Preliminary Numerical Analysis of Turbulent Heat Transfer in Helium-Cooling Porous Channels for Fusion Reactors

An analytical study of the turbulent heat transfer in the helium-cooling porous channels for fusion reactors was performed using a direct-simulation numerical approach with no empirical correlations such as the Darcy's law and effective thermal conduction in the porous media. A numerical analysis code for the helium-cooling porous channels was developed and preliminary numerical analyses were carried out. A new porous calculation model was proposed. The porous media was simulated as cubic solids and the direct-contact thermal conduction in the channel was simulated using solid bars. From the numerical analysis results, it was identiñed that the present porous model is useful to predict the turbulent heat transfer characteristics in the helium-cooling porous channel.