Two-phase pressure drop due to a spacer grid in a heated rod bundle

Conference · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016

OSTI ID:22977500

Beck, Faith R.; Mohanta, Lokanath; Cheung, Fan-Bill ^[1]; Bajorek, Stephen M.; Tien, Kirk; Hoxie, Chris L. ^[2]

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1. Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
2. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 (United States)

The present study investigates the effect of a spacer grid on two-phase pressure drop in a heated rod bundle with similar configuration to that used in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Data from the Rod Bundle Heat Transfer (RBHT) facility at Penn State was used to compare with the existing models available in the literature. Steady state two-phase flow tests were performed in the rod bundle with liquid inlet conditions varying over the Reynolds number (Re) range of 140 < Re < 2200. At the spacer grid of interest, the mass quality (x) varies from 0.02 < x < 0.9. The pressure drop due to the spacer grid was found to vary significantly with the superficial vapor velocity. In addition to model comparison, an alternative approach involving the use of an effective two-phase grid loss coefficient is proposed to account for the two-phase pressure drop due to the spacer grid. (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society - ANS, Thermal Hydraulics Division, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22977500
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
42 ENGINEERING
CONFIGURATION
FUEL ELEMENT CLUSTERS
HEAT TRANSFER
LIQUIDS
PRESSURE DROP
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REYNOLDS NUMBER
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
TWO-PHASE FLOW
VAPORS