Prediction of local and integral turbulent transport properties for liquid-metal heat transfer in equilateral triangular rod arrays

A theoretical method based on a phenomenological turbulence model has been applied to evaluate turbulent transport properties for liquid-metal heat transfer in bare equilateral triangular rod bundles. Results obtained for local distributions of thermal eddy diffusivity in the various directions are presented in terms of correlations. From a subsequent solution of the three-dimensional heat transfer problem between two characteristic interior subchannels under conditions characteristic for tracer-type mixing experiments, integral thermal mixing coefficients and thermal length scales have been evaluated. Results demonstrate that the basic concept of subchannel analysis treating molecular conduction and turbulent transport independently of each other tends to underestimate intersubchannel transport. The uncertainties which are involved in principal assumptions of the turbulence-model as well as in the available empirical results are discussed in some detail. (U.S.)