Direct and large eddy simulation of turbulent heat transfer at very low Prandtl number: Application to lead-bismuth flows

This paper deals with the issue of modeling convective turbulent heat transfer of a liquid metal with a Prandtl number down to 0.01, which is the order of magnitude of lead-bismuth eutectic in a liquid metal reactor. This work presents a DNS (direct numerical simulation) and a LES (large eddy simulation) of a channel flow at two different Reynolds numbers, and the results are analyzed in the frame of best practice guidelines for RANS (Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes) computations used in industrial applications. They primarily show that the turbulent Prandtl number concept should be used with care and that even recent proposed correlations may not be sufficient. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.