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Study of airflow in a cold-region tunnel using a standard k − ε turbulence model and air-rock heat transfer characteristics: validation of the CFD results

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Abstract

An efficient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method for simulating the flow and convective heat transfer process of airflow in a tunnel is required to analyze the freezing and thawing of surrounding rock and to apply the results to the design of the insulation layer for a tunnel located in a cold region. Comparisons of experimental data and CFD results using a standard k − ε turbulence model, a wall function, a thermal function and an adaptive finite element method are presented. Comparison of the results indicated that the proposed model and simulation method are efficient at determining the solid–air interface heat coefficient in a thin and infinitely wide horizontal plate and the hydrodynamic and thermal fields in a 3-D cavity. After demonstrating that the necessary validations are satisfied, this paper presents an analysis of the characteristics of airflow and air–rock heat transfer in a cold-region tunnel.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41072238) and the National Natural Science Foundation International Cooperation Projects of China (Grant Nos. 50720135906).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China

    Xianjun Tan, Weizhong Chen, Guojun Wu & Jianping Yang

  2. Research Center of Geotechnical and Structural Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, Shandong, China

    Weizhong Chen

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  1. Xianjun Tan
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  2. Weizhong Chen
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  3. Guojun Wu
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  4. Jianping Yang
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Correspondence to Xianjun Tan.

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Tan, X., Chen, W., Wu, G. et al. Study of airflow in a cold-region tunnel using a standard k − ε turbulence model and air-rock heat transfer characteristics: validation of the CFD results. Heat Mass Transfer 49, 327–336 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-012-1081-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-012-1081-z

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