Experimental investigation of pebble beds thermal hydraulic characteristics

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the experimental investigation of the thermal hydraulic characteristics for two types of test sections—thin annular pebble beds (i.e. spheres dumped in thin annular slots) and pebble beds placed between cylinders. The experimental results of heat transfer from the spheres and from a cylinder, as well as hydraulic drag for both types of test sections are presented in this paper. The results of performed experiments in the case of thin annular pebble beds demonstrated that maximum heat transfer and hydraulic drag is at the relative width of the annular slot K equal to 1.07 and 1.75 of spheres diameter. The heat transfer in internal layers at these values of K is equal to the heat transfer in the internal layers of large (unlimited) rhombic packing. The results of the experimental investigation of pebble beds between cylinders demonstrated that the randomly arranged pebble bed is preferable to the regular rhombic structure from the point of view of design simplicity, heat transfer from the cylinder and drag coefficient.