Thermal-hydraulic characteristics of FLiBe in annuli with helical wire

Abstract

A fully tight-fitting triangular wire coil is used to enhance heat transfer of FLiBe in the annular channel for the first time. The numerical simulations of annular channels with triangular wire coil were performed with three helical pitches, three annular widths, and one equilateral triangle corresponding to Reynolds number of 4000–10000. It is found that adding triangular wire coil generates a vortex and reduces significantly the lengths of flow and thermal entrance regions of the annular channel. The local Nusselt number for peripheral point is extremely non-uniform. The Nusselt number decreases with annular width and helical pitch increase. The Nusselt number of enhanced annular channel is 1.45–1.98 times that of smooth annular channel. The overall performance of annular channel with helical pitch of 15 mm and annular width of 10 mm is best by using the principle of entropy generation. However, by using the performance evaluation criteria, the annular channel with helical pitch of 15 mm and annular width of 19.4 mm is best when the Reynolds number is less than or equal to 5500. And the annular channel with helical pitch of 20 mm and annular width of 19.4 mm is best at the high Reynolds number.