Experimental Study of the Single-Phase Natural Convection in a Rectangular Loop

In this study, mass transfer experiment was performed for the single-phase condition to observe the flow behavior and measure the flow velocity using the PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system. A copper sulfate–sulfuric acid (CuSO₄-H₂SO₄) electroplating system was adopted as the mass transfer system. The rectangular loop with the vertical heater and vertical cooler condition was used. The center line elevation difference between cooler and heater was 500 mm and the hydraulic inner diameter of the squared pipes was 3 mm. In this study, the single-phase natural circulation experiment was attempted using the mass transfer experiment based on the analogy between heat and mass transfer. The PIV through the transparent acryl pipe was performed in order to observe the flow behavior in the loop and measure the flow velocity. The natural circulation flow in the rectangular loop is confirmed by the mass transfer. For the further work, we will perform the investigation of the influence of the diameter and the center line elevation difference between cooler and heater on the velocity inside the circulation loop. In addition, we will develop the correlation that predicted the flow velocity of natural circulation in the rectangular loop.