Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Two-phase heat transfer coefficient”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

69 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

CFD Predictions of Boiling Regime Transitions during Line Chilldown validated against a 1G LN2 Experiment

Introduction Before filling a propellant tank on the ground or in Space, the transfer line between the donor and receiver tanks must be cooled down preferably by sacrificing a minimum amount of the cryogenic fluid. The cryogenic line chill-down process involves a transition between different flow boiling regimes, namely, film boiling, transition film boiling, and nucleate boiling which are complex and may be quite gravity-dependent. Capturing these boiling phenomena and predicting the transition between them in a CFD framework is new and challenging both for 1g and microgravity applications. Materials & Methods The present work addresses this challenge by employing a two-phase Eulerian approach in the context of a homogeneous fluid mixture together with the Lee phase change model to capture the film boiling regime of the chill-down process using ANSYS Fluent®. The nucleate boiling regime is predicted by incorporating an in-house developed sub-grid model that accounts for bubble nucleation, bubble growth, bubble departure diameter, and their shedding frequency. The sub-grid model is encoded and implemented into Fluent via a user-defined function for the wall-fluid heat flux calculations. The mathematical formulation and numerical implementation of the CFD model are described in detail. The coupled CFD-Subgrid model is validated against published experimental data for liquid nitrogen chill-down of a heated stainless-steel pipe in 1g. Results Numerical simulation results show good agreements between the CFD predictions of the wall temperature evolution, rewetting temperature, and transition between film and nucleate boiling, with the experimental measurements published by Darr et al [2] for several different LN2 flowrates in the vertical pipe orientation. The CFD predictions for the wall temperature distribution indicate a rapid quenching of the wall at two upstream and downstream temperature sensing locations as compared to the experimental measurement. The only tuning parameter in the CFD model is the Lee mass transfer coefficient. The CFD Model predicts the Liedenfrost rewetting temperature in close agreement with the experiment. This marks a transition between stable and transitionary flow boiling regimes. The CFD-predicted boiling curve for the downstream sensor location is also compared against its experimental counterpart and indicates that the model is able to predict all the key temperature and heat flux parameters during the transitions from stable to transitionary film boiling to nucleate boiling in close agreement with the experiment. A sequence of predicted volume fraction, and temperature contours depicting these transitions will be presented.

Evaporation Condensation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analysis of Heat Transfer from Local Heating and Cooling Sources at Cryogenic Temperatures

Understanding the dispersion of heat around a cryogenic fluid tank, specifically the interaction between the cryogenic fluid and the tank wall is critical in the analysis of long duration cryogen storage in microgravity. The heat transfer interaction between a cryogenic storage tank and heat sources from external spacecraft structures is also one of the many factors that determine how much heat enters a tank. Recent flight experiments with two-phase fluids have indicated that local concentrations of heat input (also known as “hot spots”) can cause unwanted affects including local boiling. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models can provide a detailed assessment of the heat transfer occurring across a cryogenic storage system. However, CFD modeling takes time to construct and run. A simpler approach that can act as initial guidance for later CFD modeling analyzes external “hot spots” as point or finite heat sources. A radial, finite element network or a local direct solution can effectively estimate the heat spread across a cryogenic storage tank by calculating the temperature and heat load as a function of distance from the heat source. This calculation accounts for the convective heat transfer between the cryogenic fluid and storage tank surface. Similar approaches can be used to determine the effectiveness of cooling from a cryocooler as a finite, local heat sink. This approach allows for quick approximations of the thermal map across a cryogenic tank as well as sensitivity analysis under a wide range of design parameters including gravitational fields as implied through natural convection coefficients.

Cryogenic Fluid Management↗
NASA NTRS1977

Assessment of analytical techniques for predicting solid propellant exhaust plumes

The calculation of solid propellant exhaust plume flow fields is addressed. Two major areas covered are: (1) the applicability of empirical data currently available to define particle drag coefficients, heat transfer coefficients, mean particle size and particle size distributions, and (2) thermochemical modeling of the gaseous phase of the flow field. Comparisons of experimentally measured and analytically predicted data are made. The experimental data were obtained for subscale solid propellant motors with aluminum loadings of 2, 10 and 15%. Analytical predictions were made using a fully coupled two-phase numerical solution. Data comparisons will be presented for radial distributions at plume axial stations of 5, 12, 16 and 20 diameters.

Tevepaugh, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A swirl flow evaporative cold plate

A forced flow evaporative cold plate is under development for future application to the thermal bus concept being pursued by NASA for Space Station Thermal Control. The vaporizer is a swirl-flow device employing a spiral tube coil geometry sandwiched between conductive metal plates upon which electric components could be mounted. This concept is based on the inherent phase separation that occurs in a two phase stream in curvilinear flow. This is a zero 'g' design with one 'g' all-attitude capability and is capable of high heat transfer coefficients, good isothermality, and the ability to function at heat fluxes approaching 5w/sq cm on the cold plates (10w/sq cm on the tube wall) with Freon 114. The advantages of this design over other two phase evaporator approaches are high heat flux capability, simplified control requirements, insensitivity to micro-gravity oscillations, and inexpensive manufacturability. The program included design, fabrication, and test of such a cold plate utilizing an existing test stand developed for two-phase thermal management system (TPTMS) testing. Test results analysis and conclusions are included.

Niggemann, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

High heat flux single phase heat exchanger

This paper presents the results obtained to date in a program to develop a high heat flux, single-phase heat exchanger for spacecraft thermal management. The intended application is a net generation interface heat exchanger to couple the crew module water thermal bus to the two-phase ammonia main thermal bus in the Space Station Freedom. The large size of the interface heat exchanger is dictated by the relatively poor water-side heat transfer characteristics. The objective of this program is to develop a single-phase heat transfer approach which can achieve heat fluxes and heat transfer coefficients comparable to those of the evaporation ammonia side. A new heat exchanger concept has been developed to meet these objecties. The main feature of this heat exchanger is that it can achieve very high heat fluxes with a pressure drop one to two orders of magnitude lower than those of previous microchannel or jet impingement high heat flux heat exchangers. This paper describes proof-of-concept experiments performed in air and water and presents analytical model of the heat exchanger.

Valenzuela, Javier A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Gas-Liquid Flows and Phase Separation

Common issues for space system designers include:Ability to Verify Performance in Normal Gravity prior to Deployment; System Stability; Phase Accumulation & Shedding; Phase Separation; Flow Distribution through Tees & Manifolds Boiling Crisis; Heat Transfer Coefficient; and Pressure Drop.The report concludes:Guidance similar to "A design that operates in a single phase is less complex than a design that has two-phase flow" is not always true considering the amount of effort spent on pressurizing, subcooling and phase separators to ensure single phase operation. While there is still much to learn about two-phase flow in reduced gravity, we have a good start. Focus now needs to be directed more towards system level problems .

McQuillen, John↗
NASA NTRS2006

Miniature Distillation Column for Producing LOX From Air

The figure shows components of a distillation column intended for use as part of a system that produces high-purity liquid oxygen (LOX) from air by distillation. (The column could be easily modified to produce high-purity liquid nitrogen.) Whereas typical industrial distillation columns for producing high-purity liquid oxygen and/or nitrogen are hundreds of feet tall, this distillation column is less than 3 ft (less than about 0.9 m) tall. This column was developed to trickle-charge a LOX-based emergency oxygen system (EOS) for a large commercial aircraft. A description of the industrial production of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen by distillation is prerequisite to a meaningful description of the present miniaturized distillation column. Typically, such industrial production takes place in a chemical processing plant in which large quantities of high-pressure air are expanded in a turboexpander to (1) recover a portion of the electrical power required to compress the air and (2) partially liquefy the air. The resulting two-phase flow of air is sent to the middle of a distillation column. The liquid phase is oxygen-rich, and its oxygen purity increases as it flows down the column. The vapor phase is nitrogen-rich and its nitrogen purity increases as it flows up the column. A heater or heat exchanger, commonly denoted a reboiler, is at the bottom of the column. The reboiler is so named because its role is to reboil some of the liquid oxygen collected at the bottom of the column to provide a flow of oxygen-rich vapor. As the oxygen-rich vapor flows up the column, it absorbs the nitrogen in the down-flowing liquid by mass transfer. Once the vapor leaves the lower portion of the column, it interacts with down-flowing nitrogen liquid that has been condensed in a heat exchanger, commonly denoted a condenser, at the top of the column. Liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen products are obtained by draining some of the purified product at the bottom and top of the column, respectively. Because distillation is a mass-transfer process, the purity of the product(s) can be increased by increasing the effectiveness of the mass-transfer process (increasing the mass-transfer coefficient) and/or by increasing the available surface area for mass transfer through increased column height. The diameter of a distillation column is fixed by pressure-drop and mass-flow requirements. The approach taken in designing the present distillation column to be short yet capable of yielding a product of acceptably high purity was to pay careful attention to design details that affect mass-transfer processes.

Rozzi, Jay C.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analytical Approach in DeCoM

There are many papers on describing a LHP as an overall system, but few detail on the condenser section of a loop heat pipe. The DeCoM (Deepak Condenser Model) method utilizes user set initial parameters in-order to simulate a condenser by calculating the interactions between the fluid and the wall. Equations are derived for two sections of the condenser: a two-phase section and a subcooled (liquid) section. All Equations are based upon the conservation of energy theory, from which fluid temperature, and fluid quality values are solved. In order to solve for the heat transfer value, between fluid and the wall in two phase section, the Lockhart-Martinelli correlation method was implemented as a solution approach. For Liquid phase, the Reynolds number was used in-order to differentiate the flow state, from either turbulent or laminar, and Nusselt number was used to solve for the film coefficient. To represent these calculations for both sections a flow chart is presented in order to display the execution process of DeCoM. The benefit of DeCoM is that it is capable of performing preliminary analysis without requiring a license and without much of users knowledge on condensers.

Patel, Deepak↗
NASA NTRS2019

Two-Phase Convection Heat Transfer Correlations for Liquid Hydrogen Pipe Chilldown

Recently, heat transfer correlations based on liquid nitrogen (LN2) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) pipe quenching data were developed to improve the predictive accuracy of lumped node codes like SINDA/FLUINT and the Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP). After implementing these correlations into both programs, updated model runs showed strong improvement in LN2 pipe chilldown modeling but only modest improvement in LH2 modeling. Due to large differences in thermal and fluid properties between the two fluids, results indicated a need to develop a separate set of LH2-only correlations to improve the accuracy of the simulations. This paper presents a new set of two-phase convection heat transfer correlations based on LH2 pipe quenching data. A correlation to predict the bulk vapor temperature was developed after analysis showed that high amounts of thermal nonequilibrium of the liquid and vapor phases occurred during film boiling of LH2. Implemented in a numerical model, the new correlations achieve a mean absolute error of 19.5 K in the predicted wall temperature when compared to recent LH2 pipe chilldown data, an improvement of 40% over recent GFSSP predictions. This correlation set can be implemented in simulations of the transient LH2 chilldown process. Such simulations are useful for predicting the chilldown time and boil-off mass of LH2 for applications such as the transfer of LH2 from a ground storage tank to the rocket vehicle propellant tank, or through a rocket engine feedline during engine startup.

critical heat flux↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling Autogenous Pressurization and Draining of a Cryogenic Storage Tank in Normal Gravity

A two-phase CFD model for autogenous pressurization and draining of a cryogenic storage tank is presented using both the Sharp Interface and Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) approaches for capturing the front and the associated interfacial heat, mass and momentum transfer between the liquid and vapor regions. Both models are validated against data provided by the Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Engineering Development Unit (EDU) experiment. The results of the autogenous pressurization are presented first, focusing on the phase change and turbulence effects on the tank pressure and temperature predictions. Both the Sharp Interface (SI-CFD) and VOF (VOF-CFD) multiphase models predict tank pressure during pressurization within 3% of the measured values. The sensitivity of key physical and numerical parameters of the problem are tested using the Sharp Interface model. Effects of the accommodation coefficient (AC), and the computational grid structure are studied. The second part of this paper is devoted to validating the SI-VOF model, with an enhanced capability of moving the liquid-vapor interface, against the draining segment of the EDU experiment. The VOF-CFD model was also used to simulate tank draining and its results were compared with the results of the Sharp Interface model with the moving interface. Both models predict tank pressure during draining within 3.5% of the measured values. Pressure decrease rate is underpredicted by both models during the first 100 seconds of draining but matches the experimental rate for the rest of the simulation.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling Autogenous Pressurization and Draining of a Cryogenic Storage Tank in Normal Gravity

A two-phase CFD model for autogenous pressurization and draining of a cryogenic storage tank is presented using both the Sharp Interface and Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) approaches for capturing the front and the associated interfacial heat, mass and momentum transfer between the liquid and vapor regions. Both models are validated against data provided by the Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Engineering Development Unit (EDU) experiment1. The results of the autogenous pressurization are presented first, focusing on the phase change and turbulence effects on the tank pressure and temperature predictions. Both the Sharp Interface (SI-CFD) and VOF (VOF-CFD) multiphase models predict tank pressure during pressurization within 3% of the measured values. The sensitivity of key physical and numerical parameters of the problem are tested using the Sharp Interface model. Effects of the accommodation coefficient (AC), and the computational grid structure are studied. The second part of this paper is devoted to validating the SI-VOF model, with an enhanced capability of moving the liquid-vapor interface, against the draining segment of the EDU experiment. The VOF-CFD model was also used to simulate tank draining and its results were compared with the results of the Sharp Interface model with the moving interface. Both models predict tank pressure during draining within 3.5% of the measured values. Pressure decrease rate is underpredicted by both models during the first 100 seconds of draining but matches the experimental rate for the rest of the simulation.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

CFD Model Development of a Cryogenic Storage Tank Self-Pressurization in Normal Gravity and Validation against SHIIVER Experiment

Two-phase flow and heat transfer simulations with interfacial phase change of the Structural Heat Intercept, Insulation, and Vibration Evaluation Rig (SHIIVER) self-pressurization experiment were conducted using storage tank CFD model in the framework of the ANSYS Fluent CFD code. The simulations were performed for the 70% fill level case with MLI on domes and no vapor cooling. All the phase change calculations in these simulations were generated by in-house Schrage-based evaporation-condensation model. The calculations were performed using both the Volume of Fluid (VOF) and Sharp Interface multiphase 2D axisymmetric models. A number of parametric and sensitivity studies were performed to check the various aspects of the CFD model. These studies helped to understand the effects of varying several parameters on the tank pressure and temperature during self-pressurization. Turbulence modeling; turbulence damping at the interface; and using constant vs. temperature dependent fluid properties were shown to have the most profound influence on predicted tank pressures and temperatures. Current study indicates that including phase change at the interface into the computational model is crucial for accurate prediction of the tank self-pressurization process. The effect of accommodation coefficient was also studied. Tank pressure values predicted by the VOF, and Sharp Interface models are within 4% of the experimental ones.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

CFD Model Development of a Cryogenic Storage Tank Self-Pressurization in Normal Gravity and Validation against SHIIVER Experiment

Two-Phase flow and heat transfer simulations with interfacial phase change of the Structural Heat Intercept, Insulation, and Vibration Evaluation Rig (SHIIVER) self-pressurization experiment were conducted using storage tank CFD model in the framework of the ANSYS Fluent CFD code. The simulations were performed for the 70% fill level case with MLI on domes and no vapor cooling. All the phase change calculations in these simulations were generated by in-house Schrage-based evaporation-condensation model. The calculations were performed using both the VOF and Sharp Interface multiphase 2Daxisymmetric models. A number of parametric and sensitivity studies were performed to check the various aspects of the CFD model. These studies helped to understand the effects of varying several parameters on the tank pressure and temperature during self-pressurization. These parameters include: the effect of turbulence modeling and turbulence damping at the interface; the effect of constant vs. temperature dependent fluid properties; the effect of accommodation coefficient; the effect of modeling phase change at the interface and the effect of the fill level.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of a Two-Phase CFD Model for Predicting Tank Self-Pressurization in the Ground-Based K-Site Experiment

A two-phase CFD model for self-pressurization of a cryogenic storage tank partially filled with liquid hydrogen is presented using the Volume-Of-Fluid approach for modeling two-phase flow, as well as interfacial heat, mass and momentum transfer between the liquid and vapor regions. The CFD model is validated against self-pressurization experiment performed using the K-site flightweight hydrogen storage tank at NASA Glenn Research Center 1 . Laminar and turbulent simulations are performed together with conjugate heat transfer analysis. Effects of turbulence, the value of accommodation coefficient used for predicting phase change rates, as well as tank wall geometry are presented and discussed. Predicted tank pressures, fluid and wall temperatures are compared with the experimental data at 49% fill level and two different heat loads for validating this CFD model.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2023

Cryogenic Flow Boiling in Microgravity: Effects of Reduced Gravity on Two-Phase Fluid Physics and Heat Transfer

With the growing interest in space exploration, cryogenic technologies involving two-phase flow and heat transfer are in high demand to successfully procure advanced space applications such as fuel depots and nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems for deep space missions. However, the unique and extreme thermal properties of cryogenic fluids introduce distinct flow boiling fluid physics and energy transport phenomena, which differ significantly from those observed with conventional fluids. Understanding the unique two-phase physics in cryogenic flow boiling remains an ongoing challenge. Furthermore, the lack of readily available microgravity cryogenic steady-state heat transfer data hinders the assessment of gravitational effects on cryogenic flow boiling. This study aims to elucidate the gravitational effects on two-phase fluid physics and heat transfer by conducting the first-ever experimental measurement of cryogenic flow boiling performance using a steady-state heated method in a reduced gravity environment. Parabolic flight experiments were performed to acquire both heat transfer measurements and high-speed video of interfacial behaviors, under varying gravity levels (microgravity, hypergravity, Lunar gravity, and Martian gravity). The experiments involved flow boiling of liquid nitrogen (LN 2 ) with a near-saturated inlet along a circular heated tube of dimensions 8.5-mm inner diameter and 680-mm heated length. The operating parameters varied are mass velocity of 398.3 - 1342.8 kg/m2s, inlet quality of -0.08 to -0.01, and inlet pressure of 413.68 - 689.48 kPa. Captured microgravity flow patterns range from bubbly to annular, all having vapor structures that are larger than those under higher gravity levels. Under microgravity, absence of buoyancy yields symmetrical vapor structures without flow stratification, laying a physical foundation for the distinct two-phase heat transfer trends during LN 2 flow boiling in microgravity. Transient data collected during the flight parabolas exhibited decreasing heated wall temperature as the aircraft transitioned from hypergravity to microgravity phases. The temperature variation indicated an enhancement in flow boiling heat transfer with decreasing gravity levels and a reduction with increasing gravity levels. The effect of reduced gravity on cryogenic flow boiling heat transfer coefficient (HTC) is discussed based on steady state heat transfer analysis. Seminal HTC correlations are evaluated against the measured microgravity HTC data, of which one is identified for superior accuracy in predicting microgravity data. Finally, a new HTC correlation is proposed to improve accuracy of microgravity predictions, yet there still exists room for further improvement with future terrestrial flow boiling experiments at different flow orientations relative to Earth gravity.

Microgravity↗