Transverse heat transfer coefficients on a full size dual channel CICC ITER conductor

Dual channel Cable-In-Conduit Conductors (CICC) provide low hydraulic resistance and faster central channel circulation, limiting superconductors temperature rise. The Poloidal Field Insert Sample (PFIS) was tested in the SULTAN facility to evaluate the thermal coupling between the CICC channels upon an experimental heat transfer coefficient assessment. Simple assumptions on the flow – homogeneous central and annular temperatures, no jacket conduction, no steel inertia and diffusivity – lead to a one-dimensional thermal model fully solved in its transient response to a Heavyside temperature evolution at the inlet, using a Laplace transformation. Transient temperature step data fitted with the analytical resolution provide heat transfer coefficients as a function of mass flow rate, compared to crude predictions. The transient measurements provided consistent measurements on the full range of mass flow rate in both vertical flow directions, whereas steady state homogenization characteristic length measures pursuing the same goal suffer from annular isothermal assumption. Recommendations are made for the thermohydraulic instrumentation of future conductor samples.