Engineering Commons^™

Heat Pipes With Arbitrary Boundary Conditions, Katrina Sweetland

Doctoral Dissertations

Heat pipes passively transfer heat in numerous applications. Traditionally one side of the heat pipe is coupled to a heat source (evaporator) while the opposite side is coupled to a heat sink (condenser). This configuration has working fluid stagnation points at each end of the heat pipe. Other configurations may also prove useful, such as heat pipes with multiple evaporators or multiple condensers. In such heat pipes, additional working fluid stagnation points form at locations dependent on the configuration of the thermal boundary conditions. These stagnation points divide the heat pipe into multiple cells that each have an evaporator and …

Effects Of Ultrasonic Transducers On Heat Transfer In Packed Particle Beds, David Patrick Moseley

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of ultrasonic transducers on heat transfer in a packed particle bed heat exchanger. Although substantial research has been devoted to ultrasound, and the associated improvements in heat transfer, data regarding the effects on packed particle beds is non-existent. This is of particular interest given the potential to improve heat transfer in a wide variety of packed particle bed systems. A 42.9% increase in the heat transfer rate was demonstrated as the result of improved fluid convection throughout the packed particle bed. Secondary effects, including acoustic cavitation, acoustic streaming and local …

Determination Of Area Of Fire Origin Through Examination Of Structural Failure And Deformation, Andrew Thomas Tinsley

Doctoral Dissertations

The effects of fire on steel have long been noted and studied. However, a scientific connection between the area of origin for a fire and the amount of steel deformation observed at the scene has never been established. The development and implementation of this type of analysis has the potential to decrease investigation times significantly as the types of structures to which this method would be applicable are typically large, expansive structures. In order to investigate the relationship between structural steel deformations and a fire’s origin, a series of six tests were performed in a smaller size portal frame steel …

Thermal Hydraulic Characteristics Of Fuel Defects In Plate Type Nuclear Research Reactors, Isaac Thomas Bodey

Doctoral Dissertations

Turbulent flow coupled with heat transfer is investigated for a High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) fuel plate. The Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Models are used for fluid dynamics and the transfer of heat from a thermal nuclear fuel plate using the Multi-physics code COMSOL. Simulation outcomes are compared with experimental data from the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor Thermal Hydraulic Test Loop. The computational results for the High Flux Isotope Reactor core system provide a more physically accurate simulation of this system by modeling the turbulent flow field in conjunction with the diffusion of thermal energy within the solid and fluid phases …

Multidimensional Cfd Modeling Of A Liquid Salt Pebble Bed Heat Transfer Loop, Richard B. Cunningham

Masters Theses

The Pebble Bed Advanced High Temperature Reactor (PB-AHTR) is a next generation reactor design proposed by the University of California at Berkeley. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Liquid Salt Test Loop (LSTL) is designed to simulate AHTR operating conditions for component testing. In this study, COMSOL Multiphysics is used to model the LSTL. Full 3D modeling of the LSTL is computationally expensive. However, COMSOL allows users to combine 1D, 2D, and 3D fluid flow physics in order to design models that are both representative and efficient. 1D pipe flow calculations are used for the piping sections. COMSOL’s porous media module is …

Characterization Of Heat Transfer Coefficient Uncertainty In Support Of High Temperature Probe Measurement Technology, Marcus S. Conner

Masters Theses

The development of new materials and processes have enabled defense, industrial, and research devices that operate in high temperature environments. Measurement technology must keep up with the demand of these environments.

The objective of this work is to provide a correlation between the heat transfer coefficient (and Nusselt Number) and the flow Reynolds number (and Prandtl number) for a truncated cylindrical probe. The correlation provides reduced uncertainty for materials whose heat transfer coefficient is not well defined. The configuration for the experiment uses the University of Tennessee Space Institute’s (UTSI) blow down air supply system discharging into a duct and …

Investigation Of The One-Probe And Two-Probe Calibration Integral Equation Methods Using Experimental Data, Abhay Sanjeev Pande

Masters Theses

This work aims to expand the applicability of the recently devised physics-based Calibration Integral Equation Method (CIEM) at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, for solving the Inverse Heat Conduction Problem (IHCP) as applied to a one-dimensional domain. Contrary to conventional schemes of solving the IHCP, the CIEM does not require the knowledge of the thermo-physical properties of the domain, sensor characterization and sensor probe locations. The pertinent information is implicitly accounted for via an experimental run. The experimental run ‘calibrates’ the physics of the domain and is called the ‘calibration run’. The net surface heat flux during a real ‘unknown’ …

Cross-Flow, Staggered-Tube Heat Exchanger Analysis For High Enthalpy Flows, Gary L. Hammock

Masters Theses

Cross flow heat exchangers are a fairly common apparatus employed throughout many industrial processes. For these types of systems, correlations have been extensively developed. However, there have been no correlations done for very high enthalpy flows as produced by Arnold Engineering Development Center’s (AEDC) H2 facility. The H2 facility uses a direct current electric arc to heat air which is then expanded through a converging-diverging nozzle to impart a supersonic velocity to the air. This high enthalpy, high temperature air must be cooled downstream by the use of a cross flow heat exchanger.

It is of interest to evaluate the …

A Thermal Feasibility Study And Design Of An Air-Cooled Rectangular Wide Band Gap Inverter, Jacob Christopher Faulkner

Masters Theses

All power electronics consist of solid state devices that generate heat. Managing the temperature of these devices is critical to their performance and reliability. Traditional methods involving liquid-cooling systems are expensive and require additional equipment for operation. Air-cooling systems are less expensive but are typically less effective at cooling the electronic devices. The cooling system that is used depends on the specific application.

Until recently, silicon based devices have been used for the solid-state devices in power electronics. Newly developed silicon-carbide based wide band gap devices operate at maximum temperatures higher than traditional silicon devices. Due to the permissible increase …