Numerical Study on Convective Heat Transfer at Low Flow and Spacer Effects in Lead-bismuth Eutectic

Yuan Bo; Sun Jie; Xiao Yao; Ding Guanqun; Gu Hanyang

doi:10.13832/j.jnpe.2025.01.0128

Volume 46 Issue 1

Feb. 2025

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Article Navigation > Nuclear Power Engineering > 2025 > 46(1): 128-135

Yuan Bo, Sun Jie, Xiao Yao, Ding Guanqun, Gu Hanyang. Numerical Study on Convective Heat Transfer at Low Flow and Spacer Effects in Lead-bismuth Eutectic[J]. Nuclear Power Engineering, 2025, 46(1): 128-135. doi: 10.13832/j.jnpe.2025.01.0128

Citation:

Yuan Bo, Sun Jie, Xiao Yao, Ding Guanqun, Gu Hanyang. Numerical Study on Convective Heat Transfer at Low Flow and Spacer Effects in Lead-bismuth Eutectic[J]. Nuclear Power Engineering, 2025, 46(1): 128-135. doi: 10.13832/j.jnpe.2025.01.0128

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Numerical Study on Convective Heat Transfer at Low Flow and Spacer Effects in Lead-bismuth Eutectic

doi: 10.13832/j.jnpe.2025.01.0128

Yuan Bo^{1, 2
,},
Sun Jie^{1, 2},
Xiao Yao^{1, 2
,
,},
Ding Guanqun^{1, 3},
Gu Hanyang^{1, 2}

1.
School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Systems and Equipment, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200240, China
3.
National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Technology and Equipment, Shanghai, 200240, China

Received Date: 2024-03-04
Rev Recd Date: 2024-06-13
Publish Date: 2025-02-15

Abstract

Abstract

The heat transfer characteristics of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE), the coolant of LFR, are different from conventional fluid such as water. Therefore, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of LBE at low flow rate and its spacer effect are numerically studied in this paper. By comparing with existing experimental data and combining with previous studies, appropriate turbulence Prandtl number model and turbulence model were chosen. Based on this, the LBE low-flow convective heat transfer was calculated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results show that with the enhancement of buoyancy effect, the heat transfer in upflow is firstly weakened and then strengthened, while in downflow, the heat transfer is always being strengthened, which is similar to water; However, due to the extremely low Prandtl number of LBE, its overall heat transfer strengthening and weakening degree are greatly smaller than water. In the CFD calculation of a tube with a spacer, it is found that local heat transfer enhancement occurs downstream of the spacer, and the degree of enhancement decreases and gradually disappears with the increase of the buoyancy effect. The strength and length of the stagnation zone downstream of the spacer increased first and then decreased with the increase of the buoyancy effect, and the turning point was roughly located at the boundary point between the heat transfer weakening zone rising section and the heat transfer strengthening zone. In addition, there is no heat transfer oscillation in the heat transfer enhancement zone, which is different from water.
- Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE),
- Mixed convection,
- Spacer,
- Turbulent Prandtl number,
- Heat transfer weakening

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References(31)

References

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