RANS simulations for transition and turbulent flow regimes in wire-wrapped rod bundles

Internal flows through rod assemblies are commonly found in heat exchangers, steam generators, and nuclear reactors. One of the fuel assembly designs considered for liquid metal-cooled reactors utilizes wires helically wrapped around each fuel rod as spacers. The wires keep the fuel pins separated, enhancing the turbulent mixing, and heat transfer, but also affecting the pressure drop. It is of interest the understanding of the fluid flow phenomena in the sodium-cooled fast reactor as it is one of the Generation IV advanced reactor designs and it has been a motivating topic of research for the last decade. A wire-wrapped fuel assembly replica with 61-pins has been in operation at the Thermal-Hydraulic Research Laboratory of Texas A&M University. This facility produced high-fidelity velocity and pressure drop data for validation of computational fluid dynamics codes. This study investigates the effects of geometrical features and operating conditions on the flow behavior of the 61-pin wire wrapped bundle using Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models to predict the axial and transverse pressure drops for a range of Reynolds numbers from 1,270 to 100,000. The friction factor predictions were in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data and the Upgraded Chen and Todreas correlation. The internal subchannel velocity results were compared with experimental data and Large Eddy Simulations (LES) and found in reasonable agreement. This study demonstrates that RANS is a suitable approach in predicting velocity and pressure fields in wire-wrapped rod bundles, with a relatively low computational effort.     

A Theoretical Study on Nonlinear Bending of Wires

The nonlinear bending of thin wires is a challenging topic in several applications where the final geometry of the wire after bending and springback has to be known. Typical examples are tyre manufacturing, helical spring design, spectacles frames. In order to develop analytical models able to set bending parameters for a required final shape of the wire, both account material behaviour (during the loading and unloading phases with springback effect) and geometrical nonlinearity have to be considered. In the case of plates bending, many analytical and numerical models are available in the literature, offering an accurate solution to this problem. However, the bending of thin wires could still be the subject of discussion and research. In this paper a new analytical model was developed, starting from the models available in the literature, in order to provide the designer with a simple model to predict the final shape of a wire by using mathematical codes. The model allows to predict with a higher level of accuracy the final shape of wires having different cross-sections after nonlinear bending. Since Bernoulli’s hypothesis is assumed, the model can be used in all the applications where the material behaviour of the wire guarantees that plane cross sections of the wire will remain plane after rotation due to bending, with negligible errors from the engineering point of view.     

Direct numerical simulation of fluid flow in a 5x5 square rod bundle

Characterization of parallel flow through rod bundles is of key importance in assessing the performance and safety of several engineering systems, including a majority of nuclear reactor concepts. Inhomogeneities in the bundle cross-section can present complex flow phenomena, including varying local conditions of turbulence. With the ever-increasing capabilities of high-performance computing, Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of turbulent flows is becoming more feasible. Through resolving all scales of turbulence, DNS can serve as a “numerical experiment,” and can provide substantial insight into flow physics, but at considerable computational cost. Thus to date, the DNS in open literature for rod bundle flows is relatively scarce, and largely limited to unit-cell domains. Since wall effects are important in rod bundle flows, a multiple-pin DNS study can expand understanding of rod bundle flows while providing valuable reference data for evaluating reduced-resolution techniques. In this work, DNS of a 5x5 square bare rod bundle representative of typical light water reactor fuel dimensions was performed using the spectral element code Nek5000. Turbulent microscales based on an advanced Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes model were used to establish the required DNS resolution. Velocity and Reynolds stress fields are analyzed in detail, and invariant analysis is used for further investigation into flow physics. The results show stark changes in the structure of turbulence in the edge gaps, suggesting the presence of gap vortices in these regions. In addition, turbulent kinetic energy budgets are presented to more fully illustrate the various turbulent processes. These data can prove useful for rigorous evaluation of lower-fidelity turbulence modeling approaches.     

Bending actuation in polyurethanes with a symmetrically graded distribution of one-way shape memory alloy wires

Structures are being actuated by embedding shape memory alloy (SMA) wires into compliant materials, such as polyurethane. To achieve bending actuation, these wires are placed in opposing wire configurations, where multiple wires are often employed to enhance the amplitude of the bending actuation response. In this investigation, a procedure has been developed for fabricating polyurethanes with a symmetrically graded distribution of SMA wires. The effects of grading the distribution of one-way SMA wires have been characterized using full-field displacement deformation measurements obtained with the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. These measurements have been used in a one-dimensional (1D) model of bending actuation to determine the “equivalent two-way shape memory effect (SME)” of the graded wire distribution. To utilize the 1D actuation model, the constitutive properties of the polyurethane structure predicted by rule-of-mixture formulations were reduced to account for the differences in strain between the SMA wires and the polyurethane matrix. The graded wire distribution was also found to significantly stiffen the polyurethane structure. The level of equivalent two-way SME therefore became limited by the maximum recovery stress of the SMA wires, with a maximum level that was approximately 75% less than previously measured levels in an opposing wire configuration. However, the bending actuation behavior was more symmetric, and the actuated bending deflections were similar to those observed when using more compliant materials. It was also predicted that the symmetrically graded wire distribution would exhibit a better balance between actuation amplitude and uniformity, which combined with the more symmetric actuation behavior makes the graded wire distribution potentially more desirable for achieving higher actuation frequencies with distributed actuation concepts in new applications, such as miniaturized double diaphragm pumping devices.     

Statically indeterminate contacts in axially loaded wire strand

This paper is concerned with the analysis of simple wire strands made from one layer of circular wires helically wrapped around a circular straight core wire. The undeformed configuration is the special case in which each of the surrounding helical wires touches its two adjacent neighbouring helical wires as well as touching the core wire. This forms a statically indeterminate contact problem. A simple finite element model is developed to analyse this situation. Numerical results show that contacts can occur simultaneously at all possible contact points when the strand is subjected to extension with both ends fixed against rotation.     

Neutron Diffraction Measurement of Stress Redistribution in Parallel Seven-Wire Strands after Local Fracture

We report results from neutron diffraction experiments where partitioning of applied tensile load between the inner and outer wires of seven-wire parallel and quasi-parallel wire strands were measured while 1-all wires were undergoing elastic deformation, 2-where one wire within the bundle was undergoing plastic flow and, 3-when one or more wires fractured under load. The results indicate that mechanical interference and friction mechanisms have similar contributions to the load transferred to fractured wires, and both mechanisms should be included in analytical or numerical formulations of strain partitioning in quasi-parallel wire cables.     

等离子体激励器控制圆柱绕流的实验研究

为了发展新型移动附面层控制技术,提升流动控制效率,采用粒子图像测速技术,开展了基于对称布局等离子体气动激励的圆柱绕流控制研究,获得了静止空气下,对称布局激励器诱导流场的演化过程,评估了来流条件下等离子体控制效果,通过等离子体诱导涡实现了虚拟移动附面层控制,分析了诱导涡随时间演化的过程,揭示了圆柱绕流等离子体控制机理.结果表明:(1)在静止空气下,对称布局激励器在刚启动瞬间,会在暴露电极两侧诱导产生一对旋转方向相反的启动涡;随着时间的推移,启动涡逐渐向远离壁面的方向运动;随后,激励器在暴露电极两侧产生了两股速度近似相等,方向相反的诱导射流,诱导射流在柯恩达效应的影响下,朝壁面方向发展.(2)当激励电压峰峰值为19.6 kV,激励频率3kHz时,施加等离子体气动激励后,圆柱脱落涡得到了较好抑制,圆柱阻力系数减小了21.8％;(3)在来流作用下,对称布局激励器在靠近来流一侧,诱导产生了较为稳定的涡结构.诱导涡通过旋转、运动,促进了壁面附近低能气流与主流之间的掺混,抑制了圆柱绕流流场分离,实现了"虚拟移动附面层控制"效果.与传统移动附面层控制技术相比,基于等离子体气动激励的新型移动附面层控制技术不需要复杂、笨重的机构,不会带来额外的阻力,具有潜在的应用前景.      

定、变载弯曲疲劳钢丝绳失效机理对比研究

为对比揭示定、变载弯曲疲劳钢丝绳断裂机理及磨损演化特性,运用自制钢丝绳弯曲疲劳试验机开展钢丝绳定载、变载弯曲疲劳试验,通过人工拆股统计法和VW-9000系列高速度数码显微系统对比研究钢丝绳断丝分布、断丝数、断口和磨痕形貌等断裂机理,对比分析钢丝绳未断钢丝和断丝的磨痕尺寸演化特性.结果表明:与钢丝绳定载弯曲疲劳相比,变载弯曲疲劳钢丝绳断丝出现较晚,芯股、螺旋股外层断丝数分别较多、较少,芯股外层钢丝断口挤压变形较大,芯股各层钢丝断口裂纹扩展区占比较低,芯股和螺旋股的各层钢丝磨痕尺寸总体较小,钢丝绳更易达到报废水平.     

Experiments on jet/vortex interaction

An experimental study was performed to evaluate the effect of a cold jet on a single trailing vortex. Flow visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were conducted in wind and water tunnels. The main parameters were the ratio of jet-to-vortex strength, the jet-to-vortex distance, the jet inclination angle and the Reynolds number. It was shown that the jet turbulence is wrapped around the vortex and ingested into it. This takes place faster with decreasing jet-to-vortex distance and increasing jet strength. Both time-averaged and instantaneous flow fields showed that the trailing vortex became diffused with its rotational velocity and vorticity levels reduced when the jet is located close to the vortex. The mechanism with which the jet interacts with the vortex is a combination of vortices shed by the jet and the turbulence. No noticeable differences were found within the Reynolds number range tested. The effect of jet on the vortex is delayed when the jet is blowing at an angle to the free stream and away from the vortex such as during take-off.     

水中金属丝电爆炸动力学过程的零维模型

金属丝电爆炸包含丰富的物理内容,近年来国内的实验和理论研究取得了重要进展,理解该过程有助于完善Z箍缩及磁加载等离子体动力学过程的物理建模,校验物性参数。在自相似运动假设条件下,发展了冷启动计算的水中电爆炸丝零维动力学模型。从一维磁流体模型出发,推导了描述丝等离子体膨胀的零维动能方程和内能方程,采用实际气体状态方程和修正的李-莫尔电导率参数作为封闭条件,根据质量守恒及水中激波雨贡纽关系式获得了丝等离子体的边界条件。应用于水中铜丝电爆炸动力学过程和能量转化分析,结果表明：该零维模型的物理假设合理,在一定范围内改变丝直径等参数可产生不同的放电模式,与一维模型及实验结果符合较好,能够为同类实验的优化设计和数据分析提供参考。     

Control of flow past a circular cylinder via a spanwise surface wire: effect of the wire scale

Flow phenomena induced by a single spanwise wire on the surface of a circular cylinder are investigated via a cinema technique of particle image velocimetry (PIV). The primary aim of this investigation is to assess the effect of the wire scale. To this end, consideration is given to wires with different diameters that are 0.5, 1.2, and 2.9% of the cylinder diameter. The Reynolds number has a subcritical value of 10,000. Compared to the thickness of the unperturbed boundary layer developing around the cylinder between 5° and 75° from the forward stagnation point, the former two wires have smaller scales and the latter has a larger scale. Two angular locations of the wire, defined with respect to the forward stagnation point of the cylinder, are found to be critical. When the wire is located at these critical angles, either the most significant extension or the contraction of the time-mean separation bubble occurs in the near wake. These critical angles depend on the wire scale: the smaller the wire, the larger the critical angle. The small-scale and large-scale wires that have diameters of 1.2 and 2.9% of the cylinder diameter induce bistable shear-layer oscillations between different separation modes when placed at their respective critical angles corresponding to maximum extension of the near-wake bubble. These oscillations have irregular time intervals that are much longer than the time scale associated with the classical Kármán instability. Moreover, the large-scale wire can either significantly attenuate or intensify the Kármán mode of vortex shedding at the critical states; in contrast, the small-scale wires do not notably alter the strength of the Kármán instability.     

PIV measurements of turbulent flows in a 61-pin wire-wrapped hexagonal fuel bundle

The current work experimentally investigates the flow characteristics in the near-wall region of the 61-pin wire-wrapped hexagon fuel bundle via the matched-index-of-refraction technique. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were taken in the region near the surfaces of the pins, wires and enclosure wall at the Reynolds number of 19,000. From the obtained PIV velocity vector fields, flow statistics such as mean velocity and root-mean-square fluctuating velocity profiles were computed. In addition, spatial-temporal cross-correlations of velocity-velocity and pressure-velocity were analyzed. A strong correlation between the wall fluctuating pressure signal and flow structures was observed. Finally, we applied the POD analysis to the vorticity snapshots obtained in the near-wall region to reveal the dominant flow structures. It was found that the large-scale structures were elongated and aligned with the mean flow direction.     

Analytical procedure for modelling recursively and wire by wire stranded ropes subjected to traction and torsion loads

The aim of this article is to introduce a new theoretical procedure for modelling wire ropes subjected simultaneously to tensile and torsional loads. The procedure is based upon the beam assumption and takes account wire by wire of the double helical wires on the basis of general thin rod theory developed by [Love, A., 1944. Mathematical Theory of Elasticity. Dover Publications, New York]. The proposed kinematics are based on the assumption that wires are un-lubricated and therefore that no relative sliding between adjacent wires happens.     

Effect of apex strake incidence-angle on the vortex development and interaction of a double-delta wing

The vortex flow characteristics of a sharp-edged delta wing with an apex strake was investigated through the visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement of the wing-leeward flow region, and the wing-surface pressure measurement. The wing model was a flat-plate, and 65°-sweep cropped-delta wing with sharp leading edges. The apex strake was also a flat-plate wing with a cropped-delta shape of 65°/90° sweep, and it can change its incidence angle. The flow Reynolds number was 2.2 × 10⁵ for the flow visualization and 8.2 × 10⁵ for the PIV and wing-surface pressure measurements. The physics of the vortex flow in the wing-leeward flow region and the suction-pressure distribution on the wing upper-surface were interrelated and analyzed. The effect of a positive (negative) strake incidence-angle was the upward movement of the strake and wing vortices away from (downward movement of the strake and wing vortices toward) the wing-upper surface and the delayed (enhanced) coiling interaction between them. This change of vortex flow characteristics projected directly on the suction pressure distribution on the wing upper-surface.     

Dynamic wind loads and wake characteristics of a wind turbine model in an atmospheric boundary layer wind

An experimental study was conducted to characterize the dynamic wind loads and evolution of the unsteady vortex and turbulent flow structures in the near wake of a horizontal axis wind turbine model placed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. In addition to measuring dynamic wind loads (i.e., aerodynamic forces and bending moments) acting on the wind turbine model by using a high-sensitive force-moment sensor unit, a high-resolution digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) system was used to achieve flow field measurements to quantify the characteristics of the turbulent vortex flow in the near wake of the wind turbine model. Besides conducting “free-run” PIV measurements to determine the ensemble-averaged statistics of the flow quantities such as mean velocity, Reynolds stress, and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) distributions in the wake flow, “phase-locked” PIV measurements were also performed to elucidate further details about evolution of the unsteady vortex structures in the wake flow in relation to the position of the rotating turbine blades. The effects of the tip-speed-ratio of the wind turbine model on the dynamic wind loads and wake flow characteristics were quantified in the terms of the variations of the aerodynamic thrust and bending moment coefficients of the wind turbine model, the evolution of the helical tip vortices and the unsteady vortices shedding from the blade roots and turbine nacelle, the deceleration of the incoming airflows after passing the rotation disk of the turbine blades, the TKE and Reynolds stress distributions in the near wake of the wind turbine model. The detailed flow field measurements were correlated with the dynamic wind load measurements to elucidate underlying physics in order to gain further insight into the characteristics of the dynamic wind loads and turbulent vortex flows in the wakes of wind turbines for the optimal design of the wind turbines operating in atmospheric boundary layer winds.     

A bistable rolling joint for multistable structures

In this paper, a concept of using rolling joints for a multistable structure, which deforms elastically into a variety of cylindrical shapes, is presented. A bistable joint is obtained by modifying the geometry of a rolling hinge. The proposed concept can hold the stable state without any continued actuation. Then detailed mathematical derivations are carried out to obtain the wire tensions and joint resultant moment during the motion, which are used to compute the external action that should be applied to move the joint. The effects of some geometric parameters on the mechanical behavior are also investigated. The results show that higher values of the wire tension and joint resultant moments can be obtained by increasing the side included angle φ or the radius of wire wrapped circles R. Moreover, the pretension of wires in the stable configuration also increases the wire tension and the joint resultant moment.     

The calculation of dryout in a rod bundle

A model of annular two-phase flow is used to calculate dryout on the assumption that dryout occurs when the liquid flowrate in the film on the solid surfaces becomes equal to zero. To enable the calculation to be performed, the processes of entrainment and deposition of liquid droplets must be adequately described. The rod bundle is divided, for calculational purposes, into rod centred subchannels, and the liquid flows in the liquid films and as droplets in each subchannel are calculated. The agreement between experiment and calculation for dryout power is encouraging.     

Analytical solutions for bending and flexure of helically reinforced cylinders

There has been a great deal of interest in the problems of modelling cables and ropes. A recent review by Cardou and Jolicoeur [Appl. Mech. Rev. 50 (1997) 1] considers the modelling of a cable which consists of a central core surrounded by one or several helically wound wire layers. One approach has been to consider the deformations of an individual helical wire and to synthesise the model of a cable by using contact conditions between the various wires. Other authors have adopted a continuum approach regarding each layer as a transversely isotropic material whose principal direction is along a helix surrounding the central axis of the cable. In each layer the helix angle is constant so that, when referred to cylindrical polar co-ordinates, the cylinder has a constant stiffness matrix in each layer. The intention in this paper is to use the continuum approach and describe the analytical solutions that govern the simple bending, flexure, or bending under a uniform load, of an anisotropic elastic cylinder consisting of a single material of this type. The extension of this work to a composite cylinder consisting of several concentric layers, surrounding a central core, which are either bonded together or make a frictionless contact, is briefly described.     

SMA扭力驱动器的响应速度分析及实验研究

介绍了马氏体逆相变的驱动力的形成原因以及和相变阻力的关系。研究了通电加热时形状记忆合金(SMA)丝的热平衡方程以及相变时间与丝直径的关系,并进行了实验验证。将SMA丝按与筒母线方向成某夹角缠绕并粘贴在外表面可以构成SMA扭力驱动器。利用SMA丝的本构关系和圆筒的扭转应力-应变关系给出了空载情况下最大驱动扭转角对应的缠绕方向;研究了模拟飞机尾气通过扭力管进行加热时的响应速度,并与实验结果进行了比较。     

各向异性编织CMC弯曲断裂失效模型

通过对缺口弯曲断裂试验的研究发现,编织CMC存在两种断裂失效模式:界面主导的和纤维束主导的失效模式.针对这两种模式建立了界面失效模型和纤维束断裂失效模型.界面失效模型用半经验方法处理弱界面和大编织角度的断裂强度问题;纤维束断裂失效模型采用解析方法处理较强界面和小角度的断裂强度问题,为含有缺口试件的弯曲强度预报打下了初步的理论基础.