Numerical Simulation of Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Helical Tubes Under Marine Conditions

Abstract Lead-based cooled reactors in most countries and some small reactors at sea use helical tube steam generators. Compared with U-tubes, the convection heat transfer coefficient in the spiral tube is higher, the structure is more compact, and the secondary flow is generated under the action of centrifugal force and gravity, which can achieve the effect of wetting the inner wall of the tube. However, due to the importance of the steam generator in the reactor and the complexity of the flow and boiling in the helical tube, the aggregation behavior of bubbles, the distribution of the two-phase interface and the secondary flow in the tube will significantly affect the heat transfer characteristics, so the gas-liquid phase in the tube is studied. Distribution, changes in heat transfer coefficients, and fluid flow characteristics are very important. In order to study the boiling heat transfer characteristics of helical once-through steam generators under static and marine conditions to provide safe and reliable energy supply for offshore facilities such as marine floating, this study uses STAR-CCM+ software, VOF method and Rohsenow boiling model to study the heat transfer capacity and flow characteristics of flow boiling in a helical tube under swaying and tilting conditions. The gas-liquid phase distribution characteristics, secondary flow variation characteristics and convective heat transfer coefficient of the fluid under different swing functions and inclined positions are obtained by numerical calculation, and the law of physical parameters changing with the cycle is found. The research results show that the secondary flow and heat transfer capacity in the tube change with the cycle, and the change is most obvious at the tube length of 0.8m. 5% of the normal condition; when the inclination angle is 45°, the maximum increase of the convection heat transfer coefficient is 16.8%, and the maximum decrease is 6.6%.