Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

PRESSURE DROP AND VOID FRACTION EXPERIMENTS IN SIMULATED PATHFINDER BOILER FUEL ELEMENTS

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4713053· OSTI ID:4713053
A heat-transfer research and development program is being carried out in support of the Pathfinder boilingwater, integral-superheating reactor. Studies were made of the effects of tube-sheet type spacers on the axial pressure profile in a simulated fuel element. The effect of boiling on the frictional and spacer type pressure losses in a 6-ft long test section was measured. The void fraction in a test section was measured by a fine gamma-ray traversing technique. The flow downstream from a spacer quickly became established except near the bundle entrance. The local radial void distribution in boiling flow over a rod array was non-uniform with a uniform radial power distribution and the over-all integrated void fractions tended to support the homogeneous model. (M.C.G.)
Research Organization:
Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. Atomic Energy Div., Milwaukee
NSA Number:
NSA-17-022781
OSTI ID:
4713053
Report Number(s):
ACNP-63002
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English