Numerical simulation of the transient temperature distribution inside a close-packed array of cylindrical tubes during heating and cooling under high vacuum

Abstract

The metallurgical processing of zircaloy for reactor fuel pin cladding requires the annealing of loads, each consisting of an array of tubes in a high-vacuum furnace. A knowledge of the transient temperature distribution in the load during the heating and cooling periods is of interest for the design o f the furnace, the design of each load on account of the final yield of the furnace, and the metallurgical control of the process. A general mathematical model was devised, and is presented here, for the numerical simulation of heat transfer by radiation and conduction.