Fourier series-based modelling of the effects of thermal coupling on the transient dynamics of component loops in a coupled natural circulation loop

Abstract

Energy efficiency in process industry and passive safety systems in nuclear power plants necessitate the use of buoyancy driven heat exchangers. The current study presents a 1-D numerical model of the buoyancy driven fluid system in a Coupled Natural Circulation Loop (CNCL) comprising water as the working fluid. In this study water at different temperatures is considered as the operating fluid in each of the loops. The study employs a 1-D model derived using a semi-analytical Fourier series. A validation study was carried out using the relevant literature to verify the mathematical model. A detailed parametric study on individual NCLs and their coupled system was conducted by varying the cross-sectional area keeping the other parameters constant to gain insights into the effect of thermal coupling on the long-term transient dynamics of each of the individual loops of the CNCL system, for stable, unstable – periodic, and unstable – chaotic conditions. The dynamics were analysed using the difference between transient buoyancy and viscous forces, and it was found that the overall heat transfer coefficient influences the coupling behaviour and the dynamics of the component loops in a CNCL. At lower values of the overall heat transfer coefficient, the component loops in the CNCL nearly retain their independent behaviour, i.e., the component loops hardly influence each other. It was also found that the temperature dependent fluid properties influence the stability of the CNCL system in some cases.