Two-fluid modeling of condensation in the presence of noncondensables in two-phase channel flows

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Nuclear Science and Engineering

OSTI ID:46144

Ghiaasiaan, S M; Kamboj, B K; Abdel-Khalik, S I ^[1]

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1. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Condensing two-phase channel flow occurs in many industrial applications, including heating and refrigeration systems. It can also occur in certain nuclear reactor accidents. For example, during a small-break loss-of-coolant accident in a pressurized water reactor, following the partial depletion of the primary coolant, condensation of steam on the primary side of the steam generator tubes can provide a heat sink for disposal of the decay heat generated in the reactor core. Condensing two-phase flow can also play an important role in the operation of the passive emergency cooling system in the advanced simplified boiling water reactor. Here, steady-state condensation in the presence of a noncondensable in a concurrent two-phase channel flow is analyzed using a two-fluid model. The effect of noncondensables on the combined heat transfer at the liquid-gas mixture interphase is accounted for by using the stagnant film model, and closure relations relevant to the annular-dispersed two-phase flow regime are applied. The conservation equations are cast into a system of coupled ordinary differential equations, which are numerically integrated. Model predictions are compared with published experimental data, with satisfactory results. It is shown that the two-fluid model can correctly predict all major data trends and is preferable to empirical methods.

• OSTI ID: 46144
• Journal Information: Nuclear Science and Engineering, Journal Name: Nuclear Science and Engineering Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 119; ISSN NSENAO; ISSN 0029-5639
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
42 ENGINEERING
BWR TYPE REACTORS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ECCS
FLOW MODELS
HEAT TRANSFER
LOSS OF COOLANT
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PWR TYPE REACTORS
THEORETICAL DATA
TWO-PHASE FLOW
USES
VAPOR CONDENSATION