Journal of Power and Energy Systems 

About: Journal of Power and Energy Systems is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Boiling & Two-phase flow. It has an ISSN identifier of 1881-3062. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 293 publications have been published receiving 1621 citations.

Measurement of Key Pool Boiling Parameters in Nanofluids for Nuclear Applications

Abstract: Nanofluids, colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles in a base fluid such as water, can afford very significant Critical Heat Flux (CHF) enhancement. Such engineered fluids potentially could be employed in reactors as advanced coolants in safety systems with significant safety and economic advantages. However, a satisfactory explanation of the CHF enhancement mechanism in nanofluids is lacking. To close this gap, we have identified the important boiling parameters to be measured. These are the properties (e.g., density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, vaporization enthalpy, surface tension), hydrodynamic parameters (i.e., bubble size, bubble velocity, departure frequency, hot/dry spot dynamics) and surface conditions (i.e., contact angle, nucleation site density). We have also deployed a pool boiling facility in which many such parameters can be measured. The facility is equipped with a thin indium-tin-oxide heater deposited over a sapphire substrate. An infra-red high-speed camera and an optical probe are used to measure the temperature distribution on the heater and the hydrodynamics above the heater, respectively. The first data generated with this facility already provide some clue on the CHF enhancement mechanism in nanofluids. Specifically, the progression to burnout in a pure fluid (ethanol in this case) is characterized by a smoothly-shaped and steadily-expanding hot spot. By contrast, in the ethanol-based nanofluid the hot spot pulsates and the progression to burnout lasts longer, although the nanofluid CHF is higher than the pure fluid CHF. The presence of a nanoparticle deposition layer on the heater surface seems to enhance wettability and aid hot spot dissipation, thus delaying burnout.

Two-Phase Swirling Flow in a Gas-Liquid Separator

Abstract: Air-water swirling flows in a one-fifth model of a steam separator in a boiling water nuclear reactor are measured to obtain a database for modeling and verification of numerical methods for predicting swirling flows in the separator. Flow patterns, liquid film thicknesses, separated flow rates and the ratio Ws* of the separated flow to the total liquid flow are measured using a high-speed camera, a laser focus displacement meter and flowmeters. Main conclusions obtained are as follows: (1) liquid transfer from droplets to liquid film is caused not only by droplet deposition but also by the collection of droplets on the vanes of the swirler, (2) Ws* increases with the gas volume flux JG and does not depend on the liquid volume flux JL so much because a large centrifugal force caused by the swirler makes most of droplets in the gas core deposit on the liquid film before the separation and (3) a local peak appears in the axial distribution of film thickness, the position of which corresponds to the location where the droplet deposition caused by the centrifugal force has completed.

Pressure Drop in Two-Phase Swirling Flow in a Steam Separator

Abstract: Pressure drop and liquid film thickness in air-water swirling flows in a one-fifth scale model of the steam separator are measured for a wide range of gas and liquid volume fluxes. Numerical simulations based on one-dimensional single-fluid and two-fluid models are also carried out to examine the feasibility of predicting the pressure drop and film thickness in swirling flows. The pressure drop in a single-phase swirling flow is about five times as large as that in a non-swirling flow due to the increase in the frictional pressure drop. The pressure gradient and liquid film thickness in a two-phase swirling annular flow at the inlet of the pick-off-ring of the separator are well evaluated by using a standard one-dimensional two-fluid model, provided that the interfacial and wall frictions in an ordinary two-phase annular flow are multiplied by appropriate constant values.

Optimal Cycle Scheme of Direct Cycle Supercritical CO2 Gas Turbine for Nuclear Power Generation Systems

Abstract: A supercritical CO2 turbine cycle can achieve a considerably high cycle thermal efficiency at medium turbine inlet temperatures of 500–650°C at high pressure such as 20 MPa, which is too high to produce a reactor pressure vessel within the existing fabrication limits. To solve this problem, a dual expansion turbine cycle is effective; its application was examined for both the fast reactor (FR) of 527°C and 12.5 MPa and a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) of 650°C and 8 MPa. Results showed that, in the case of FR, the cycle thermal efficiency became 42.6%, 44.0%, and 45.1%, respectively, for the 12.5 MPa cycle, the dual expansion cycle, and the 20 MPa cycle. Therefore, the dual expansion cycle is effective. On the other hand, for HTGR, the cycle thermal efficiency became 47.5%, 48.5%, and 50.3%, respectively, for the 8 MPa cycle, the dual expansion cycle, and 20 MPa cycle. In this case, the cycle efficiency advantage becomes smaller than that for the FR, but a 1.0% advantage is obtainable.

Calculation Method for the Prediction of the Performance of a Traveling-Wave Thermoacoustic Cooler

Abstract: When a traveling acoustic wave propagates through a regenerator, the gas in the regenerator undergoes the Stirling thermodynamic cycle, and thus, the energy conversion between heat flux and acoustic power takes place. A cooler that utilizes this energy conversion is called as a traveling-wave thermoacoustic cooler. Swift et al. [The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 105, 711 (1998)] have proposed a new traveling wave thermoacoustic cooler that is equipped with a looped tube. This paper describes a numerical method to estimate the performance of this thermoacoustic cooler and shows a comparison between the estimated and experimentally obtained performances.