Dimensionless Kinetic Energy: A New Parameter for Gas Flow in Ducts with Application to Nuclear-Power Reactors

Abstract

The following analysis deals with steady, compressible, uni-directional gas flow in a duct with wall friction and axial heat addition. Adiabatic conditions are assumed at the outside wall, whilst the friction factor is taken as constant along the duct length. Theoretical results have been satisfactorily confirmed, in the case of uniformly distributed heating, by a series of experiments carried out on a steady-flow rig. A consideration of asymmetrical heat distributions leads to the concept of an equivalent concentrated heat source thereby establishing a relationship between heat input and overall pressure drop.