Numerical Model for helium flow in a dual-channel Cable-In-Conduit-Conductor

摘要

The dual-channel CICC has been adopted for the ITER magnet system. Basically, in a quench analysis, designers describe the flow behaviour using a hydraulic radius model in which a characteristic length is equal to four times the flow area divided by the total wetted perimeter. The flow velocity is then considered uniform and unidirectional across the section of the conductor. But fluid transport through the cable bundle is characterised by complex directional changes due to the interactions with the strands. A new approach for fluid flow analysis through the cable bundle is to model the cable bundle as a classical saturated porous medium. Indeed experimental results have confirmed that the CICC cable bundle can be classified as a saturated porous medium. In this case, the Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy model can be applied to predict fluid momentum transport. This paper presents a numerical model of the helium flow in the dual-channel CICC. The effects of the main parameters on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the model are discussed.