Work

Investigation on Dynamic Thermal Transfer Characteristics of Electromagnetic Rail Spray Cooling in Transient Processes

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Electromagnetic Railguns Face Severe Ablation and Melting Risks Due to Extremely High Transient Thermal Loads During High-Speed Launching, Directly Impacting Launch Reliability and Service Life. To address this thermal management challenge, this study proposes and validates the effectiveness of spray cooling technology. Leveraging its high heat transfer coefficient, exceptional critical heat flux (CHF) carrying capacity, and strong transient cooling characteristics, it is particularly suitable for the unsteady thermal control during the initial launch phase. An experimental platform was established, and a three-dimensional numerical model was developed to systematically analyze the dynamic influence mechanisms of nozzle inlet pressure, flow rate, spray angle, and spray distance on cooling performance. Experimental results indicate that the system achieves maximum critical heat flux (CHF) and rail temperature drop at an inlet pressure of 0.5 MPa and a spray angle of 0°. Numerical simulations further reveal that a 45° spray cone angle simultaneously achieves the maximum temperature drop and optimal wall temperature uniformity. Key parameter sensitivity analysis demonstrates that while increasing spray distance leads to larger droplet diameters, the minimal droplet velocity decay combined with a significant increase in overall momentum markedly enhances convective heat transfer efficiency. Concurrently, increasing spray distance effectively improves rail surface temperature uniformity by optimizing the spatial distribution of droplet size and velocity.

Source: Energies

DOI: 10.3390/en18195254

Authors: Shuo Ma, Hongting Ma

Institutions: Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin University

Language: English

Topic: Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China