Studies on MHD pressure drop and heat transfer of helium-lithium annular-mist flow in a transverse magnetic field.

Abstract

Pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient of helium-lithium annular-mist flow in a rectangular duct were investigated experimentally under a transverse magnetic field at system pressure of 0.2 MPa. A ratio of MHD pressure drop to that of non-magnetic field increases with magnetic flux density and a mass flow rate ratio of lithium to helium in low helium velocity region. However, as increasing the helium velocity, the increment of MHD pressure drop with the magnetic flux density is much reduced and then becomes almost zero. At this condition, the MHD pressure drop of the annular-mist flow becomes much smaller than that of lithium single phase flow with the same lithium mass flow at the high magnetic flux density. Heat transfer coefficient ratio of the helium-lithium annular-mist flow to helium single phase in the non-magnetic field is well correlated by a ratio of the mass flow rate of lithium to helium. The heat transfer coefficient in the magnetic field increases with the magnetic flux density and then terminates at a certain value depending on the mass flow rate ratio and the helium velocity. These characteristics of the MHD pressure drop and the heat transfer in the magnetic field suggest that the helium-lithium annular-mist flow is effectively applicable to cooling of the high heat flux wall in a strong magnetic field like a first wall of a magnetic confinement fusion reactors.