Experimental Validation of ANSYS CFX for Transient Flows With Heat Transfer in a Tubular Heat Exchanger

Abstract

Within the European SESAME project, extensive experimental work was performed and complemented by the development, application, and validation activities of thermal-hydraulic simulation tools for different scales. The TALL-3D experimental facility, operated by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, is designed for thermal-hydraulic experiments with lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) coolant at natural and forced circulation conditions. The heat generated in the primary TALL-3D circuit is transferred via a double-tube counter-flow heat exchanger (HX) to the secondary side, which is cooled by glycerol oil. Validation calculations with the coupled simulation code ATHLET-ANSYS CFX within the European THINS project showed that one of the major challenges for this one-dimensional–three-dimensional (1D–3D) simulation of the experimental facility lies in the calculation of the HX with ATHLET. This is due to the fact that glycerol oil properties are not yet available for ATHLET. In order to better understand the flow and heat transfer phenomena inside the HX, 3D stand-alone calculations with ANSYS CFX were carried out for the SESAME experiment TG03.S301.03. The data generated in this experimental run is challenging for validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, because the test combines heat transfer between buoyancy-driven LBE flow in the primary circuit and a turbulent oil flow in the secondary TALL-3D side. Moreover, the validation gets even more difficult for the CFD approach due to the fact that both coolants are nonunity Prandtl fluids, and this requires a careful modeling of the turbulent heat flux. In this paper, the TALL-3D HX behavior during test TG03.S301.03 is analyzed, and the results of the ANSYS CFX calculations are compared with measurements.