Experimentelle Untersuchung der Vorgänge in engen Spalten zwischen den Unterkanälen von Stabbündeln bei turbulenter Strömung

Abstract

"Experimental study of the phenomena of turbulent flow in the narrow gaps between subchannels of rod bundles". lt was observed that the turbulent intensities in the narrow gaps between the subchannels of rod bundles are strongly anisotropic and higher than in pipes. In rod bundles, both the axial and azimuthal components of the fluctuating velocity have a quasi-periodic behaviour. The intensities increase with decreasing distance between the rods or between rod and channel wall, respectively. To determine the origin of this phenomenon, experiments were performed in rod bundles with different pitch-to-diameter (P/D) and wall-to-diameter (W/D) ratios. In these experiments, two components of the fluctuating velocity were measured with hot wires simultaneously at two different locations of a wall subchannel, together with the pressure fluctuations at the wall measured by microphones. The output signals were registered with an analog tape recorder. Afterwards they were digitized and evaluated to obtain spectra as well as auto and cross correlations. The results were analysed to determine the interdependence between pressure and velocity fluctuations. Attention was devoted to the analysis of turbulence spectra and the identification of their specific ranges. The dominant frequency of the turbulent motion, taken from the spectra, was found to be a function of the gap width and of the flow velocity. The corresponding Strouhal Number is a geometrical parameter which can be expressed in terms of P/D and W/D. Based on the observation of transit time between the probes, measured with help of cross correlations, on the form and the presence of peaks on spectra, a phenomenological model was developed, to explain the studied phenomenon. The model describes the formation of large eddies near the gaps and their effect on the fluid motion through rod bundles. The relationship between the mixing process and the studied phenomenon was determined.