Numerical Modeling of Turbulent Melt Flow in a Continuous Casting Mold Affected by an Electromagnetic Brake

The current work combines numerical and experimental investigations based on a small-scale mockup using the eutectic alloy GaInSn.The jet flow discharging from the submerged entry nozzle was exposed perpendicularly to a DC magnetic field across the entire wide face of the mold.Numerical calculations were performed by using the commercial package CFX with an implemented RANS-SST turbulence model.The anisotropic properties of the MHD turbulence were taken into account by specific modifications of the turbulence model.The comparison between our numerical calculations and the experimental results shows a very well agreement.In particular,the modified RANS-SST turbulence model is capable to reconstruct the peculiar phenomenon of the excitation of non-steady,non-isotropic large-scale flow perturbations caused by the application of the DC magnetic field.Another important finding of our study is the feature that the electrical boundary conditions,namely the wall conductivity ratio,have a great impact on the mold flow subjected to an external magnetic field.     

Wave-optical structure design with the local plane-interface approximation

Abstract

The design of an optical element profile with specified transmission function for a given incident wave is of fundamental concern in optical design. A well-known example is the design of an aspherical surface in order to realize a spherical phase-only transmission. Various wave-optical system design methods lead to transmission functions as a first step. Then, often the thin-element approximation is applied in a second step to obtain an element structure with the desired transmission. However, if the refraction at the optical interface cannot be neglected, the thin-element approximation is not valid. In this case, a higher version of the local plane-interface approximation can be used for the element structure design. An algorithm for this model is introduced and its characteristics are discussed for the example of a non-paraxial Gaussian-to-tophat beam shaping element.     

The non-degenerate optical parametric oscillator in the strong-coupling regime

Abstract

A fully quantum treatment of the non-degenerate optical parametric oscillator in the extreme quantum limit of small photon numbers and very high nonlinear coupling strength is presented. When the nonlinear coupling constant becomes comparable with the cavity decay rate, the sharp threshold that is usually encountered disappears, a situation reminiscent of microlasers. Furthermore the output light exhibits unusual statistical properties such as strong super-Poissonian behaviour of the pump mode for (very) large coupling constants.     

Human factors,management and society

Human factors/ergonomics seems to have an image; namely it is often seen in terms of worker protection laws. Further, these laws may be viewed as bearing costs while benefiting only employees. The intent of this paper is to show that this perception does not meet the truth at all. First, it discusses the potential of this applied science and the results that can be gained. The benefits for management and society are then presented.     

FEM investigation and thermo-mechanic tests of the new solid tungsten divertor tile for ASDEX Upgrade

A new solid tungsten divertor for the fusion experiment ASDEX Upgrade is under construction at present. A new divertor tile design has been developed to improve the thermal performance of the current divertor made of tungsten coated fine grain graphite. Compared to thin tungsten coatings, divertor tiles made of massive tungsten allow to extend the operational range and to study the plasma material interaction of tungsten in more detail. The improved design for the solid tungsten divertor was tested on different full scale prototypes with a hydrogen ion beam. The influence of a possible material degradation due to thermal cracking or recrystallization can be studied. Furthermore, intensive Finite Element Method (FEM) numerical analysis with the respective test parameters has been performed. The elastic–plastic calculation was applied to analyze thermal stress and the observed elastic and plastic deformation during the heat loading. Additionally, the knowledge gained by the tests and especially by the numerical analysis has been used to optimize the shape of the divertor tiles and the accompanying divertor support structure.This paper discusses the main results of the high heat flux tests and their numerical simulations. In addition, results from some special structural mechanic analysis by means of FEM tools are presented. Finally, first results from the numerical lifecycle analysis of the current tungsten tiles will be reported.     

The ASDEX upgrade digital video processing system for real-time machine protection

This paper describes the design, implementation, and operation of the Video Real-Time (VRT) diagnostic system of the ASDEX Upgrade plasma experiment and its integration with the ASDEX Upgrade Discharge Control System (DCS). Hot spots produced by heating systems erroneously or accidentally hitting the vessel walls, or from objects in the vessel reaching into the plasma outer border, show up as bright areas in the videos during and after the reaction. A system to prevent damage to the machine by allowing for intervention in a running discharge of the experiment was proposed and implemented. The VRT was implemented on a multi-core real-time Linux system. Up to 16 analog video channels (color and b/w) are acquired and multiple regions of interest (ROI) are processed on each video frame. Detected critical states can be used to initiate appropriate reactions – e.g. gracefully terminate the discharge. The system has been in routine operation since 2007.     

ATHLET程序的钠冷快堆应用扩展及其验证

系统分析程序是对钠冷快堆的冷却剂回路系统进行全局模拟、瞬态及事故安全分析的重要工具。本工作对德国核设施与反应堆安全机构（GRS）开发的轻水堆最佳估算系统程序ATHLET进行修改,增加了钠的物性公式和传热关系式,将其适用范围扩展到钠冷快堆。为验证修改过的ATHLET程序,对法国凤凰（Phenix）反应堆系统建模,并对其自然对流实验进行模拟,将计算结果与实验数据进行比较。结果显示,ATHLET程序的钠冷快堆应用扩展具有良好的适用性。     

Low-Frequency Instabilities in the Operation of Metallic Multi-Microchannel Evaporators

Visualization by high-speed videography and infrared surface thermography was used to compare the spatial and temporal maldistribution of flow, manifesting itself in pulsation and hot spot formation, respectively, in water evaporators consisting of either a single metallic foil with an array of mechanically micromachined microchannels or of several such foils assembled into an electrically powered micro heat exchanger. In the single layer devices examined by high-speed videography, pulsation in the frequency range below 20 Hz was found to be dominated by the generation of large bubbles in the inlet plenum. A redesign of the inlet with microchannels instead of a large plenum eliminated the pulsation at sub-audio frequencies, at the expense of a significantly increased pressure drop across the device. Infrared thermography of an electrically powered micro heat exchanger operated as an evaporator showed the formation of metastable hot spots as the result of maldistribution among different microchannel array layers. The formation of these hot spots could be eliminated by operating the device under heater cartridge temperature control conditions instead of constant power conditions.