Heat transfer evaluation of liquid lead‑bismuth eutectic cross flow tube bundle: Numerical simulation part

Abstract

LBE HCOTSG, which combines the benefits of lead‑bismuth eutectic (LBE) and helical coil once-through tube steam generator (HCOTSG), has the potential to be an excellent heat exchanger choice. Given the similarity of the structure, the analysis of cross/oblique bundle flow heat transfer can help reveal the heat transfer characteristics of the HCOTSG shell side. In this paper, a numerical method for LBE in cross/oblique bundle flow is proposed. Based on the validated method, the application range of the correlation on the flow of the LBE cross/oblique bundle obtained from experiments is broadened based on the numerical simulation work. The influence of tube geometric arrangement in the bundle is also taken into account, including the inclination angle (θ), Smin /d, and various staggered arrangements. The difference between numerical simulation results and experimental data is less than 15%. For LBE cross/oblique bundle flow, the extended correlation taking geometric parameters into account also has good applicability. The alternating inclination angle arrangement at an angle of 8° can greatly enhance heat transmission efficacy by up to 33%. The impact of geometric arrangement is estimated in relation to local temperature. This work provides a correlation for the flow of the LBE cross/oblique bundle that is more broadly applicable. Furthermore, this work will significantly benefit the design optimization and program development of LBE HCOTSG or other innovative heat exchangers with cross flow of LBE.