• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.809-818
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• 2006

The existing experimental data related to the turbulent mixing factor in rod arrays is examined and a new definition of the turbulent mixing factor is introduced to take into account the turbulent mixing of fluids with various Prandtl numbers. The new definition of the mixing factor is based on the eddy diffusivity of energy. With this definition of the mixing factor, it was found that the geometrical parameter, ${\delta}_{ij}/D_h$ correlates the turbulent mixing data better than Sid, which has been used frequently in existing correlations. Based on the experimental data for a highly turbulent condition in square rod arrays, a correlation describing turbulent mixing dependent on the parameter ${\delta}_{ij}/D_h$ has been developed. The correlation is insensitive to the Re number and it takes into account the effect of the turbulent Prandtl number. The proposed correlation predicts a reasonable mixing even at a lower S/d ratio.