ICONE15-10728 Visual measurement of flow structure through narrow channels of square array

In many industrial heat transfer devices such as boilers, heat-exchangers, fire and nuclear power plants, there are very narrow flow channels with square rod array. In these complicated narrow channels, the flow field is much disturbed to be turbulent flow. The turbulent flow influences the performance and characteristic of heat transfer devices. However, the flow structure has not been clarified yet. In the present study, a transparent experimental apparatus with complex narrow flow channels is constructed to investigate the flow behavior in the complicated narrow channels. In the experiment, the flow direction changes from downward to upward, and then the flow goes into the rod array. The measurements of the flow velocity distribution in the test section are conducted by using LDV(laser doppler velocimetry), and the images taken by high-speed video camera are analyzed by PIV(particle image velocimetry) technique. By doing this, flow behavior is evaluated. The present experimental data is proposed to be used as a database for CFD analysis of the flow through the complex narrow channels of the square rod array.