for a given fluid layer of height H. Increase in Pr has a weak influence in decreasing Lp / A . These expressions match the measurements, thereby showing that the assumption of laminar natural convection boundary layers in turbulent convection is consistent with the observed total length of line plumes. We then show that similar relationships are obtained based on the assumption that the line plumes are the outcome of the instability of laminar natural convection boundary layers on the horizontal surfaces.

Unsteady natural convection flow past an accelerated vertical plate in a thermally stratified fluid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deka Rudra Kt.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available An exact solution to one-dimensional unsteady natural convection flow past an infinite vertical accelerated plate, immersed in a viscous thermally stratified fluid is investigated. Pressure work term and the vertical temperature advection are considered in the thermodynamic energy equation. The dimensionless governing equations are solved by Laplace Transform techniques for the Prandtl number unity. The velocity and temperature profiles as well as the skin-friction and the rate of heat transfer are presented graphically and discussed the effects of the Grashof number Gr, stratification parameter S at various times t.

Some bifurcation routes to chaos of thermocapillary convection in two-dimensional liquid layers of finite extent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, K., E-mail: likai@imech.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Microgravity, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China and National Microgravity Laboratory, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Xun, B.; Hu, W. R. [Key Laboratory of Microgravity, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China and National Microgravity Laboratory, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

2016-05-15

As a part of the preliminary studies for the future space experiment (Zona-K) in the Russian module of the International Space Station, some bifurcation routes to chaos of thermocapillary convection in two-dimensional liquid layers filled with 10 cSt silicone oil have been numerically studied in this paper. As the laterally applied temperature difference is raised, variations in the spatial structure and temporal evolution of the thermocapillary convection and a complex sequence of transitions are observed. The results show that the finite extent of the liquid layer significantly influences the tempo-spatial evolution of the thermocapillary convection. Moreover, the bifurcation route of the thermocapillary convection changes very sensitively by the aspect ratio of the liquid layer. With the increasing Reynolds number (applied temperature difference), the steady thermocapillary convection experiences two consecutive transitions from periodic oscillatory state to quasi-periodic oscillatory state with frequency-locking before emergence of chaotic convection in a liquid layer of aspect ratio 14.25, and the thermocapillary convection undergoes period-doubling cascades leading to chaotic convection in a liquid layer of aspect ratio 13.0.

Some bifurcation routes to chaos of thermocapillary convection in two-dimensional liquid layers of finite extent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, K.; Xun, B.; Hu, W. R.

2016-01-01

As a part of the preliminary studies for the future space experiment (Zona-K) in the Russian module of the International Space Station, some bifurcation routes to chaos of thermocapillary convection in two-dimensional liquid layers filled with 10 cSt silicone oil have been numerically studied in this paper. As the laterally applied temperature difference is raised, variations in the spatial structure and temporal evolution of the thermocapillary convection and a complex sequence of transitions are observed. The results show that the finite extent of the liquid layer significantly influences the tempo-spatial evolution of the thermocapillary convection. Moreover, the bifurcation route of the thermocapillary convection changes very sensitively by the aspect ratio of the liquid layer. With the increasing Reynolds number (applied temperature difference), the steady thermocapillary convection experiences two consecutive transitions from periodic oscillatory state to quasi-periodic oscillatory state with frequency-locking before emergence of chaotic convection in a liquid layer of aspect ratio 14.25, and the thermocapillary convection undergoes period-doubling cascades leading to chaotic convection in a liquid layer of aspect ratio 13.0.

Heat Transfer and Flows of Thermal Convection in a Fluid-Saturated Rotating Porous Medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianhong Kang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Thermal convection at the steady state for high Rayleigh number in a rotating porous half space is investigated. Taking into account the effect of rotation, Darcy equation is extended to incorporate the Coriolis force term in a rotating reference frame. The velocity and temperature fields of thermal convection are obtained by using the homotopy analysis method. The influences of Taylor number and Rayleigh number on the Nusselt number, velocity profile, and temperature distribution are discussed in detail. It is found that the Nusselt number decreases rapidly with the increase of Taylor number but tends to have an asymptotic value. Besides, the rotation can give rise to downward flow in contrast with the upward thermal convection.

Natural convection in a water tank with a heated horizontal plate facing downward

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Sun Kyoo; Jung, Moon Kee; Helmut Hoffmann

1995-01-01

Experimental and computational studies were carried out to investigate the natural convection of the single phase flow in a tank with a heated horizontal plate facing downward. This is a simplified model for investigations of the influence of a core melt at the bottom of a reactor vessel on the thermal hydraulic behavior in a water filled cavity surrounding the vessel. In this case the vessel is simulated by a hexahedron insulated box with a heated plate horizontally mounted at the bottom of the box. The box with the heated plate is installed in a water filled hexahedron tank. Coolers are immersed in the U-type water volume between the box and the tank. Although the multicomponent flows exist more probably below the heated plate in reality, present study concentrates on the single phase flow in a first step prior to investigating the complicated multicomponent thermal hydraulic phenomena. In the present study, in order to get a better understanding for the natural convection characteristics below the heated plate, the velocity and temperature are measured by LDA(Laser Doppler Anemometry) and thermocouples, respectively. And flow fields are visualized by taking pictures of the flow region with suspended particles. The results show the occurrence of a very effective circulation of the fluid in the whole flow area as the heater and coolers are put into operation. In the remote region below the heated plate the flow is nearly stagnant, and a remarkable temperature stratification can be observed with very thin thermal boundary. Analytical predictions using the FLUTAN code show a reasonable matching of the measured velocity fields. 18 figs., 2 tabs., 18 refs. (Author)

Numerical investigation of natural convection in two enclosures separated by anisotropic solid wall

KAUST Repository

Salama, Amgad

2014-10-28

Purpose: The problem of natural convection in two cavities separated by an anisotropic central solid wall is considered numerically. When the thermal conductivity of the central wall is anisotropic, heat flux and temperature gradient vectors are no longer coincidence. This apparently has interesting influences on the heat and fluid flow patterns in this system. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach: In this work, several flow patterns have been investigated covering a wide range of Rayleigh number up to 108. Several thermal conductivity anisotropy scenarios of the central wall have been investigated including 0, 30, 60, 120 and 1501 principal anisotropy directions. The governing equations have been solved using control volume approach.Findings: Probably the most intriguing is that, for some anisotropy scenarios it is found that the temperature at the same elevation at the side of the central wall which is closer to the colder wall is higher than that at the side closer to the hot wall. Apparently this defies intuition which suggests the reverse to have happened. However, this behavior may be explained in light of the effect of anisotropy. Furthermore, the patterns of streamlines and temperature fields in the two enclosures also changes as a consequence of the change of the central wall temperatures for the different anisotropy scenarios.Originality/value: This work discusses a very interesting topic related to heat energy exchange among two compartments when the separating wall is anisotropic. In some anisotropy scenarios, this leads to more uniform distribution of Nusselt number than the case when the wall is isotropic. Interesting patterns of natural convection is investigated.

Natural convection heat transfer from a vertical circular tube sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dharne, S.P.; Gaitonde, U.N.

1996-01-01

Experiments were conducted to determine natural convection heat transfer coefficients (a) on a plain vertical circular plate, and (b) on a similar plate with a square array of non-conducting tubes fixed in it. The experiments were carried out using air as the heat transfer medium. The diameter of the brass plates used was 350 mm. The diameter of the bakelite tubes used was 19.2 mm. The range of Rayleigh numbers was from 1.06x10 8 to 1.66x10 8 . The results show that the heat transfer coefficients in case (a) are very close to those obtained using standard correlations for vertical flat plates, whereas for case (b) the heat transfer coefficients are at least 50 percent higher than those predicted by the Churchill-Chu correlation. It is hence concluded that the disturbance to boundary layer caused by the presence of tubes enhances the heat transfer coefficient significantly. (author). 4 refs., 3 figs

SAS3A analysis of natural convection boiling behavior in the Sodium Boiling Test Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, G.A.

1979-01-01

An analysis of natural convection boiling behavior in the Sodium Boiling Test (SBT) Facility has been performed using the SAS3A computer code. The predictions from this analysis indicate that stable boiling can be achieved for extensive periods of time for channel powers less than 1.4 kW and indicate intermittent dryout at higher powers up to at least 1.7 kW. The results of this anaysis are in reasonable agreement with the SBT Facility test results

Effect of nature convection on heat transfer in the liquid LiPb blanket for FDS-II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Hongyan; Chen Hongli [Huaibei Coal Industry Teachers Coll. (China). Dept. of Physics; Zhou Tao [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China). Inst. of Plasma Physics

2007-07-01

The He-cooled liquid LiPb tritium breeder (SLL) blanket concept is one of options of the blanket design of the fusion power reactor (FDS-II). The SLL blanket could be developed relatively easily with lower LiPb outlet temperature and slower LiPb flow velocity that allows the utilization of relatively mature material technology. The velocity of the liquid LiPb in the blanket is very slowly only in order to extract tritium. The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow and heat transfer become very complex resulting from the differential heating of walls of the channels, especially adjacent to the First Wall (FW), and internal heat sources inside of the liquid LiPb. It is necessary to analyse the effect of the buoyancy-driven LiPb MHD flow on heat transfer in the channels with electrically and thermally conducting walls adjacent to the FW. The nature convection of the liquid LiPb, due to thermal diffusion, in the poloidal channel adjacent to the FW in the presence of the strong magnetic field of the SLL blanket has been considered and studied. The specially numerical MHD code based on the computational fluid dynamic software has been developed for analysis of the buoyancy-driven MHD flow. The properties of buoyantly convective flows have been investigated for various thermal boundary conditions. The numerical analysis was performed for the effect of nature convection on heat transfer of the liquid LiPb MHD flow in the poloidal channel in the SLL blanket. For the strong temperature gradient in the blanket and internal heat flux of Liquid LiPb, the three-dimensional temperature distributions of the LiPb, the FW and other walls have been given. Finally, The effect of the ratio of MHD buoyancy on the heat transfer characteristics of the LiPb flow have been calculated and presented. (orig.)

3D CFD simulations to study the effect of inclination of condenser tube on natural convection and thermal stratification in a passive decay heat removal system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minocha, Nitin [Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094 (India); Joshi, Jyeshtharaj B., E-mail: jbjoshi@gmail.com [Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094 (India); Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019 (India); Nayak, Arun K. [Reactor Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085 (India); Vijayan, Pallippattu K., E-mail: vijayanp@barc.gov.in [Reactor Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085 (India)

2016-08-15

secondary flow became dominant and resulted into enhanced heat transfer near the tube bottom. Three different heat transfer regimes were identified in the transient period: conduction (0 < t < 0.4 s), quasi-steady (0.4 s < t < 10 s) and fluctuating period (10 s < t < 100 s). The effect of inclination angle (α) was more pronounced in the fluctuating period. The natural convection and heat transfer in the regime of laminar-turbulent transition was studied in the presence of longitudinal vortices. The heat transfer was enhanced in the transition region due to vortices formation and it was reduced in the turbulent regime due to decay of vortices.

Study of natural convection characteristics in a narrow annular gap in (Part 1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narahara, Nobuyuki; Uotani, Masaki; Kinoshita, Izumi

1986-01-01

To clarify the characteristics of natural convection in a narrow annular gap at the roof-slab penetrations in pool-type LMFBR, preliminary and visualization experiments were carried out. The results are summarized as follows. (1) In the preliminary experiment having the upper and bottom closed annular space nondimensional circumferential temperature difference increases with gap width decreasing, and decreses with Rayleigh number increasing at the range of rayleigh number 10 10 to 10 11 . (2) In the visualization experiment, which consists the upper and bottom closed annular space type apparatus and the upper-closed bottom-open type apparatus, flow pattern and its effect at temperature distribution are clarified. (author)

Computational simulation of natural convection of a molten core in lower head of a PWR pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Camila Braga; Romero, Gabriel Alves; Jian Su

2010-01-01

Computational simulation of natural convection in a molten core during a hypothetical severe accident in the lower head of a typical PWR pressure vessel was performed for two-dimensional semi-circular geometry with isothermal walls. Transient turbulent natural convection heat transfer of a fluid with uniformly distributed volumetric heat generation rate was simulated by using a commercial computational fluid dynamics software ANSYS CFX 12.0. The Boussinesq model was used for the buoyancy effect generated by the internal heat source in the flow field. The two-equation k-ω based SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model was used to mould the turbulent stresses in the Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes equations (RANS). Two Prandtl numbers, 6:13 and 7:0, were considered. Five Rayleigh numbers were simulated for each Prandtl number used (109, 1010, 1011, 1012, and 1013). The average Nusselt numbers on the bottom surface of the semicircular cavity were in excellent agreement with Mayinger et al. (1976) correlation and only at Ra = 109 the average Nusselt number on the top flat surface was in agreement with Mayinger et al. (1976) and Kulacki and Emara (1975) correlations. (author)

Mathematical models of convection

CERN Document Server

Andreev, Victor K; Goncharova, Olga N; Pukhnachev, Vladislav V

2012-01-01

Phenomena of convection are abundant in nature as well as in industry. This volume addresses the subject of convection from the point of view of both, theory and application. While the first three chapters provide a refresher on fluid dynamics and heat transfer theory, the rest of the book describes the modern developments in theory. Thus it brings the reader to the ""front"" of the modern research. This monograph provides the theoretical foundation on a topic relevant to metallurgy, ecology, meteorology, geo-and astrophysics, aerospace industry, chemistry, crystal physics, and many other fiel

Design, development and performance testing of a new natural convection solar dryer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pangavhane, D.R. [K.K. Wagh College of Engineering, Nashik (India). Department of Mechanical Engineering; Sawhney, R.L.; Sarsavadia, P.N. [Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidhyalaya, Indore (India). School of Energy and Environmental Studies

2002-06-01

Mechanical drying of agricultural products is an energy consuming operation in the post-harvesting technology. Greater emphasis is given to using solar energy sources in this process due to the high prices and shortages of fossil fuels. For these purposes, a new natural convection solar dryer consisting of a solar air heater and a drying chamber was developed. This system can be used for drying various agricultural products like fruits and vegetables. In this study, grapes were successfully dried in the developed solar dryer. The qualitative analysis showed that the traditional drying, i.e. shade drying and open sun drying, dried the grapes in 15 and 7 days respectively, while the solar dryer took only 4 days and produced better quality raisins. (author)

Simulation on Natural Convection of a Nanofluid along an Isothermal Inclined Plate

Science.gov (United States)

Mitra, Asish

2017-08-01

A numerical algorithm is presented for studying laminar natural convection flow of a nanofluid along an isothermal inclined plate. By means of similarity transformation, the original nonlinear partial differential equations of flow are transformed to a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Subsequently they are reduced to a first order system and integrated using Newton Raphson and adaptive Runge-Kutta methods. The computer codes are developed for this numerical analysis in Matlab environment. Dimensionless velocity, temperature profiles and nanoparticle concentration for various angles of inclination are illustrated graphically. The effects of Prandtl number, Brownian motion parameter and thermophoresis parameter on Nusselt number are also discussed. The results of the present simulation are then compared with previous one available in literature with good agreement.

Modeling of MHD natural convection in a square enclosure having an adiabatic square shaped body using Lattice Boltzmann Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Kadhim Hussein

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A steady laminar two-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD natural convection flow in a square enclosure filled with an electrically conducting fluid is numerically investigated using Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM. The left and right vertical sidewalls of the square enclosure are maintained at hot and cold temperatures respectively. The horizontal top and bottom walls are considered thermally insulated. An adiabatic square shaped body is located in the center of a square enclosure and an external magnetic field is applied parallel to the horizontal x-axis. In the present work, the following parametric ranges of the non-dimensional groups are utilized: Hartmann number is varied as 0 ⩽ Ha ⩽ 50, Rayleigh number is varied as 103 ⩽ Ra ⩽ 105, Prandtl number is varied 0.05 ⩽ Pr ⩽ 5. It is found that the Hartmann number, Rayleigh number, and Prandtl number have an important role on the flow and thermal characteristics. It is found that when the Hartmann number increases the average Nusselt number decreases. The results also explain that the effect of magnetic field on flow field increases by increasing Prandtl number. However, the Prandtl number effect on the average Nusselt number with a magnetic field is less than the case without a magnetic field. Comparisons with previously published numerical works are performed and good agreements between the results are observed.

Thermal convection of viscoelastic shear-thinning fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albaalbaki, Bashar; Khayat, Roger E; Ahmed, Zahir U

2016-01-01

The Rayleigh–Bénard convection for non-Newtonian fluids possessing both viscoelastic and shear-thinning behaviours is examined. The Phan-Thien–Tanner (PTT) constitutive equation is implemented to model the non-Newtonian character of the fluid. It is found that while the shear-thinning and viscoelastic effects could annihilate one another for the steady roll flow, presence of both behaviours restricts the roll stability limit significantly compared to the cases when the fluid is either inelastic shear-thinning or purely viscoelastic with constant viscosity. (paper)

Numerical simulations of Jupiter’s moist convection layer: Structure and dynamics in statistically steady states

Science.gov (United States)

Sugiyama, K.; Nakajima, K.; Odaka, M.; Kuramoto, K.; Hayashi, Y.-Y.

2014-02-01

A series of long-term numerical simulations of moist convection in Jupiter’s atmosphere is performed in order to investigate the idealized characteristics of the vertical structure of multi-composition clouds and the convective motions associated with them, varying the deep abundances of condensable gases and the autoconversion time scale, the latter being one of the most questionable parameters in cloud microphysical parameterization. The simulations are conducted using a two-dimensional cloud resolving model that explicitly represents the convective motion and microphysics of the three cloud components, H2O, NH3, and NH4SH imposing a body cooling that substitutes the net radiative cooling. The results are qualitatively similar to those reported in Sugiyama et al. (Sugiyama, K. et al. [2011]. Intermittent cumulonimbus activity breaking the three-layer cloud structure of Jupiter. Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L13201. doi:10.1029/2011GL047878): stable layers associated with condensation and chemical reaction act as effective dynamical and compositional boundaries, intense cumulonimbus clouds develop with distinct temporal intermittency, and the active transport associated with these clouds results in the establishment of mean vertical profiles of condensates and condensable gases that are distinctly different from the hitherto accepted three-layered structure (e.g., Atreya, S.K., Romani, P.N. [1985]. Photochemistry and clouds of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. In: Recent Advances in Planetary Meteorology. Cambridge Univ. Press, London, pp. 17-68). Our results also demonstrate that the period of intermittent cloud activity is roughly proportional to the deep abundance of H2O gas. The autoconversion time scale does not strongly affect the results, except for the vertical profiles of the condensates. Changing the autoconversion time scale by a factor of 100 changes the intermittency period by a factor of less than two, although it causes a dramatic increase in the amount of

Developing natural convection in a fluid layer with localized heating and large viscosity variation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hickox, C.E.; Chu, Tze Yao.

1991-01-01

Numerical simulations and laboratory experiments are used to elucidate aspects of transient natural convection in a magma chamber. The magma chamber is modeled as a horizontal fluid layer confined within an enclosure of square planform and heated from below by a strip heater centered on the lower boundary of the enclosure. The width of the strip heater and the depth of the fluid layer are one-fourth of the layer width. Corn syrup is used as the working fluid in order to approximate the large viscosity variation with temperature and the large Prandtl number typical of magma. The quiescent, uniform, fluid layer is subjected to instantaneous heating from the strip heater producing a transient flow which is dominated by two counter-rotating convective cells. Experimentally determined characteristics of the developing flow are compared with numerical simulations carried out with a finite element computer program. The results of numerical simulations are in essential agreement with experimental data. Differences between the numerical simulations and experimental measurements are conjectured to result from non-ideal effects present in the experiment which are difficult to represent accurately in a numerical simulation.

Thermo-electro-hydrodynamic convection under microgravity: a review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mutabazi, Innocent; Yoshikawa, Harunori N; Fogaing, Mireille Tadie; Travnikov, Vadim; Crumeyrolle, Olivier [Laboratoire Ondes et Milieux Complexes, UMR 6294, CNRS-Université du Havre, CS 80450, F-76058 Le Havre Cedex (France); Futterer, Birgit; Egbers, Christoph, E-mail: Innocent.Mutabazi@univ-lehavre.fr [Department of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus (Germany)

2016-12-15

Recent studies on thermo-electro-hydrodynamic (TEHD) convection are reviewed with focus on investigations motivated by the analogy with natural convection. TEHD convection originates in the action of the dielectrophoretic force generated by an alternating electric voltage applied to a dielectric fluid with a temperature gradient. This electrohydrodynamic force is analogous to Archimedean thermal buoyancy and can be regarded as a thermal buoyancy force in electric effective gravity. The review is concerned with TEHD convection in plane, cylindrical, and spherical capacitors under microgravity conditions, where the electric gravity can induce convection without any complexities arising from geometry or the buoyancy force due to the Earth’s gravity. We will highlight the convection in spherical geometry, comparing developed theories and numerical simulations with the GEOFLOW experiments performed on board the International Space Station (ISS). (paper)

Mixed convection in a lid-driven square cavity with partial slip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismael, Muneer A.; Pop, Ioan; Chamkha, Ali J.

2014-01-01

Steady laminar mixed convection inside a lid-driven square cavity filled with water is studied numerically. The lid is due to the movement of the isothermal top and bottom walls which are maintained at T c and T h , respectively, with T h is higher than T c . A partial slip condition was imposed in these two moving walls. The vertical walls of the cavity are kept adiabatic. The appliance of the numerical analysis was USR finite difference method with upwind scheme treatments of the convective terms included in the momentum and energy equations. The studied relevant parameters were: the partial slip parameter S (0-∞); Richardson number Ri (0.01-100) and the direction of the moving walls (λ t = 1, λ b = ±1). The results have showed that there are critical values for the partial slip parameter at which the convection is declined. (authors)

Periodic mixed convection in horizontal porous layer heated from below by isoflux heater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeid, Nawaf H.; Pop, I.

2006-01-01

Numerical study for transient mixed convection in a two-dimensional horizontal porous layer heated from below by a constant heat flux source is carried out in the present paper. The transient thermal field, flow field and average Nusselt number are presented for a wide range of the Peclet number, Pe, for the particular case of Rayleigh number Ra=10x2 and the ratio of heater length to the porous layer thickness A=1, 3 and 5. It is found that for A=3 and A=5 with small values of the Peclet number, the free convection mode is dominated, while for large values, of the Peclet number, the forced convection mode is dominated. However, for moderate values the oscillatory mixed convection is observed and a periodic variation of the average Nusselt number is obtained. When the heater length is equal to the porous layer thickness (A=1) the steady-state results are obtained for the range of Pe=0.01-10. (author)

Natural convection in asymmetric triangular enclosures heated from below

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamiyo, O M; Angeli, D; Enzo Ferrari, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Vignolese 905, I-41125 Modena (Italy))" data-affiliation=" (DIEF – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Enzo Ferrari, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Vignolese 905, I-41125 Modena (Italy))" >Barozzi, G S; Collins, M W

2014-01-01

Triangular enclosures are typical configurations of attic spaces found in residential as well as industrial pitched-roof buildings. Natural convection in triangular rooftops has received considerable attention over the years, mainly on right-angled and isosceles enclosures. In this paper, a finite volume CFD package is employed to study the laminar air flow and temperature distribution in asymmetric rooftop-shaped triangular enclosures when heated isothermally from the base wall, for aspect ratios (AR) 0.2 ≤ AR ≤ 1.0, and Rayleigh number (Ra) values 8 × 10 5 ≤ Ra ≤ 5 × 10 7 . The effects of Rayleigh number and pitch angle on the flow structure and temperature distributions within the enclosure are analysed. Results indicate that, at low pitch angle, the heat transfer between the cold inclined and the hot base walls is very high, resulting in a multi-cellular flow structure. As the pitch angle increases, however, the number of cells reduces, and the total heat transfer rate progressively reduces, even if the Rayleigh number, being based on the enclosure height, rapidly increases. Physical reasons for the above effect are inspected

Impairment of Heat Transfer in the Passive Cooling System due to Mixed Convection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chae Myeong Seon; Chung, Bum Jin [Kyunghee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jong Hwan [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

In the passive cooling devices, the buoyant flows are induced. However the local Nusselt number of natural convective flow can be partly impaired due to the development of the mixed convective flows. This paper discusses impairment of heat transfer in the passive cooling system in relation to the development of mixed convection. The present work describes the preliminary plan to explore the phenomena experimentally. This paper is to discuss and make the plan to experiment the impairment of heat transfer in the passive cooling system due to mixed convection. In the sufficiently high passive cooling devices, the natural convection flow behavior can be mixed convection. The local Nusselt number distribution exhibits the non-monotonic behavior as axial position, since the buoyancy-aided with mixed convection was appeared. This is the part of the experimental work.

Natural convection heat transfer from a long heated vertical cylinder to an adjacent air gap of concentric and eccentric conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hosseini, R.; Kolaei, Alireza Rezania; Alipour, M.

2012-01-01

In this work, the natural convection heat transfer from a long vertical electrically heated cylinder to an adjacent air gap is experimentally studied. The aspect and diameter ratios of the cylinder are 55.56 and 6.33, respectively. The experimental measurements were obtained for a concentric cond...

Tests of the heat transfer characteristic of air cooler during cooling by natural convection of the Fast Breeder Reactor plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-08-15

The purpose of this study is to confirm the heat transfer characteristics of the air cooler (AC) of the Fast Breeder Reactor(FBR) which has a function to remove the residual heat of the reactor by heat exchange between sodium and air in natural convection region if electric power would be lost. In order to confirm the characteristics of the AC installed in the FBR plant, the heat transfer test by using the AC which is installed in the sodium test loop owned by Toshiba Corporation has been planned. In this study, the heat transfer characteristic tests were performed by using the AC in sodium test loop, and the CFD analyses were conducted to evaluate the test results and the heat transfer characteristics of the plant scale AC at the condition of natural convection. In addition, the elemental tests to confirm the influence of the heat transfer tube placement by using the heat transfer tube of the same specification as the AC of Monju were performed. (author)

Harvesting electrical energy from torsional thermal actuation driven by natural convection.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Shi Hyeong; Sim, Hyeon Jun; Hyeon, Jae Sang; Suh, Dongseok; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Baughman, Ray H; Kim, Seon Jeong

2018-06-07

The development of practical, cost-effective systems for the conversion of low-grade waste heat to electrical energy is an important area of renewable energy research. We here demonstrate a thermal energy harvester that is driven by the small temperature fluctuations provided by natural convection. This harvester uses coiled yarn artificial muscles, comprising well-aligned shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) microfibers, to convert thermal energy to torsional mechanical energy, which is then electromagnetically converted to electrical energy. Temperature fluctuations in a yarn muscle, having a maximum hot-to-cold temperature difference of about 13 °C, were used to spin a magnetic rotor to a peak torsional rotation speed of 3,000 rpm. The electromagnetic energy generator converted the torsional energy to electrical energy, thereby producing an oscillating output voltage of up to 0.81 V and peak power of 4 W/kg, based on SMPU mass.

Natural convection in an adiabatic vertical channel due to a dissipated heat element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, M.A.M.S.

1986-01-01

An experimental study was perfomed on natural convection heat transfer to air in a vertical channel due to an isothermal heated element attached in one of the walls of the channel. The heated element dissipates heat due to the Joule effect. To determine the heat transfer coefficient, it is necessary to evaluate the heat transferred to air by natural convenction alone. Hence, the heat lost by the element due to conduction and radiation is evaluated in order to correct the measured heat transfer. The natural-convenction heat transfer coefficient is a function of the following parameters: the temperature difference between the element and the ambient air, the position of the element in the channel, and the channel spacing. An optimal value of the channel spacing, when the heat transfer coefficient attains its maximum value, was observed for each of the temperature difference investigated. These maximum values may be up to 25% higher than the value for the case of infinite spacing. Comparisons are made with results available in the literature for similar configurations, and the values found in this work are higher. (author) [pt

Experimental investigation of the effects of orientation angle on heat transfer performance of pin-finned surfaces in natural convection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sertkaya, Ahmet Ali; Bilir, Sefik; Kargici, Suna

2011-01-01

Natural convection heat transfer in air from a pin-finned surface is investigated experimentally by considering the effect of radiation heat transfer. The plate was oriented as the pin arrays facing either downwards or upwards from vertical axis with different angles and the experiments were performed for different values of heater power input. From the results of the experiments it is observed that the pin fins increase the heat transfer considerably when compared to the unpinned surface. The upfacing pins are more enhancing heat transfer than the downfacing pins and the enhancement is decreasing with increasing orientation angle from the vertical axis. -- Research highlights: → Effect of orientation in free convection heat transfer from a pin-finned surface. → The upfacing pins are more enhancing heat transfer than the downfacing pins. → Radiation view factor is calculated by a modular analysis. → The radiation is comparable to free convection as not to be neglected. → The radiative part is 25-40% and increases for low heat transfer rates.

Parametric study of the primary and secondary systems of the CAREM-25 reactor on steady state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halpert, Silvia; Vazquez, Luis

2000-01-01

In the CAREM-25 reactor the primary coolant flows by natural convection that's why the flow is established when the balance between the buoyancy force and friction pressure drop through circuit is obtained. This paper presents a parametric study on primary and secondary systems of the reactor on steady state, for different values of some thermohydraulics parameters: safety factor on friction loss pressure calculations (f), steam generator heat transfer area (A T ) and primary pressure (P P ). The ESCAREM 2.08 thermohydraulic code, which calculates the primary system behavior for steady state conditions, was used for this study. The conclusions of this study are: -) There was a variation of the 15% on the primary coolant flow when the safety factor was changed a 50 %; -) The primary and secondary systems conditions do not change when the power is less than 100 MW; -) Between 100 and 110 MW the decrease of the heat transfer area produces an important change on the secondary systems conditions: the outlet steam generator temperature decrease and there is an important rice in the flow; -) The primary pressure could decrease up to 11.4 MPa without violating turbine requirements. (author)

Parameterizing convective organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Earle Mapes

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Lateral mixing parameters in buoyancy-driven deep convection schemes are among the most sensitive and important unknowns in atmosphere models. Unfortunately, there is not a true optimum value for plume mixing rate, but rather a dilemma or tradeoff: Excessive dilution of updrafts leads to unstable stratification bias in the mean state, while inadequate dilution allows deep convection to occur too easily, causing poor space and time distributions and variability. In this too-small parameter space, compromises are made based on competing metrics of model performance. We attempt to escape this “entrainment dilemma” by making bulk plume parameters (chiefly entrainment rate depend on a new prognostic variable (“organization,” org meant to reflect the rectified effects of subgrid-scale structure in meteorological fields. We test an org scheme in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5 with a new unified shallow-deep convection scheme (UW-ens, a 2-plume version of the University of Washington scheme. Since buoyant ascent involves natural selection, subgrid structure makes convection systematically deeper and stronger than the pure unorganized case: plumes of average (or randomly sampled air rising in the average environment. To reflect this, org is nonnegative, but we leave it dimensionless. A time scale characterizes its behavior (here ∼3 h for a 2o model. Currently its source is rain evaporation, but other sources can be added easily. We also let org be horizontally transported by advection, as a mass-weighted mean over the convecting layer. Linear coefficients link org to a plume ensemble, which it assists via: 1 plume base warmth above the mean temperature 2 plume radius enhancement (reduced mixing, and 3 increased probability of overlap in a multi-plume scheme, where interactions benefit later generations (this part has only been implemented in an offline toy column model. Since rain evaporation is a source for org, it functions as a time

Numerical study of three-dimensional natural convection and entropy generation in a cubical cavity with partially active vertical walls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah A.A.A Al-Rashed

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Natural convection and entropy generation due to the heat transfer and fluid friction irreversibilities in a three-dimensional cubical cavity with partially heated and cooled vertical walls has been investigated numerically using the finite volume method. Four different arrangements of partially active vertical sidewalls of the cubical cavity are considered. Numerical calculations are carried out for Rayleigh numbers from (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106, various locations of the partial heating and cooling vertical sidewalls, while the Prandtl number of air is considered constant as Pr=0.7 and the irreversibility coefficient is taken as (φ=10−4. The results explain that the total entropy generation rate increases when the Rayleigh number increases. While, the Bejan number decreases as the Rayleigh number increases. Also, it is found that the arrangements of heating and cooling regions have a significant effect on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of natural convection and entropy generation in a cubical cavity. The Middle-Middle arrangement produces higher values of average Nusselt numbers.

Southern Ocean Convection and tropical telleconnections

Science.gov (United States)

Marinov, I.; Cabre, A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2014-12-01

We show that Southern Ocean (SO) temperatures in the latest generation of Earth System Models exhibit two major modes of variation, one driven by deep convection, the other by tropical variability. We perform a CMIP5 model intercomparison to understand why different climate models represent SO variability so differently in long, control simulations. We show that multiyear variability in Southern Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) can in turn influence oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the tropics on short (atmospheric) time-scales. We argue that the strength and pattern of SO-tropical teleconnections depends on the intensity of SO deep convection. Periodic convection in the SO is a feature of most CMIP5 models under preindustrial forcing (deLavergne et al., 2014). Models show a wide distribution in the spatial extent, periodicity and intensity of their SO convection, with some models convecting most of the time, and some showing very little convection. In a highly convective coupled model, we find that multidecadal variability in SO and global SSTs, as well as SO heat storage are driven by Weddell Sea convective variability, with convective decades relatively warm due to the heat released from the deep southern ocean and non-convective decades cold due to the subsurface storage of heat. Furthermore, pulses of SO convection drive SST and sea ice variations, influencing absorbed shortwave and emitted longwave radiation, wind, cloud and precipitation patterns, with climatic implications for the low latitudes via fast atmospheric teleconnections. We suggest that these high-low latitude teleconnection mechanisms are relevant for understanding hiatus decades. Additionally, Southern Ocean deep convection varied significantly during past, natural climate changes such as during the last deglaciation. Weddell Sea open convection was recently weakened, likely as a consequence of anthropogenic forcing and the resulting surface freshening. Our study opens up the

Validation of system codes RELAP5 and SPECTRA for natural convection boiling in narrow channels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stempniewicz, M.M., E-mail: stempniewicz@nrg.eu; Slootman, M.L.F.; Wiersema, H.T.

2016-10-15

Highlights: • Computer codes RELAP5/Mod3.3 and SPECTRA 3.61 validated for boiling in narrow channels. • Validated codes can be used for LOCA analyses in research reactors. • Code validation based on natural convection boiling in narrow channels experiments. - Abstract: Safety analyses of LOCA scenarios in nuclear power plants are performed with so called thermal–hydraulic system codes, such as RELAP5. Such codes are validated for typical fuel geometries applied in nuclear power plants. The question considered by this article is if the codes can be applied for LOCA analyses in research reactors, in particular exceeding CHF in very narrow channels. In order to answer this question, validation calculations were performed with two thermal–hydraulic system codes: RELAP and SPECTRA. The validation was based on natural convection boiling in narrow channels experiments, performed by Prof. Monde et al. in the years 1990–2000. In total 42 vertical tube and annulus experiments were simulated with both codes. A good agreement of the calculated values with the measured data was observed. The main conclusions are: • The computer codes RELAP5/Mod 3.3 (US NRC version) and SPECTRA 3.61 have been validated for natural convection boiling in narrow channels using experiments of Monde. The dimensions applied in the experiments were performed for a range that covers the values observed in typical research reactors. Therefore it is concluded that both codes are validated and can be used for LOCA analyses in research reactors, including natural convection boiling. The applicability range of the present validation is: hydraulic diameters of 1.1 ⩽ D{sub hyd} ⩽ 9.0 mm, heated lengths of 0.1 ⩽ L ⩽ 1.0 m, pressures of 0.10 ⩽ P ⩽ 0.99 MPa. In most calculations the burnout was predicted to occur at lower power than that observed in the experiments. In several cases the burnout was observed at higher power. The overprediction was not larger than 16% in RELAP and 15% in

Active control of convection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bau, H.H. [Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

1995-12-31

Using stability theory, numerical simulations, and in some instances experiments, it is demonstrated that the critical Rayleigh number for the bifurcation (1) from the no-motion (conduction) state to the motion state and (2) from time-independent convection to time-dependent, oscillatory convection in the thermal convection loop and Rayleigh-Benard problems can be significantly increased or decreased. This is accomplished through the use of a feedback controller effectuating small perturbations in the boundary data. The controller consists of sensors which detect deviations in the fluid`s temperature from the motionless, conductive values and then direct actuators to respond to these deviations in such a way as to suppress the naturally occurring flow instabilities. Actuators which modify the boundary`s temperature/heat flux are considered. The feedback controller can also be used to control flow patterns and generate complex dynamic behavior at relatively low Rayleigh numbers.

[Constitutive correlations for wire-wrapped subchannel analysis under forced and mixed convection conditions]. Part II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, S.K.; Todreas, N.E.

1984-08-01

A new version of the ENERGY series code, ENERGY-IV, was written for predicting coolant temperature distributions in wire-wrapped rod assemblies used in the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor. The ENERGY-IV Code is applicable to both steady-state forced and mixed convection operation for a single isolated assembly. (The SUPERENERGY Code, [Basehore (1980)] is applicable to core wide forced convection analysis.) ENERGY-IV is an empirical code designed to be fast running. Hence the core designer can use it as an inexpensive thermal hydraulic design or diagnosis tool

Simulating deep convection with a shallow convection scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Hohenegger

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Convective processes profoundly affect the global water and energy balance of our planet but remain a challenge for global climate modeling. Here we develop and investigate the suitability of a unified convection scheme, capable of handling both shallow and deep convection, to simulate cases of tropical oceanic convection, mid-latitude continental convection, and maritime shallow convection. To that aim, we employ large-eddy simulations (LES as a benchmark to test and refine a unified convection scheme implemented in the Single-column Community Atmosphere Model (SCAM. Our approach is motivated by previous cloud-resolving modeling studies, which have documented the gradual transition between shallow and deep convection and its possible importance for the simulated precipitation diurnal cycle.

Analysis of the LES reveals that differences between shallow and deep convection, regarding cloud-base properties as well as entrainment/detrainment rates, can be related to the evaporation of precipitation. Parameterizing such effects and accordingly modifying the University of Washington shallow convection scheme, it is found that the new unified scheme can represent both shallow and deep convection as well as tropical and mid-latitude continental convection. Compared to the default SCAM version, the new scheme especially improves relative humidity, cloud cover and mass flux profiles. The new unified scheme also removes the well-known too early onset and peak of convective precipitation over mid-latitude continental areas.

Cumulus convection and the terrestrial water-vapor distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Donner, Leo J.

1988-01-01

Cumulus convection plays a significant role in determining the structure of the terrestrial water vapor field. Cumulus convection acts directly on the moisture field by condensing and precipitating water vapor and by redistributing water vapor through cumulus induced eddy circulations. The mechanisms by which cumulus convection influences the terrestrial water vapor distribution is outlined. Calculations using a theory due to Kuo is used to illustrate the mechanisms by which cumulus convection works. Understanding of these processes greatly aids the ability of researchers to interpret the seasonal and spatial distribution of atmospheric water vapor by providing information on the nature of sources and sinks and the global circulation.

Plume structure in high-Rayleigh-number convection

Science.gov (United States)

Puthenveettil, Baburaj A.; Arakeri, Jaywant H.

2005-10-01

Near-wall structures in turbulent natural convection at Rayleigh numbers of 10^{10} to 10^{11} at A Schmidt number of 602 are visualized by a new method of driving the convection across a fine membrane using concentration differences of sodium chloride. The visualizations show the near-wall flow to consist of sheet plumes. A wide variety of large-scale flow cells, scaling with the cross-section dimension, are observed. Multiple large-scale flow cells are seen at aspect ratio (AR)= 0.65, while only a single circulation cell is detected at AR= 0.435. The cells (or the mean wind) are driven by plumes coming together to form columns of rising lighter fluid. The wind in turn aligns the sheet plumes along the direction of shear. the mean wind direction is seen to change with time. The near-wall dynamics show plumes initiated at points, which elongate to form sheets and then merge. Increase in rayleigh number results in a larger number of closely and regularly spaced plumes. The plume spacings show a common log normal probability distribution function, independent of the rayleigh number and the aspect ratio. We propose that the near-wall structure is made of laminar natural-convection boundary layers, which become unstable to give rise to sheet plumes, and show that the predictions of a model constructed on this hypothesis match the experiments. Based on these findings, we conclude that in the presence of a mean wind, the local near-wall boundary layers associated with each sheet plume in high-rayleigh-number turbulent natural convection are likely to be laminar mixed convection type.

The Characteristics of natural convection heat transfer of Al_2O_3–water nano fluid flow in a vertical annulus pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reinaldy Nazar

2016-01-01

Results of several researches have shown that nano fluids have better thermal characteristics than conventional fluid (water). In this regard, ideas for using nano fluids as an alternative heat transfer fluid in the reactor coolant system have been well developed. Meanwhile the natural convection in a vertical annulus pipe is one of the important mechanisms of heat transfer and is found at the TRIGA research reactor, the new generation nuclear power plants and other energy conversion devices. On the other hand, the heat transfer characteristics of nano fluids in a vertical annulus pipe has not been known. Therefore, it is important to do research continuously to analyze the heat transfer nano fluids in a vertical annulus pipe. This study has carried out numerical analysis by using computer code of CFD (computational of fluids dynamic) on natural convection heat transfer characteristics of nano fluids flow of Al_2O_3-water 2 % volume in the vertical annulus pipe. The results showed an increase in heat transfer performance (Nusselt numbers - NU) by 20.5 % - 35 %. In natural convection mode with Rayleigh numbers 2.471 e"+"0"9 ≤ Ra ≤ 1.955 e"+"1"3 obtained empirical correlations for water is N_U = 1.065 (R_a(D_H/x))"0"."1"7"9 and empirical correlations for Al_2O_3-water nano fluids is N_U = 14.869 (R_a(D_H/x))"0"."1"1"5.(author)

Effect of density inversion on the transient natural convection of liquids in a cavity with a non darcian porous material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraga, Nelson O; Vega, Sylvana A

2004-01-01

This work aims to describe the mechanics of fluids and heat transfer by natural convection in porous materials, full of liquid phase elements like gallium and water. The transient process occurs inside a cavity with two adiabatic and two isothermic walls, at different temperatures. The properties vary with the temperature and specifically include the non lineal variation of the density with the temperature, that is typical of these elements. The study uses a mathematical model based on continuity equations, lineal moment and energy, including transport by convection and by diffusion. The method of finite volumes is used for the numerical simulation. The results generated include the variation in time of the distributions of speed and temperature (CW)

Numerical investigation of a spatially developing turbulent natural convection boundary layer along a vertical heated plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakao, Keisuke; Hattori, Yasuo; Suto, Hitoshi

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A large-eddy simulation of a spatially developing natural convection boundary layer is conducted. • First- and second-order moments of the heat and momentum showed a reasonable agreement with past experiments. • Coherent structure of turbulent vortex inherent in this boundary layer is discussed. - Abstract: Large-eddy simulation (LES) on a spatially developing natural convection boundary layer along a vertical heated plate was conducted. The heat transfer rate, friction velocity, mean velocity and temperature, and second-order turbulent properties both in the wall-normal and the stream-wise direction showed reasonable agreement with the findings of past experiments. The spectrum of velocity and temperature fluctuation showed a -2/3-power decay slope and -2-power decay slope respectively. Quadrant analysis revealed the inclination on Q1 and Q3 in the Reynolds stress and turbulent heat flux, changing their contribution along the distance from the plate surface. Following the convention, we defined the threshold region where the stream-wise mean velocity takes local maximum, the inner layer which is closer to the plate than the threshold region, the outer layer which is farther to the plate than the threshold region. The space correlation of stream-wise velocity tilted the head toward the wall in the propagating direction in the outer layer; on the other hand, the correlated motion had little inclination in the threshold region. The time history of the second invariant of gradient tensor Q revealed that the vortex strength oscillates both in the inner and the outer layers in between the laminar and the transition region. In the turbulent region, the vortex was often dominant in the outer layer. Instantaneous three-dimensional visualization of Q revealed the existence of high-speed fluid parcels associated with arch-shape vortices. These results were considered as an intrinsic structure in the outer layer, which is symmetrical to the structure of

Simulation of Thermomagnetic Convection in a Cavity Using the Lattice Boltzmann Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahshid Hadavand

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Thermomagnetic convection in a differentially heated square cavity with an infinitely long third dimension is numerically simulated using the single relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method (LBM. This problem is of considerable interest when dealing with cooling of microelectronic devices, in situations where natural convection does not meet the cooling requirements, and forced convection is not viable due to the difficulties associated with pumping a ferrofluid. Therefore, circulation is achieved by imposing a magnetic field, which is created and controlled by placing a dipole at the bottom of the enclosure. The magnitude of the magnetic force is controlled by changing the electrical current through the dipole. In this study, the effects of combined natural convection and magnetic convection, which is commonly known as “thermomagnetic convection,” are analysed in terms of the flow modes and heat transfer characteristics of a magnetic fluid.

Efficiency of Heat Transfer in Turbulent Rayleigh-Benard Convection

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Urban, Pavel; Musilová, Věra; Skrbek, L.

2011-01-01

Roč. 107, č. 1 (2011), 014302:1-4 ISSN 0031-9007 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB200650902 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : natural convection * thermal convection Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics Impact factor: 7.370, year: 2011

Impact of surface texture on natural convection boundary layer of nanofluid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmood Ahmer

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Heat transfer characteristics are investigated in natural convection flow of water-based nanofluid near a vertical rough wall. The analysis considers five different nanoparticles: silver, copper, alumina, magnetite, and silica. The concentration has been limited between 0-20% for all types of nanoparticle. The governing equations are modeled using the Boussinesq approximation and Tiwari and Das models are utilized to represent the nanofluid. The analysis examines the effects of nanoparticle volume fraction, type of nanofluid, and the wavy surface geometry parameter on the skin friction and Nusselt number. It is observed that for a given nanofluid the skin friction and Nusselt number can be maximized via an appropriate tuning of the wavy surface geometry parameter along with the selection of suitable nanoparticle. Particular to this study cooper is observed to be more productive towards the flow and heat transfer enhancement. In total the metallic oxides are found to be less beneficial as compared to the pure metals.

Experimental study of natural convection melting of ice in salt solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, L.J.; Cheung, F.B.; Linehan, J.H.; Pedersen, D.R.

1984-01-01

The solid-liquid interface morphology and the micro-physical process near the moving phase boundary during natural convection melting of a horizontal layer of ice by an overlying pool of salt solution were studied experimentally. A cathetometer which amplifies the interface region was used to measure the ice melting rate. Also measured were the temperature transients of the liquid pool. Within the temperature and the density ratio ranges explored, the ice melting rate was found to be very sensitive to the ratio of pool-to-ice melt density but independent of pool-to-ice temperature difference. By varying the density ratio, three different flow regimes and morphologies of the solid-liquid interface were observed, with melt streamers emanating from the crests of the wavy interface into the pool in all three cases. The measured wavelengths (spacing) between the streamers for four different pairs of materials were correlated with the density ratio and found to agree favorably with the predictions of Taylor instability theory

Modelling natural convection in a heated vertical channel for room ventilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigues, A.M.; Canha da Piedade, A.; Lahellec, A.; Grandpeix, J.Y.

2000-01-01

Solar-air collectors installed on the south-facing walls of school buildings have been tried out in Portugal as a passive means of improving indoor air quality without prejudice to thermal comfort requirements. A numerical investigation of the behaviour of these systems, typified as vertical channels opened at both ends, is presented for typical geometries and outdoor conditions. The study is carried out with natural convection and assumes that the induced flow is turbulent and two-dimensional. The fully averaged equations of motion and energy, added to a two-equation turbulence model, are discretized and solved following the concepts of TEF (Transfer Evolution Formalism) using a finite volume method. Flow and temperature fields are produced and results presented in terms of temperature and velocity distributions at the exit section of the duct. These enable a better understanding of the developing flow and can be helpful in the design phase of this type of system. (author)

COOLOD, Steady-State Thermal Hydraulics of Research Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaminaga, Masanori

1997-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: The COOLOD-N2 code provides a capability for the analyses of the steady-state thermal-hydraulics of research reactors. This code is a revised version of the COOLOD-N code, and is applicable not only for research reactors in which plate-type fuel is adopted, but also for research reactors in which rod-type fuel is adopted. In the code, subroutines to calculate temperature distribution in rod-type fuel have been newly added to the COOLOD-N code. The COOLOD-N2 code can calculate fuel temperatures under both forced convection cooling mode and natural convection cooling mode. A 'Heat Transfer package' is used for calculating heat transfer coefficient, DNB heat flux etc. The 'Heat Transfer package' is a subroutine program and is especially developed for research reactors in which plate-type fuel is adopted. In case of rod-type fuel, DNB heat flux is calculated by both the 'Heat Transfer package' and Lund DNB heat flux correlation which is popular for TRIGA reactor. The COOLOD-N2 code also has a capability of calculating ONB temperature, the heat flux at onset of flow instability as well as DNB heat flux. 2 - Method of solution: The 'Heat Transfer Package' is a subprogram for calculating heat transfer coefficients, ONB temperature, heat flux at onset of flow instability and DNB heat flux. The 'Heat transfer package' was especially developed for research reactors which are operated under low pressure and low temperature conditions using plate-type fuel, just like the JRR-3M. Heat transfer correlations adopted in the 'Heat Transfer Package' were obtained or estimated based on the heat transfer experiments in which thermal-hydraulic features of the upgraded JRR-3 core were properly reflected. The 'Heat Transfer Package' is applicable to upward and downward flow

Steady state flow evaluations for passive auxiliary feedwater system of APR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jongha; Kim, Jaeyul; Seong, Hoje; Kang, Kyoungho

2012-01-01

This paper briefly introduces a methodology to evaluate steady state flow of APR+ Passive Auxiliary Feedwater System (PAFS). The PAFS is being developed as a safety grade passive system to completely replace the existing active Auxiliary Feedwater System (AFWS). Natural circulation cooling can be generally classified into the single-phase, two-phase, and boiling-condensation modes. The PAF is designed to be operated in a boiling-condensation natural circulation mode. The steady-state flow rate should be equal to the steady-state boiling/condensation rate determined by the steady-state energy and momentum balances in the PAFS. The determined steady-state flow rate can be used in the design optimization for the natural circulation loop of the PAFS through the steady-state momentum balance. Since the retarding force, which is to be balanced by the driving force in the natural circulation system design depends on the reliable evaluation of the success of a natural circulation system design depends on the reliable evaluation of the pressure loss coefficients. In PAFS, the core decay heat is released by natural circulation flow between the S G secondary side and the Passive Condensation Heat Exchanger (PCHX) that is immersed in the Passive Condensation Cooling Tank (PCCT). The PCCT is located on the top of Auxiliary building The driving force is determined by the difference between the S/G (heat Source) secondary water level and condensation liquid (heat sink) level. It will overcome retarding force at flowrate in the system, which is determined by vaporization and condensation of the steam which is generated at the S/G by the latent heat in system. In this study, the theoretical method to estimate the steady state flow rate in boiling-condensation natural circulation system is developed and compared with test results

Steady-state heat transfer in an inverted U-tube steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucher, T.J.

1987-01-01

Experimental results are presented involving U-tube steam generator tube bundle local heat transfer and fluid conditions during stead-state, full-power operations performed at high temperatures and pressures with conditions typical of a pressurized water reactor (15.0 MPa primary pressure, 600 K steam generator inlet plenum fluid temperatures, 6.2 MPa secondary pressure). The Semiscale (MOD-2C facility represents the state-of-the-art in measurement of tube local heat transfer data and average tube bundle secondary fluid density at several elevations, which allows an estimate of the axial heat transfer and void distributions during steady-state and transient operations. The method of heat transfer data reduction is presented and the heat flux, secondary convective heat transfer coefficient, and void fraction distributions are quantified for steady-state, full-power operations

Investigation of combined free and forced convection in a 2 x 6 rod bundle during controlled flow transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, J.M.; Khan, E.U.

1980-10-01

An experimental study was performed to obtain local fluid velocity and temperature measurements in the mixed (combined free and forced) convection regime for specific flow coastdown transients. A brief investigation of steady-state flows for the purely free-convection regime was also completed. The study was performed using an electrically heated 2 x 6 rod bundle contained in a flow housing. In addition a transient data base was obtained for evaluating the COBRA-WC thermal-hydraulic computer program

Direct simulation of turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection in liquid sodium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woerner, M.

1994-11-01

The numerical results are analysed to investigate both the structures and mechanisms of convection and the statistical features of turbulence in natural convection of liquid metals. The simulations are performed with the finite volume code TURBIT which is extended by a semi-implicit time integration scheme for the energy equation. Due to the implicit treatment of thermal diffusion the computational time for simulation of natural convection in liquid metals is reduced by about one order of magnitude, as compared to the original fully explicit code version. Results for Rayleigh-Benard convection in liquid sodium with Prandtl number Pr=0.006 are given for four different Rayleigh numbers: Ra=3 000, Ra=6 000, Ra=12 000, and Ra=24 000. At the Rayleigh number Ra=3 000 the inertial convection is identified. It is characterized by large two-dimensional vortices, which rotate like a solid body. These vortices are also observed in the simulations for Ra=6 000, Ra=12 000 and Ra=24 000, but, they only exist in certain regions and for short time intervals. The appearance of these two-dimensional structures in three-dimensional, time-dependent and turbulent convection is explained by the relative importance of the non-linear terms in the momentum and energy equation, which is totally different in both equations, and by the coupling of these equations by the buoyancy and the convective term. In order to improve and validate statistical turbulence model for application to natural convection in liquid metals, budgets of turbulence kinetic energy, turbulent heat flux and temperature variance are calculated from the numerical results. For several unknown correlations closure assumptions used in standard turbulence models are analyzed and model coefficients are determined. (orig./HP) [de

Laminar natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal circular cylinder to liquid metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, K.; Ma, Y.; Ishiguro, R.

1991-01-01

The objective of the present study is to clarify the heat transfer characteristic of natural convection around a horizontal circular cylinder immersed in liquid metals. Experimental work concerning liquid metals sometimes involves such a degree of error that is impossible to understand the observed characteristics in measurement. Numerical analysis is a powerful means to overcome this experimental disadvantage. In the present paper the authors first show that the Boussinesq approximation is more applicable heat transfer rates, even for a cylinder with a relatively large temperature difference (>100K) between the heat transfer surface and fluid. It is found from a comparison of the present results with previous work that the correlation equations that have already been proposed predict values lower than the present ones

Computational simulation of turbulent natural convection in a volumetrically heated square cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Camila Braga; Su, Jian; Niceno, Bojan

2012-01-01

This work aims to analyze the turbulent natural convection in a volumetrically heated fluid with similar characteristics of an oxide layer of a molten core in the lower head of the pressure vessel. The simulations were carried out in a square cavity with isothermal walls, for Rayleigh numbers (Ra) ranging from 10 9 to 10 11 . Different turbulence models based on Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations were studied, such as the standard k - ε, low-Reynolds-k - ε, and Shear Stress Transport (SST), using the open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code - Open FOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation). The results of the three turbulence models were compared versus the results of experimental correlations and other authors’ simulations, and the conclusion was that the most promising model proves to be the SST, due to its accuracy and robustness. (author)

Convective flows of colloidal suspension in an inclined closed cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smorodin, Boris; Ishutov, Sergey [Department of Physics of Phase Transitions, Perm State University, Perm (Russian Federation); Cherepanov, Ivan, E-mail: bsmorodin@yandex.ru [Department of Radio Electronics and Information Security, Perm State University, Perm (Russian Federation)

2016-12-15

The nonlinear spatiotemporal evolution of convective flows is numerically investigated in the case of colloidal suspension filling an inclined closed cell heated from below. The bifurcation diagram (the dependency of the Nusselt number on the Rayleigh number) is obtained. The characteristics of the wave and steady patterns are investigated depending on heat intensity. The travelling wave changing travel direction and the non-regular oscillatory flow are found to be stable solutions within a certain interval of the Rayleigh number. Temporal Fourier decomposition is used together with other diagnostic tools to analyse the complex bifurcation and spatiotemporal properties caused by the interplay of the gravity-induced gradient of concentration and convective mixing of the fluid. It is shown that a more complex flow structure exists at a lower heating intensity (Rayleigh number). (paper)

MHD natural convection from a heated vertical wavy surface with variable viscosity and thermal conductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choudhury, M.; Hazarika, G.C.; Sibanda, P.

2013-01-01

We investigate the effects of temperature dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity on natural convection flow of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid along a vertical wavy surface. The flow is permeated by uniform transverse magnetic field. The fluid viscosity and thermal conductivity are assumed to vary as inverse linear functions of temperature. The coupled non-linear systems of partial differential equations are solved using the finite difference method. The effects of variable viscosity parameter, variable thermal conductivity parameter and magnetic parameter on the flow field and the heat transfer characteristics are discussed and shown graphically. (author)

Steady-state analysis of the integrated natural gas and electric power system with bi-directional energy conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Qing; Fang, Jiakun; Li, Jinghua

2016-01-01

Nowadays, the electric power system and natural gas network are becoming increasingly coupled and interdependent. A harmonized integration of natural gas and electricity network with bi-directional energy conversion is expected to accommodate high penetration levels of renewables in terms of system...... flexibility. This work focuses on the steady-state analysis of the integrated natural gas and electric power system with bi-directional energy conversion. A unified energy flow formulation is developed to describe the nodal balance and branch flow in both systems and it is solved with the Newton......–Raphson method. Both the unification of units and the per-unit system are proposed to simplify the system description and to enhance the computation efficiency. The applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated by analyzing an IEEE-9 test system integrated with a 7-node natural gas network. Later, time...

Effects of Thermal Radiation and Chemical Reaction on MHD Free Convection Flow past a Flat Plate with Heat Source and Convective Surface Boundary Condition

OpenAIRE

E.Hemalatha; N. Bhaskar Reddy

2015-01-01

This paper analyzes the radiation and chemical reaction effects on MHD steady two-dimensional laminar viscous incompressible radiating boundary layer flow over a flat plate in the presence of internal heat generation and convective boundary condition. It is assumed that lower surface of the plate is in contact with a hot fluid while a stream of cold fluid flows steadily over the upper surface with a heat source that decays exponentially. The Rosseland approximation is used to desc...

Generalized drying curves in conductive/convective paper drying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.C. Motta Lima

2000-12-01

Full Text Available This work presents a study related to conductive/convective drying of paper (cellulose sheets over heated surfaces, under natural and forced air conditions. The experimental apparatus consists in a metallic box heated by a thermostatic bath containing an upper surface on which the paper samples (about 1 mm thick are placed. The system is submitted to ambient air under two different conditions: natural convection and forced convection provide by an adjustable blower. The influence of initial paper moisture content, drying (heated surface temperature and air velocity on drying curves behavior is observed under different drying conditions. Hence, these influence is studied through the proposal of generalized drying curves. Those curves are analyzed individually for each air condition exposed above and for both together. A set of equations to fit them is proposed and discussed.

Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Magnetic Field on Natural Convection in a Curved-Shape Enclosure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sheikholeslami

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This investigation reports the magnetic field effect on natural convection heat transfer in a curved-shape enclosure. The numerical investigation is carried out using the control volume-based-finite element method (CVFEM. The numerical investigations are performed for various values of Hartmann number and Rayleigh number. The obtained results are depicted in terms of streamlines and isotherms which show the significant effects of Hartmann number on the fluid flow and temperature distribution inside the enclosure. Also, it was found that the Nusselt number decreases with an increase in the Hartmann number.

Power optimization in the star-LM modular, natural convection reactor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spencer, B.W.; Sienicki, J.J.; Farmer, M.T.

2001-01-01

The secure, transportable, autonomous reactor (STAR) project addresses the needs of developing countries and independent power producers for small, multi-purpose energy systems, which operate near autonomously for very long term. The STAR-LM variant described here is a liquid metal cooled, fast reactor system. Previous development of STAR-LM resulted in a 300 MWt modular, pool-type reactor based on criteria for factory fabrication, full transportability (barge, overland, rail), and fast construction and startup. Steam generator modules are placed directly into the primary heat transport circuit, eliminating the intermediate heat transport loop. Natural convection heat transport at all power levels eliminates the need for main coolant pumps. Seismic isolation eliminates concern about seismic and sloshing-related loads in the pool configuration. Even end-of-spectrum postulated events such as loss-of-heat sink with failure to scram are terminated passively by inherent core power shutdown, and decay heat is passively rejected to the atmospheric air inexhaustible heat sink by guard vessel exterior cooling. Recent concept development has focused on maximizing the power achievable in a small module size based on preserving key criteria for: full spectrum of modes of module transport from factory to site (including rail transport); 100% natural circulation heat transport; ultra-long core cartridge lifetime; coolant and cladding peak temperatures well within the existing (Russian) database for Pb/Bi coolant and ferritic steel core materials. (author)

Hydrothermal convection and uranium deposits in abnormally radioactive plutons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-09-01

Hydrothermal uranium deposits are often closely associated with granites of abnormally high uranium content. We have studied the question whether the heat generated within such granites can cause fluid convection of sufficient magnitude to develop hydrothermal uranium deposits. Numerical models of flow through porous media were used to calculate temperatures and fluid flow in and around plutons similar to the Conway Granite, New Hampshire, i.e. with a halfwidth of 17 km, a thickness of 6.25 km, and with a uniform internal heat generation rate of 20 x 10 -13 cal/cm 3 -sec. Fluid convection was computed for plutons with permeabilities between 0.01 and 5 millidarcies (1 x10 -13 cm 2 to 5 x 10 -11 cm 2 . Flow rates and the size and location of convection cells in and around radioactive plutons like the Conway Granite were found to depend critically on the permeability distribution within the pluton and in adjacent country rocks. The depth of burial, the distribution of heat sources within the pluton, and small rates of heat generation in the country rock are only of minor importance. Topographic relief is unlikely to effect flow rates significantly, but can have a major influence on the distribution of recharge and discharge areas. Within a few million years, the mass of water transported by steady state convection through such radioactive plutons can equal the mass of water which can convect through them during initial cooling from magmatic temperatures. If the permeability in a Conway-type pluton is on the order of 0.5 millidarcies, the rate of fluid convection is probably sufficient to develop a hydrothermal ore deposit containing 10,000 tons of uranium in a period of two million years. Such a uranium deposit is most likely to develop in an area of strong upwelling or strong downwelling flow

The effect of inclined vertical slats on natural convective heat transfer from an isothermal heated vertical plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oosthuizen, P.H.; Sun, L.; Naylor, D.

2002-01-01

Natural convective heat transfer from a wide heated vertical isothermal plate with adiabatic surfaces above and below the heated surface has been considered. There are a series of equally spaced vertical thin, flat adiabatic surfaces (termed 'slats') near the heated surface, these surfaces being, in general, inclined to the heated surface. The slats are pivoted about their center-point and thus as their angle is changed, the distance of the tip of the slat from the plate changes. The situation considered is an approximate model of a window with a vertical blind, the particular case where the window is hotter than the room air, i.e. where air-conditioning is being used, being considered. The flow has been assumed to be laminar and steady. Fluid properties have been assumed constant except for the density change with temperature that gives rise to the buoyancy forces, this being treated by means of the Biuniqueness type approximation. Although the flow is in general three-dimensional, the flow over each slat is assumed to be the same and attention can therefore be restricted to flow over a single slat by using repeating boundary conditions. The governing equations have been written in dimensionless form and the resulting dimensionless equations have been solved using a commercial finite-element package. The solution has the following parameters: (1) the Rayleigh number (2) the Prandtl number (3) the dimensionless distance of the slat center point (the pivot point) from the surface (4) the dimensionless slat size (5) the dimensionless slat spacing (6) the angle of inclination of the slats. Because of the application that motivated the study, results have only been obtained for a Prandtl number of 0.7. The effect of the other dimensionless variables on the mean dimensionless heat transfer rate from the heated surface has been examined. (author)

Modified Laser Flash Method for Thermal Properties Measurements and the Influence of Heat Convection

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Bochuan; Zhu, Shen; Ban, Heng; Li, Chao; Scripa, Rosalia N.; Su, Ching-Hua; Lehoczky, Sandor L.

2003-01-01

The study examined the effect of natural convection in applying the modified laser flash method to measure thermal properties of semiconductor melts. Common laser flash method uses a laser pulse to heat one side of a thin circular sample and measures the temperature response of the other side. Thermal diffusivity can be calculations based on a heat conduction analysis. For semiconductor melt, the sample is contained in a specially designed quartz cell with optical windows on both sides. When laser heats the vertical melt surface, the resulting natural convection can introduce errors in calculation based on heat conduction model alone. The effect of natural convection was studied by CFD simulations with experimental verification by temperature measurement. The CFD results indicated that natural convection would decrease the time needed for the rear side to reach its peak temperature, and also decrease the peak temperature slightly in our experimental configuration. Using the experimental data, the calculation using only heat conduction model resulted in a thermal diffusivity value is about 7.7% lower than that from the model with natural convection. Specific heat capacity was about the same, and the difference is within 1.6%, regardless of heat transfer models.

An iterative algorithm for the finite element approximation to convection-diffusion problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buscaglia, Gustavo; Basombrio, Fernando

1988-01-01

An iterative algorithm for steady convection-diffusion is presented, which avoids unsymmetric matrices by means of an equivalent mixed formulation. Upwind is introduced by adding a balancing dissipation in the flow direction, but there is no dependence of the global matrix on the velocity field. Convergence is shown in habitual test cases. Advantages of its use in coupled calculation of more complex problems are discussed. (Author)

Chaotic Darcy-Brinkman convection in a fluid saturated porous layer subjected to gravity modulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moli Zhao

2018-06-01

Full Text Available On the basis of Darcy-Brinkman model, the chaotic convection in a couple stress fluid saturated porous media under gravity modulation is investigated using the nonlinear stability analyses. The transition from steady convection to chaos is analysed with the effect of Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter and the gravity modulation. The results show that the chaotic behavior is connected with the critical value of Rayleigh number which is dependent upon the oscillation frequency and the Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter. If the oscillation frequency Ω is not zero, the Rayleigh number value R of the chaotic behavior increases with the increase of the Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter. The Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter and the gravity modulation decrease the rate of heat transfer. Keywords: Darcy-Brinkman model, Gravity modulation, Nonlinear stability, Chaotic convection

MHD heat and mass diffusion flow by natural convection past a surface embedded in a porous medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaudhary R.C.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analytical study of the transient hydromagnetic natural convection flow past a vertical plate embedded in a porous medium, taking account of the presence of mass diffusion and fluctuating temperature about time at the plate. The governing equations are solved in closed form by the Laplace-transform technique. The results are obtained for temperature, velocity, penetration distance, Nusselt number and skin-friction. The effects of various parameters are discussed on the flow variables and presented by graphs.

Hydrodynamic theory of convective transport across a dynamically stabilized diffuse boundary layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerhauser, H.

1983-09-01

The diffuse boundary layer between miscible liquids is subject to Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities if the heavy fluid is supported by the light one. The resulting rapid interchange of the liquids can be suppressed by enforcing vertical oscillations on the whole system. This dynamic stabilization is incomplete and produces some peculiar novel transport phenomena such as decay off the density profile into several steps, periodic peeling of density sheets of the boundary layer and the appearance of steady vortex flow. The theory presented in this paper identifies the basic mechanism as formation of convective cells leading to enhanced diffusion, and explains previous experimental results with water and ZnJ 2 -solutions. A nonlinear treatment of the stationary convective flow problem gives the saturation amplitude of the ground mode and provides an upper bound for the maximum convective transport. The hydrodynamic model can be used for visualizing similar transport processes in the plasma of toroidal confinement devices such as sawtooth oscillations in soft disruptions of tokamak discharges and anomalous diffusion by excitation of convective cells. The latter process is investigated here in some detail, leading to the result that the maximum possible transport is of the order of Bohm diffusion. (orig.)

Empirical equation to let reproducing the temperature field of air around a horizontal isothermal cylinder in natural convection case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diez Gonzalez, R.; Dolz, M.; Belsa, R.; Herraez, J.V.

1988-01-01

The analysis of 7.000 measured pairs of values, distance-temperature, of air around a horizontal isothermal cylinder has made possible to obtain an empirical simple equation to let reproducing the temperature field of air in the natural convection case. The experimental and calculated results for a cylinder of 1 cm diameter and 10.5 cm length are compared with the same given for other authors. (Author)

Condensation heat transfer on natural convection at the high pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jong-Won, Kim; Hyoung-Kyoun, Ahn; Goon-Cherl, Park

2007-01-01

The Regional Energy Research Institute for the Next Generation is to develop a small scale electric power system driven by an environment-friendly and stable small nuclear reactor. REX-10 has been developed to assure high system safety in order to be placed in densely populated region and island. REX-10 adopts the steam-gas pressurizer to assure the inherent safety. The thermal-hydraulic phenomena in the steam-gas pressurizer are very complex. Especially, the condensation heat transfer with noncondensable gas on the natural convection is important to evaluate the pressurizer behavior. However, there have been few investigations on the condensation in the presence of noncondensable gas at the high pressure. In this study, the theoretical model is developed to estimate the condensation heat transfer at the high pressure using heat and mass transfer analogy. The analysis results show good agreement with correlations and experimental data. It is found that the condensation heat transfer coefficient increases as the total pressure increases or the mass fraction of the non-condensable gas decreases. In addition, the heat transfer coefficient no more increases over the specific pressure

Numerical simulations of natural or mixed convection in vertical channels: comparisons of level-set numerical schemes for the modeling of immiscible incompressible fluid flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, R.

2012-01-01

The aim of this research dissertation is at studying natural and mixed convections of fluid flows, and to develop and validate numerical schemes for interface tracking in order to treat incompressible and immiscible fluid flows, later. In a first step, an original numerical method, based on Finite Volume discretizations, is developed for modeling low Mach number flows with large temperature gaps. Three physical applications on air flowing through vertical heated parallel plates were investigated. We showed that the optimum spacing corresponding to the peak heat flux transferred from an array of isothermal parallel plates cooled by mixed convection is smaller than those for natural or forced convections when the pressure drop at the outlet keeps constant. We also proved that mixed convection flows resulting from an imposed flow rate may exhibit unexpected physical solutions; alternative model based on prescribed total pressure at inlet and fixed pressure at outlet sections gives more realistic results. For channels heated by heat flux on one wall only, surface radiation tends to suppress the onset of re-circulations at the outlet and to unify the walls temperature. In a second step, the mathematical model coupling the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and the Level-Set method for interface tracking is derived. Improvements in fluid volume conservation by using high order discretization (ENO-WENO) schemes for the transport equation and variants of the signed distance equation are discussed. (author)

Free-convective flow of fluid in a thin porous contour and geothermal anomalies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magomedbekov Kh.G.; Ramazanov, M.M.; Vagabov, M.V.

1996-01-24

The problem of free convection in a thin porous contour, placed in uniform impermeable massif is considered. The approximate analitical solution of conjugate problem is obtained. The critical Rayleigh number is determined, by exceeding of which the steady fluid circulation in an annulus is established. The computations of abnormal heat flow near surface are carried out, stipulated by thermoconvection in a contour.

Convective aggregation in realistic convective-scale simulations

OpenAIRE

Holloway, Christopher E.

2017-01-01

To investigate the real-world relevance of idealized-model convective self-aggregation, five 15-day cases of real organized convection in the tropics are simulated. These include multiple simulations of each case to test sensitivities of the convective organization and mean states to interactive radiation, interactive surface fluxes, and evaporation of rain. These simulations are compared to self-aggregation seen in the same model configured to run in idealized radiative-convective equilibriu...

Mixed thermal convection: fundamental issues and analysis of the planar case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JACQUES PADET

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to renew interest on mixed thermal convection research and to emphasize three issues that arise from the present analysis: (i a clear definition of the reference temperature in the Boussinesq approximation; (ii a practical delimitation of the three convective modes, which are the forced convection (FC, mixed convection (MC and natural (or free convection (NC; (iii and, finally, a uniform description of the set FC/MC/NC in the similarity framework. The planar case, for which analytical solutions are available, allows a detailed illustration of the answers here advanced to the above issues.

Frequency of Deep Convective Clouds and Global Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Aumann, Hartmut H.; Teixeira, Joao

2008-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the effect of global warming on the formation of Deep Convective Clouds (DCC). It concludes that nature responds to global warming with an increase in strong convective activity. The frequency of DCC increases with global warming at the rate of 6%/decade. The increased frequency of DCC with global warming alone increases precipitation by 1.7%/decade. It compares the state of the art climate models' response to global warming, and concludes that the parametrization of climate models need to be tuned to more closely emulate the way nature responds to global warming.

Conjugate Problems in Convective Heat Transfer: Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abram Dorfman

2009-01-01

Full Text Available A review of conjugate convective heat transfer problems solved during the early and current time of development of this modern approach is presented. The discussion is based on analytical solutions of selected typical relatively simple conjugate problems including steady-state and transient processes, thermal material treatment, and heat and mass transfer in drying. This brief survey is accompanied by the list of almost two hundred publications considering application of different more and less complex analytical and numerical conjugate models for simulating technology processes and industrial devices from aerospace systems to food production. The references are combined in the groups of works studying similar problems so that each of the groups corresponds to one of selected analytical solutions considered in detail. Such structure of review gives the reader the understanding of early and current situation in conjugate convective heat transfer modeling and makes possible to use the information presented as an introduction to this area on the one hand, and to find more complicated publications of interest on the other hand.

COOLOD-N2: a computer code, for the analyses of steady-state thermal-hydraulics in research reactors

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