The numerical boundary conditions of the wrapping pattern of thin insulation

• Published in: International journal of heat and mass transfer Vol. 108; pp. 512 - 518
• Main Authors: Lubryka, Eliza, Malecha, Ziemowit Miłosz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Heat transfer in superfluid helium; Multi-layer insulation; OpenFOAM; Wrapping pattern of insulation; OpenFOAM; Wrapping pattern of insulation; Multi-layer insulation; Heat transfer in superfluid helium
• ISSN: 0017-9310; 1879-2189
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2016.12.050

•Numerical model of heat transfer in superfluid helium was implemented and validated.•Numerical model of an arbitrary wrapping pattern of thin insulation was proposed.•It was implemented as boundary conditions in OpenFOAM, an open source CFD toolbox.•The multi-layer insulation model was validated with experiment.•Further possible improvements of the model were indicated in the paper. The wrapping pattern of thin insulation is an important issue in cryogenic installations because it can significantly affect heat transport. The major objective of this study is to develop the numerical boundary conditions (BC) needed to model the wrapping pattern of thin insulation. An example of the practical application of the proposed BC includes the heat transfer of Rutherford NbTi cables immersed in superfluid helium (He II) across thin layers of electrical insulation. The proposed BC and a mathematical model of heat transfer in He II are implemented in the open source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM. The implemented mathematical model and the BC are compared with experiments. The study confirms that the thermal resistance of electrical insulation can be lowered by implementing the proper wrapping pattern. The proposed BC can be useful in the study of new patterns for wrapping schemes. Further possible improvements of the tool are indicated in the paper.