Natural circulation in single-phase and two-phase flow

Natural circulation usually arises in a closed loop between a heat source and a heat sink were the fluid motion is driven by density difference. It may also occur in enclosures or cavities where the flow is induced primarily by temperature or concentration gradients within the fluid. The subject has recently received special attention by the heat transfer and nuclear reactor safety communities because of it importance to the areas of energy extraction, decay, heat removal in nuclear reactors, solar and geothermal heating, and cooling of electronic equipment. Although many new results and physical insights have been gained of the various natural circulation phenomena, a number of critical issues remain unresolved. These include, for example, transition from laminar to turbulent flow, buoyancy-induced turbulent flow modeling, change of flow regimes, flow field visualization, variable property effects, and flow instability. This symposium volume contains papers presented in the Natural Circulation in Single-Phase and Two-Phase Flow session at the 1989 Winter Annual Meeting of ASME, by authors from different countries including the United States, Japan, Canada, and Brazil. The papers deal with experimental and theoretical studies as well as state-of-the-art reviews, covering a broad spectrum of topics in natural circulation including: variable-conductance thermosyphons, microelectronic chip cooling, natural circulation in anisotropic porous media and in cavities, heat transfer in flat plat solar collectors, shutdown heat removal in fast reactors, cooling of light-water and heavy-water reactors. The breadth of papers contained in this volume clearly reflect the importance of the current interest in natural circulation as a means for passive cooling and heating