This report presents experimental results for the pressure drop across a restriction of annular geometry used in a typical pressurized water reactor steam generator. The pressure drops were obtained for air, water, and the corresponding two-phase mixtures. The loss coefficients associated with these pressure drops were experimentally determined and empirical relations correlating the results were developed. The tests were performed at atmospheric conditions (atmospheric temperature and pressure), and the two-phase flow mass velocity ranged from 236 to 711 1bm/s-ft2.

Presented in this paper is the first known experimental assessment of a single-phase natural convection in a cylindrical, vertical channel subjected to non-uniform or uniform heat flux. This work was conducted at the University of Central Florida in the College of Engineering. The results of this experimental study were compared with theory. The experimental values of Nusselt numbers (Nu = hD/K) in the entrance and fully-developed regions were somewhat lower and higher, respectively, when compared with theory.

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No description available.

The influence of freestream turbulence representative of the flow downstream of a modern gas turbine combustor and first stage vane on turbine blade heat transfer has been measured and analytically modeled in a linear, transonic turbine cascade. Measurements were performed on a high turning, transonic turbine blade. The facility is capable of heated flow with inlet total temperature of 120C and inlet total pressure of 10 psig. The Reynolds number based on blade chord and exit conditions (5x106) and the inlet and exit Mach numbers (0.4 and 1.2, respectively) are representative of conditions in a modern gas turbine engine. High intensity, large length-scale freestream turbulence was generated using a passive turbulence-generating grid to simulate the turbulence generated in modern combustors after it has passed through the first stage vane row. The grid produced freestream turbulence with intensity of approximately 10-12% and an integral length scale of 2 cm near the entrance of the cascade passages, which is believed to be representative of the core flow entering a first stage gas turbine rotor blade row. Mean heat transfer results showed an increase in heat transfer coefficient of approximately 8% on the suction surface of the blade, with increases on the pressure surface on the order of two times higher than on the suction surface (approximately 17%). This corresponds to increases in blade surface temperature of 5-10%, which can significantly reduce the life of a turbine blade. The heat transfer data were compared with correlations from published literature with good agreement. Time-resolved surface heat transfer and passage velocity measurements were performed to investigate and quantify the effects of the turbulence on heat transfer and to correlate velocity fluctuations with heat transfer fluctuations. The data demonstrates strong coherence in velocity and heat flux at a frequency correlating with the most energetic eddies in the turbulence flow field (the integral length-scale). An analytical model was developed to predict increases in surface heat transfer due to freestream turbulence based on local measurements of turbulent velocity fluctuations (u'RMS) and length-scale (Lx). The model was shown to predict measured increases in heat flux on both blade surfaces in the current data. The model also successfully predicted the increases in heat transfer measured in other work in the literature, encompassing different geometries (flat plate, cylinder, turbine vane and turbine blade) as well as both laminar and turbulent boundary layers, but demonstrated limitations in predicting early transition and heat transfer in turbulent boundary layers. Model analyses in the frequency domain provided valuable insight into the scales of turbulence that are most effective at increasing surface heat transfer. / Ph. D.

M.S.

The dissertation solved some critical issues in thermoelectric energy harvesting and tried to broaden the thermoelectric application for energy recovery and sensor powering. The scientific innovations of this dissertation were based on the new advance on thermoelectric material, device optimization, fabrication methods, and system integration to increase energy conversion efficiency and reliability of the thermoelectric energy harvester. The dissertation reviewed the most promising materials that owned a high figure of merit (ZT) value or had the potential to increase ZT through compositional manipulation or nano-structuring. Some of the state-of-art methods to enhance the ZT value as well as the principles underneath were also reviewed. The nanostructured bulk thermoelectric materials were identified as the most promising candidate for future thermoelectric applications as they provided enormous opportunities for material manipulation. The optimizations of the thermoelectric generator (TEG) depended on the accuracy of the mathematical model. In this dissertation, a general and comprehensive thermodynamic model for a commercial thermoelectric generator was established. Some of the unnecessary assumptions in the conventional models were removed to improve the accuracy of the model. This model can quantize the effects of the Thomson effect, contact thermal and electrical resistance, and heat leakage, on the performance of a thermoelectric generator. The heat sink can be another issue for the design of high-performance TEG. An innovative heat sink design integrated with self-oscillating impinging jet generated by the fluidic oscillator arrays were adopted to enhance the heat convection. The performance of the heat sink was characterized by large eddy simulation. The compatibility mismatch had been a practical problem that hindered the further improvement of energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectrics. In this dissertation, a novel method to optimize the geometry of the thermo-elements was developed. By varying the thickness and cross-sectional area of each thermoelectric segment along the length of the thermo-element, the compatibility mismatch problem in the segmented TEG construction was eliminated. The optimized segmented TEG can make the best of the existing thermoelectric materials and achieve the maximum energy conversion efficiency in a wide temperature range. A segmented TEG with an unprecedented efficiency of 23.72% was established using this method. The complex geometry structure of the established thermo-elements would introduce extra difficulty in fabrication. Thus selective laser melting, a high-temperature additive manufacture method, was proposed for the fabrication. A model was built based on the continuous equations to guide the selective-laser-melting manufacturing of thermoelectric material with other nanoparticles mixed for high thermoelectric performance. Thermoelectric energy harvesting played a critical role in the self-powered wireless sensors, as it was compact and quiet. In this dissertation, various thermoelectric energy harvesters were established for self-powered sensors to in-situ monitor the working condition in the gas turbine and the interior conditions in nuclear canisters. The sensors, taking advantage of the thermal energy existing in the local environment, can work continuously and provide tremendous data for system monitor and diagnosis without external energy supply. / Doctor of Philosophy / The dissertation addressed some critical issues in thermoelectric energy harvesting and broadened its application for energy recovery and sensor powering. Some of the most advanced technologies were developed to improve the energy conversion efficiency and reliability of the thermoelectric energy harvesters. In this dissertation, a general and comprehensive thermodynamic model for a commercial thermoelectric generator (TEG) was established. The model can be used to optimize the design of the existing commercial TEG modules. High performance heat sink design was critical to maximize the temperature drop in the TEG module, thus increase the power output and energy conversion efficiency of the TEG. An innovative heat sink design integrated with self-oscillating impinging jet generated by the fluidic oscillator arrays were designed to cool the cold end of the TEG, thus enhance the performance of the TEG. The performance of the heat sink was characterized by large eddy simulation. A single thermoelectric material only had high thermoelectric performance in a narrow temperature range. A segmented TEG could achieve a high energy conversion efficiency over a wide temperature range by adopting different materials which had high thermoelectric performance at low, moderate, and hight temperature ranges. However, the material compatibility mismatch had been a practical problem that hindered the further improvement of energy conversion efficiency of the segmented TEG. In this dissertation, a novel method was developed to eliminate the compatibility mismatch problem via optimizing the geometry of the thermo-elements. A segmented TEG with an unprecedented efficiency of 23.72% was constructed using the method proposed in this dissertation. The complex geometry structure of the established thermo-elements would introduce extra difficulty in fabrication. Thus selective laser melting, a high-temperature additive manufacture method, was proposed for the fabrication. A physical model based on the v conservation equations was built to guide the selective-laser-melting manufacturing of the optimized segmented TEG mentioned above. In this dissertation, two thermoelectric energy harvesters were built for self-powered sensors to in-situ monitor the interior conditions in nuclear canisters. The sensors, taking advantage of the thermal energy existing in the local environment, can work continuously and provide tremendous data for system monitor and diagnosis without external energy supply. Also, a compact thermoelectric energy harvester was developed to power the gas sensor for combustion monitoring and control.

Numerous types of extended surfaces have been used in the past but those with finned pins have proved to be unique in increasing the rate of heat transfer. Hsieh working on the original idea ot professor Hsu proved that heat transfer rate can be further increased by putting annular fins on a pin. In this thesis the design of finned pin was optimized to give maximum heat transfer rate from a given primary surface, and an experimental investigation was conducted to verify the results. 1. Theoretical Investigation consists of: (1) Reproduction of mathematical equations for pin and finned pin (2) Study of heat transfer characteristics of pin and finned pin. (3) Optimization of the design of pin and finned pin. (4) Sample calculations of heat flow rate for pin and finned pin. 2. Experimental investigation consists of: (1) Construction of finned pin, pin and primary surfaces. (2) Set-up of experimental equipment. (3) Comparison of heat flow rate for finned pin, pin and plate. 3. Conclusions: The conclusions were based on tile comparison of finned pin. and pin. The heat transfer rate from 8" x 4 ½” surface was increased by employing finned pin. The maximum increase was 36%. / Master of Science

An analytical and experimental study was done to determine the effect of entrainment on the heat transfer to a single, plane, turbulent impinging jet. Solutions to the momentum and energy equations were obtained with similarity and series analyses. The analytical model is compared with measured heat transfer rates to single air jets impinging normally on an isothermal heated surface. To determine the effect of entrainment, the temperature of the environment surrounding the jet was varied between the initial temperature of the jet and the plate temperature. Results obtained for jet arrays show that entrainment of air in the recirculation region between the jets can significantly affect the heat transfer rates. Comparison of the analytical model to the measured heat transfer rates for jet arrays shows that the single jet model can be successfully applied to jet arrays when the effect of entrainment is considered. / Master of Science

The behavior of aluminum alloy ship deck panels under the thermal loads of Vertical Take-off-and Landing (VTOL) capable aircraft has become a question of interest with the introduction of new primarily aluminum alloy ships to the U.S. Naval Fleet. This study seeks to provide an initial investigation of this question by examining the transient transfer of heat through aluminum alloy ship deck panels under application of the local heat transfer similar to that of a VTOL aircraft exhaust plume core in typical operation. In this study, a jet stream intended to replicate the key physics of the core of a VTOL aircraft plume was impinged onto the upper surface of aluminum alloy corrugated deck panel test specimen. Temperature measurements are taken via thermocouples on the face of the specimen opposite the impingement to evaluate heat transfer through the specimen. This data is used to assess the effects of variation in the geometry of the corrugation between specimen. Qualitative temperature distributions were also gathered on the impingement surface via thermal imaging. A quantitative assessment of the heat paths for transverse and vertical heat transfer was made based on a thermal resistance model, leading to a conceptual description of predominant heat flow paths in the specimen, specifically weld lines between the corrugation and the flat plate surfaces. In support of this, thermal images indicated that the weld lines provided paths for heat to be pulled away from the center of heat application more rapidly than over the rest of the surface. Ultimately, heat transfer through the specimen was found to be more dependent on the flow conditions than the variations in geometry of the deck panels due to the low variation in thermal resistance across the plate. A recommendation is made based upon this observation to use the deck panels similarly to heat exchanges by adding a small amount of through-deck airflow in the areas of high heat load. / Master of Science