Numerical analysis of the influence of wall vibration on heat transfer with liquid hydrogen boiling flow in a horizontal tube

Tube vibration inevitably occurs on transfer lines of liquid hydrogen (LH2) and affects the heat transfer characteristic of LH2. In this study, a three-dimensional numerical method based on RPI boiling model and vibration model has been built to investigate the influence of tube vibration on boiling flow with LH2. The model has been partly verified by the experimental data from the literature and considered effective for liquid hydrogen boiling flow. The changes in the partition of heat flux were analyzed under certain conditions and the relative heat transfer coefficients under different amplitudes, frequencies and inlet velocities were compared. The numerical results indicate that the vibration can significantly enhance the convective heat flux while weaken the quenching heat flux and the evaporative heat flux. It illustrates that the changes of relative heat transfer coefficients are corresponding to the vibration velocity. In addition, the enhancement of heat transfer is more obvious when the Reynolds number of LH2 is relatively low.