Scaling Law of Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in Turbulent Radiative Rayleigh-Bénard Convection of Optically Thick Media

Jiajun Song, Panxin Li, Lu Chen, Yuhang Zhao, Fengshi Tian and Benwen Li ()
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Jiajun Song: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Panxin Li: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Lu Chen: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Yuhang Zhao: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Fengshi Tian: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Benwen Li: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: Radiative natural convection is of vital importance in the process of energy storage, power generation, and thermal storage technology. As the attenuation coefficients of many heat transfer media in these fields are high enough to be considered as optically thick media, like nanofluids or molten salts in concentrated solar power or phase change thermal storage, Rosseland approximation is commonly used. In this paper, we delve into the impact of thermal radiation on the Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection. Theoretical analysis has been conducted by modifying the Grossmann-Lohse (GL) model. Based on turbulent dissipation theory, the corresponding scaling laws in four main regimes are proposed. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) was also performed, revealing that radiation exerts a notable influence on both flow and heat transfer, particularly on the formation of large-scale circulation. By comparing with DNS results, it is found that due to the presence of radiation, the modified Nu scaling law in small Pr range of the GL model is more suitable for predicting the transport characteristics of optical thick media with large Pr . The maximum deviation between the results of DNS and prediction model is about 10%, suggesting the summarized scaling law can effectively predict the Nu of radiative RB convection.

Keywords: solar energy; energy storage power generation; Radiative Rayleigh-Bénard convection; optically thick media; scaling law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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