THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HYDRODYNAMIC INSTABILITY AND POWER-VOID TRANSFER FUNCTIONS IN NATURAL-CIRCULATION BOILING WATER REACTORS. AN ANALYSIS OF THE HYDRODYNAMIC STABILITY OF PARALLEL CHANNELS IN A NATURAL CIRCULATION BOILING WATER REACTOR

Technical Report · Wed Jun 19 04:00:00 EDT 1963

OSTI ID:4650260

Wright, R W; Zivi, S M; Yeh, G C.K.

It is shown that flow-void feedback is a very important constituent in the steam void response in a natural circulation boiling loop or reactor. Very strong experimental evidence supports the postulate that an important class of hydrodynamic instabilities results from the same linear flow-void interaction that dominates the power-void transfer function. Therefore, boiling water reactor instabilities of both the power-void feedback and the purely hydrodynamic types are closely related. By virtue of this close relation the transfer function is an excellent experimental tool for the further study of hydrodynamic oscillations which arise from linear mechanisms. Two modes of parallel channel natural circulation instability are possible for low and high frequency flow oscillations. The first mode is identical to single channel fiow oscillations, since all channel flows are in-phase. The second mode is identical to forced flow instabilities in parallel channel systems. Both modes of instability are predictable from properties which can be determined by laboratory measurements on a single channel. (N.W.R.)

• Research Organization: Space Technology Labs., Inc. Physical Electronics Lab., Canoga Park, Calif.
• NSA Number: NSA-17-035080
• OSTI ID: 4650260
• Report Number(s): CONF-39-36
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

BOILING
FLUID FLOW
INTERACTIONS
MEASURED VALUES
OSCILLATIONS
POWER
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
REACTORS
STABILITY
STEAM
TRANSFER FUNCTIONS
WATER MODERATOR
ZONES