Support grids are an integral part of nuclear reactor fuel bundle design. Features, such as split-vane pairs, are located on the downstream edge of support grids to enhance heat transfer and delay departure from nucleate boiling in the fuel bundle. The complex flow fields created by these features cause spatially varying heat transfer conditions on the surfaces of the rods. Azimuthal variations in heat transfer for three specific support grid designs, a standard grid, split-vane pair grid, and disc grid, are measured in the present study using a heated, thin film sensor. Normalized values of the azimuthal variations in Nusselt number are presented for the support grid designs at axial locations ranging from 2.2 to 36.7 Two Reynolds numbers, and are tested. The peak-to-peak azimuthal variation in normalized Nusselt number is largest just downstream of the support grids and decreases to a minimum value by the end of the grid span. A comparison of the azimuthal heat transfer characteristics between the support grids indicates distinctive results for each type of support grid design tested. The split-vane pair grid exhibits the largest peak-to-peak variation in azimuthal heat transfer of +30% to −15% just downstream of the grid at 2.2 The disc grid has the most uniform azimuthal heat transfer distribution with a peak-to-peak value of ±4% for all axial locations tested.
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The Effect of Support Grid Design on Azimuthal Variation in Heat Transfer Coefficient for Rod Bundles
Mary V. Holloway,
Mary V. Holloway
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
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Timothy A. Conover,
Timothy A. Conover
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
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Heather L. McClusky,
Heather L. McClusky
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
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Donald E. Beasley, Fellow, ASME,
Donald E. Beasley, Fellow, ASME
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
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Michael E. Conner
Michael E. Conner
Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel, 5801 Bluff Rd., Columbia, SC 29250
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Mary V. Holloway
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
Timothy A. Conover
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
Heather L. McClusky
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
Donald E. Beasley, Fellow, ASME
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
Michael E. Conner
Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel, 5801 Bluff Rd., Columbia, SC 29250
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received January 6, 2004; revision received December 16, 2004. Review conducted by: A. F. Emery.
J. Heat Transfer. Jun 2005, 127(6): 598-605 (8 pages)
Published Online: June 6, 2005
Article history
Received:
January 6, 2004
Revised:
December 16, 2004
Online:
June 6, 2005
Citation
Holloway , M. V., Conover , T. A., McClusky , H. L., Beasley, D. E., and Conner, M. E. (June 6, 2005). "The Effect of Support Grid Design on Azimuthal Variation in Heat Transfer Coefficient for Rod Bundles ." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. June 2005; 127(6): 598–605. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1863274
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