Heat transfer in a sodium-to-sodium heat exchanger under conditions of combined force and free convection

A combined experimental and theoretical investigation of heat transfer in a vertical tube and annulus, countercurrent flow heat exchanger is reported. The working fluid was liquid sodium. Included in the range of conditions covered were those which are of interest in connection with the low flow rate operation of fast reactor intermediate heat exchanger systems. The heat transfer process ranged from that of pure forced convection to combined forced and free convection. By changing the direction of fluid flow or the direction of heat flow four different configurations were studied. In two cases the convection process was buoyancy aided and in the other two it was buoyancy opposed. Results are presented showing the influence of flow rate and temperature difference on overall heat transfer coefficient for each case. A theoretical model of turbulent flow and heat transfer incorporating influences of buoyancy was used to produce results for the range of conditions covered in the experiments. The predictions of overall heat transfer coefficient were found to be in reasonable general agreement with the measurements. It was clear from these calculations that the influence of buoyancy on heat transfer stemmed largely, under the conditions of the present experiment, from the modification of the convection process due to the distortion of the velocity field. This led to an enhancement of the heat transfer for the buoyancy-aided process and an impairment for the buoyancy-opposed process. The contribution of the turbulent diffusion of heat was relatively small. (author)