Direct numerical simulation of molten pool convection in a 3D semicircular slice at different Prandtl numbers

Abstract

In this paper, a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of an internally heated (IH) natural convection in a 3D semicircular slice molten pool is conducted using Nek5000, a CFD solver with spatial discretization based on the spectral element method. The mesh requirements in the bulk and boundary layers are both fulfilled using known correlations. A calculation of a simplified internally heated box is first established with an excellent agreement to existing data. Next, simulation of the 3D semi-circular is performed showing qualitative agreement with the general flow observations from the BALI experiments. The velocity field shows that the flow domain is divided into three regions, i.e., intensive turbulent eddies in the upper domain, weak flow motion in the lower domain, and the descending flow along the curved boundary. Correspondingly, the temperature field in the upper domain is relatively homogenous, while that in the lower domain is characterized by stratified layers. Further, the heat flux distribution along the boundaries shows that the heat fluxes fluctuate along the top wall due to turbulent eddies, and the heat fluxes at the curved wall increase nonlinearly from the bottom to the top. Finally, the influence of Prandtl number indicates that smaller Prandtl number will lead to more turbulence eddies, deeper descending flow, and more even redistribution of heat thereby lowering the maximum heat flux to the curved walls.