A subcooled boiling heat transfer predictive model for ITER EHF FW designs

Abstract

Recent experimental data from the ITER critical heat flux (CHF) mock-ups was used to benchmark a 3D CFD code concerning subcooled boiling heat transfer for high heat flux removal. The predicted temperatures show good agreement with experimental measurements for a range of operating parameters and of cooling configurations. Specifically, it applies to a hypervapotron channel exposed to a 5 MW/m 2 surface heat load and cooled by velocity of 2 m/s. Such flow geometry and operating condition seem necessary for ITER-enhanced heat flux first wall modules if an adequate design margin in CHF is needed. A detailed CFD and heat transfer analysis performed on a prototyped CAD model provided a higher confidence on the design and is deemed a desirable feature for continued design exploration and optimization processes. This is particularly crucial in regard to flow distribution among the FW fingers.