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Thermal analysis of simulated Pantex pit storage
This report investigates potential pit storage configurations that could be used at the Mason and Hanger Pantex Plant. The study utilizes data from a thermal test series performed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that simulated these storage configurations. The heat output values used in the LLNL test series do not represent actual pits but are rounded numbers that were chosen for convenience to allow parameter excursions. Specifically in this project, we are modeling the heat transfer and air flow around cylindrical storage containers in Pantex magazines in order to predict container temperatures. This difficult problem in thermal- fluid mechanics involves transient, three-dimensional (3-D) natural convection and thermal radiation around interacting containers with various heat generation rates. Our approach is to link together two computational methods in order to synthesize a modeling procedure for a large array of pit storage containers. The approach employs a finite element analysis of a few containers, followed by a lumped- parameter model of an array of containers. The modeling procedure we developed was applied in the simulation of a recent experiment where temperatures of pit storage containers were monitored in a steady- state, controlled environment. Our calculated pit container temperatures are comparable with data from that experiment. We found it absolutely necessary to include thermal radiation between containers in order to predict temperatures accurately, although the assumption of black-body radiation appears to be sufficient. When radiation is neglected the calculated temperatures are 4 to 6 {degrees}C higher than temperature data from the experiment. We also investigated our model`s sensitivity to variations in the natural convection heat transfer coefficient and found that with a 50% drop in the coefficient, calculated temperatures are approximately I {degree}C higher. Finally, with a modified lumped-parameter model, we demonstrate how an entire Pantex magazine can be simulated