Effect of the length of the poloidal ducts on flow balancing in a liquid metal blanket

Journal Article · Thu Apr 12 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Fusion Engineering and Design

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2018.04.019· OSTI ID:1610065

Rhodes, Tyler J. ^[1]; Smolentsev, Sergey ^[2]; Abdou, Mohamed ^[2]

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1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); DOE/OSTI
2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

To address concerns associated with liquid metal (LM) flow balancing among multiple poloidal channels of a LM blanket, we investigate the factors (first of all the length of the channels) that influence the flow distribution when the duct walls are electrically insulated. We simulate LM MHD flow through multiple channels fed by a prototypical manifold for a range of channel lengths using a 3D MHD solver, HIMAG. The simplified manifold geometry consists of a rectangular, electrically insulated feeding duct which suddenly expands such that the duct thickness in the magnetic field direction abruptly increases by a factor of 4. After a short length downstream of the expansion, the flow is divided into three identical parallel channels. By measuring the flow rate in each of the channels, we conclude that flow balance among the channels is improved by increasing the length of the channels. An effort is made to obtain scaling laws that characterize flow balancing as a function of the flow parameters and the manifold geometry using a Resistor Network Model (RNM). Associated Hartman and Reynolds numbers in the computations were ~10³ and 10² respectively. Compared to the full 3D analysis, the proposed RNM suggests a relatively quick and simpler way of computing the blanket length that might be needed to provide balanced flow among the parallel channels.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
• Grant/Contract Number: FG02-86ER52123
• OSTI ID: 1610065
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 22855884
• Journal Information: Fusion Engineering and Design, Journal Name: Fusion Engineering and Design Journal Issue: B Vol. 136; ISSN 0920-3796
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
MHD
blanket
flow balancing
liquid metal
manifold