HEAT TRANSFER FROM RADIOISOTOPIC HEAT SOURCES BURIED IN THE OCEAN FLOOR,

Abstract

Data were obtained that show clearly that the modes of heat transfer of interest in a porous bottom material will be convection and nucleate boiling. In the natural convection regime, the temperature of the capsule surface above ambient is substantially lower than it would be if heat were transferred by conduction only. For the conditions of the present tests the threshhold of convection appears to be at a heat flux of 100 to 200 Btu/hr sq ft. The existence of nucleate boiling in the porous material provides very much more effective heat transfer than predicted by conduction models. Thus the capsule life should be greater. This does, however, make it essential to determine the burnout limits on the nucleate boiling regime. Apparatus was developed and used to obtain the thermal conductivity, permeability, and porosity of Monterey sand (12 mesh) and Ottawa sand (90 mesh). It appears that at least 12 thermocouples will be necessary to adequately describe the temperature of the capsule surface. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 02, 1966
Accession Number
AD0645558

Entities

People

  • K. Kesavan
  • V. E. Schrock

Organizations

  • Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boiling
  • Conductivity
  • Convection
  • Energy Transfer
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Flux
  • Heat Transfer
  • Materials
  • Nucleate Boiling
  • Porosity
  • Porous Materials
  • Seabed
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Transition Temperature

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Geotechnical Engineering.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.