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In this study, the effects of various vortex generator configurations on the heat transfer and flow friction characteristics are investigated by numerical method. Compared with common-flow-down configuration, the Nusselt numbers of common-flow-up configuration increase by 2.7–2.9% in the range of studied Reynolds number, while the friction factors reduce by 7.8–10.0%. A comparative study of the effects of location of axial dimension, location of spanwise dimension, attack angle, and length and height of vortex generator on fin performance is conducted. The results show that the intensity of heat transfer can be greatly increased with decreasing the location and attack angle of vortex generator, and with increasing height of vortex generator, accompanying with the increase of pressure drop. The Nusselt number and friction factors first increase and then decrease with increasing length of vortex generator. The parameters of the vortex generator fin-and-tube heat exchanger are optimized by the Taguchi method...

Experimental investigation of flow and heat transfer characteristics of a vertical narrow channel with uniform heat flux condition are conducted to analysis the effect of wall heating on the laminar to turbulent transition. The friction factor in the heating condition is compared with that in the adiabatic condition and the results show that wall heating leads to the delay of laminar to turbulent transition. In addition, the heat transfer characteristic indicates that the critical Reynolds number at the point of laminar flow breakdown increases with the increase of fluid temperature difference, and the local Nusselt number at the point of laminar breakdown increases with the increase of the inlet Reynolds number. The analyses of the flow and heat transfer characteristics both indicate that the heating has a stabilizing effect on the water flow at present experimental scale.

The critical Reynolds number of the laminar-to-turbulent transition in the rectangular channel is investigated based on the energy gradient method. The results show that the critical Reynolds number decreases with the increasing aspect ratio. However, the relative location of laminar breakdown does not migrate significantly with the variation of the aspect ratio. In addition, a theoretical correlation as a function of the aspect ratio is proposed to calculate the transition Reynolds number, and the predicted values are in good agreement with the experimental data obtained in the published literatures.

Spacer grids play an important role in pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assembly in that they have significant influence on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the reactor core. But so far, the numerical studies are performed without regarding dimple and spring of spacer grids, just considering mixing vane. Moreover, these studies use k-ɛ turbulence model without considering the suitability of the other turbulence models upon the different spacer grids flow. A study is carried out to understand the 3-D single-phase flow in AFA-2G 5×5 rod bundles with spacer grids based on numerical method. In order to investigate the suitability of different turbulence models, k-ɛ model and k-ω model, the influence of different parts of spacer grid on the fluid flow is also predicted. By using second-order upwind scheme, hybrid grids technique, and improved SIMPLEC algorithm, the Reynolds averaged mass conservation and momentum conservation equations are solved, and the pressure and velocity field of flow are obtained. The numerical simulation results are compared with experiment results and the agreement is satisfactory. The simulation results show the influences of the spring, dimple and mixing vane, and the different characteristics of the k-ɛ model and k-ω model. Comparing with the experiment results, the simulation results suggest that the k-ω model is suitable for the simulation of the rod bundle flow with spacer grids; the spring and dimple are the main causes of the pressure loss in the spacer grid channel. The friction coefficient of the channel with spring and dimple is 1.5 times the coefficient of the channel with the vane. These results are beneficial to enhance the simulation ability of spacer grids flow and optimization design ability of spaces grid.

The phase-lag between pressure gradient and flow rate in laminar pulsating flow in circular pipes and parallel-plate channels are studied theoretically. It is found that the phase-lag between pressure gradient and flow rate in low frequency ( f

Experiments were conducted to study characteristics of flow when flow is fluctuating. The experimental results showed a phase difference between the flow rate and the pressure drop fluctuations. This phase difference between the fluctuating flow rate and pressure drop was analyzed for laminar flow. Analysis showed that the phase difference changes with the period of the flow fluctuation, the pipe radius, the density and the dynamic viscosity of the liquid. Fluctuating pipe flow was then numerically simulated. Results of the numerical simulation were compared with theoretical values and experimental results. It was shown that, when the flow rate fluctuates with time as a sine wave, the pressure drop fluctuates with the same periodicity, and there is a phase difference between them.

Experimental studies on heat transfer characteristics for single-phase natural circulation flow under a rolling motion condition are performed. Experiments with and without rolling motions are conducted so that the effects of rolling motion on natural circulation heat transfer are obtained. The experimental results show rolling motion enhances the heat transfer. The heat transfer coefficient of natural circulation flow increases with the rolling amplitude and frequency. A modified Reynolds number that considers the influence of the acceleration is employed to express the effect of heat capacity. Using experimental data, an empirical equation for the heat transfer coefficient under a rolling motion condition is obtained. The calculated results agree with the experimental data.

Gas-liquid two-phase flow occurs increasingly in some dynamic devices operating in the oceanic condition. The relative data are limited with respect to flow characteristics, so the present study is to investigate systematically single-phase pressure drop, and to develop the theory for frictional factor under the rolling condition. Using deionized water as the test fluid, a series of experiments of single–phase flow were conducted in pipe with the inner diameter of 34.5 mm. The test section was horizontally settled on the rolling apparatus, and its regularity was similar to simple harmonic motion. It is found that the pressure drop during rolling motion fluctuate with the change of the rolling period and rolling angle, which is significantly different from fluid motion in a steady state. By the contrast between experiment results and stable-state theory values, existing correlations can not predict present frictional factor very well. Therefore, in the present article, the single-phase frictional factor is correlated with the Reynolds number for rolling motion, and its computated results agree well with experimental data.

Experimental and theoretical studies of single-phase natural circulation flow and heat transfer under a rolling motion condition are performed. Experiments with and without rolling motions are conducted so the effects of rolling motion on natural circulation flow and heat transfer are obtained. The experimental results show the additional inertia caused by rolling motion easily causes the natural circulation flow to fluctuate. The average mass flow rate of natural circulation decreases with increases in rolling amplitude and frequency. Rolling motion enhances the heat transfer, and the heat transfer coefficient of natural circulation flow increases with the rolling amplitude and frequency. An empirical equation for the heat transfer coefficient under rolling motion is achieved, and a mathematical model is also developed to calculate the natural circulation flow under a rolling motion condition. The calculated results agree well with experimental data. Effects of the rolling motion on natural circulation flow are analyzed using the model. The increase in the flow resistance coefficient is the main reason why the natural circulation capacity decreases under a rolling motion condition.

Experimental investigations on boiling heat transfer coefficients of boiling flows in rectangular narrow channel under rolling motion condition are performed. The cross section of the testing rectangular narrow channel is 2×40 mm, and the mechanical rolling thermal-hydraulic experimental facility is used in the experimental research of boiling heat transfer characteristics. Deionized water is used as the working fluid. The results show that the amplitude of boiling heat transfer coefficients of rectangular narrow channel increases with increasing rolling amplitude and rolling period of the rolling platform, the time average boiling heat transfer coefficients of test section in rolling motion are equal to the coefficients of the test section at equilibrium position, and with the increase of rolling amplitude and rolling period the time average boiling heat transfer coefficient almost unchanged. The amplitude of boiling heat transfer coefficients increases with increasing heat flux and flow rate, while decreases with the increase of system pressure. The curve of boiling heat transfer coefficient fluctuations of rectangular narrow channel is close to sine or cosine curve when the rolling period less than 15 seconds.

An experimental investigation on two-phase frictional pressure drop of water-vapor mixture was conducted in a vertical rectangular narrow channel. The present experimental data were carefully analyzed and compared against the homogenous model, including several well-known two-phase viscosity models. The results reveal that the models using two-phase viscosity proposed by Cicchitti and Dukler provide the relatively accurate predictions, while McAdams, Beattie-Whalley, Lin and Awad-Muzychka poorly predicted the database. Considering the effects of surface tension, gravity, channel size and mass flux, a new correlation for two-phase frictional pressure drop in rectangular narrow channel was developed based on the Cicchitti model. The new correlation predict the experimental data with a mean deviation of 18.7%.Copyright © 2013 by ASME

An experimental investigation on fluctuating turbulent flow with different amplitudes, frequencies and mean values of flow rate in a narrow rectangular channel was carried out to determine the phase difference so as to find out real corresponding relationship between pressure drop and flow rate. It is found that the measurement delay time difference between the flow meter and the differential pressure transmitter is not a constant but vary with the different flow rate fluctuation conditions. The phase difference was calculated by a function which is given in this paper and tested by the result of two kinds of nonlinear fit methods, whose results agree well.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

The resistance characteristic of single-phase pulsating flow was experimentally investigated. Using de-ionized water, experiments were conducted in the horizontal rectangular channel with 5.647mm inner diameter, considering three factors that were average flow, pulsation amplitude and pulsation period. Experiments focused on the turbulent region, and the atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions were maintained throughout the experiments. It was found that compared with steady flow in the same channel, the friction coefficient λ under the pulsating conditions was not only affected by the Reynolds number Re, but was also related to pulsation period and pulsation amplitude. And under the pulsating conditions, the Re-λ curve became pulsation circle, it resulted from the acceleration acting on the fluid and the phase difference between Re and λ.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

3-D single-phase flow field in 5×5 rod bundles with spacer grids was studied by numerical method. Using hybrid grids technique, SST k-ω model and SIMPLEC algorithm, the Reynolds averaged mass conservation and momentum conservation equations were solved, and the pressure and velocity field were obtained. The simulation results show that the spacer grids leads to intense lateral flow in rod bundles channel, and it submitted parabola distributing raw; axial velocities were distributed uniformly in the channel; drag coefficient decreased as inlet Reynolds number increased. Calculated results agreed with experiment data well, it shows that numerical methods employed in this paper is suitable to study flow field in 5×5 rod bundles.Copyright © 2010 by ASME

A series of experimental studies of frictional pressure drop for single phase and two-phase bubble flow in smooth rolling tubes were carried out. The tube inside diameters were 15 mm, 25 mm and 34.5 mm respectively, the rolling angles of tubes could be set as 10 deg. and 20 deg., and the rolling periods could be set as 5 s, 10 s and 15 s. Combining with the analysis of single-phase water motion, it was found that the traditional correlations for calculating single-phase frictional coefficient were not suitable for the rolling condition. Based on the experimental data, a new correlation for calculating single-phase frictional coefficient under rolling condition was presented, and the calculations not only agreed well with the experimental data, but also could display the periodically dynamic characteristics of frictional coefficients. Applying the new correlation to homogeneous flow model, two-phase frictional pressure drop of bubble flow in rolling tubes could be calculated, the results showed that the relative error between calculation and experimental data was less than {+-} 25%. (authors)

This is the erratum to the article [zhang Jin-hong, Yan Chang-qi, Gao Pu-zhen, Journal of Hydrodynamics, 2009, 21(5)]. The fig.5 is corrected.