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Effects of the Aspect Ratio and Cross-Sectional Area of Rectangular Tubes on Packing Characteristics of Mono-Sized Pebble Beds

Author

Listed:
  • Baoping Gong

    (Southwestern Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 432, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Hao Cheng

    (Southwestern Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 432, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Juemin Yan

    (Southwestern Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 432, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Long Wang

    (Southwestern Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 432, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Yongjin Feng

    (Southwestern Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 432, Chengdu 610041, China
    Nuclear Power Institute of China, P.O. Box 436, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Xiaoyu Wang

    (Southwestern Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 432, Chengdu 610041, China)

Abstract

The packing characteristics of a pebble bed are essential to understand the heat- and mass-transfer processes occurring within a granular system. Therefore, the packing characteristics of rectangular prismatic pebble beds randomly packed with mono-sized pebbles are analyzed. In terms of the average and local packing fraction distribution, coordination number, and radial distribution function, the effects of the rectangular tube aspect ratio and cross-sectional area on the packing properties of pebble beds are explored in depth. The findings indicate that the packing structures of the rectangular pebble bed exhibit noticeable fixed-wall effects. The average packing fraction and coordination number gradually decline as the rectangular tube aspect ratio rises. Close to the fixed wall, a noticeable wall effect can be seen in the distribution of axial and local packing fractions and the pebble center distribution. The wall effect has an increasing effect on the axial and local packing fraction distributions in rectangular tubes with increasing aspect ratios. Additionally, the average packing fraction and the average coordination number also increase as the cross-sectional area increases, indicating a gradual weakening of the wall effect as the cross-sectional area increases. Furthermore, the cross-sectional area and aspect ratio of the rectangular tubes affect the RDF values of the rectangular pebble beds but have no impact on the RDF features. The findings reported in this paper will be helpful for designing and optimizing pebble beds in the breeding blanket of fusion reactors.

Suggested Citation

  • Baoping Gong & Hao Cheng & Juemin Yan & Long Wang & Yongjin Feng & Xiaoyu Wang, 2023. "Effects of the Aspect Ratio and Cross-Sectional Area of Rectangular Tubes on Packing Characteristics of Mono-Sized Pebble Beds," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:570-:d:1024266
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baoping Gong & Hao Cheng & Yongjin Feng & Xiaofang Luo & Long Wang & Xiaoyu Wang, 2021. "Effect of Pebble Size Distribution and Wall Effect on Inner Packing Structure and Contact Force Distribution in Tritium Breeder Pebble Bed," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Singh, Harmeet & Saini, R.P. & Saini, J.S., 2010. "A review on packed bed solar energy storage systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 1059-1069, April.
    3. Binquan Kou & Yixin Cao & Jindong Li & Chengjie Xia & Zhifeng Li & Haipeng Dong & Ang Zhang & Jie Zhang & Walter Kob & Yujie Wang, 2017. "Granular materials flow like complex fluids," Nature, Nature, vol. 551(7680), pages 360-363, November.
    4. Yi Liu & Zhaosheng Yu & Jiecheng Yang & Carl Wassgren & Jennifer Sinclair Curtis & Yu Guo, 2020. "Discrete Element Method Investigation of Binary Granular Flows with Different Particle Shapes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-25, April.
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