THETRAN - a two-dimensional heat transport code for analysis of power transients

Abstract

A computer code THETRAN has been developed for two-dimensional analysis of heat transfer transients by utilising parts of two available transient heat transfer codes THETA1-B and HEATRAN. Combination of the one-dimensional coolant energy and heat transfer equations used in THETA1-B with the two-dimensional transient thermal diffusion code HEATRAN was achieved by matching two parameters (surface temperature and heat flux) at the solid/fluid interface. The resultant code is capable of analysing the transient thermal performance of a tube or duct internally or externally cooled by a flow of liquid coolant which may boil. The code was developed to analyse experimental conditions in which an electrically heated tube is subjected to a rapid change in power input while heat is removed by an internal flow of coolant at a constant mass flowrate.