Liquid--liquid contact in vapor explosion

Technical Report · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6609664· OSTI ID:6609664

Segev, A.

The contact of two liquid materials, one of which is at a temperature substantially above the boiling point of the other, can lead to fast energy conversion and a subsequent shock wave. This well-known phenomenon is called a ''vapor explosion.'' One method of producing intimate, liquid--liquid contact (which is known to be a necessary condition for vapor explosion) is a shock tube configuration. Such experiments in which water was impacted upon molten aluminum showed that very high pressures, even larger than the thermodynamic critical pressure, could occur. The mechanism by which such sharp pressure pulses are generated is not yet clear. In this experiment cold liquids (Freon-11, Freon-22, water, or butanol) were impacted upon various hot materials (mineral oil, silicone oil, water, mercury, molten Wood's metal or molten salt mixture). The main conclusion from the experimental study is that hydrodynamic effects may be very significant in any shock tube analyses, especially when multiple interactions are observed. A theoretical study was performed to check the possibility of vapor film squeezing (between a drop in film boiling and a surface) as a controlling mechanism for making liquid--liquid contact. Using experimental data, the film thickness was calculated and it was found to be too thick for any conceivable film rupture mechanism. It was suggested that the coalescence is a two-stage process, in which the controlling stage depends mainly on temperature and surface properties and can be described as the ability of cold liquid to spread on a hot surface.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6609664
• Report Number(s): ANL/RAS-78-37
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
42 ENGINEERING
420400 -- Engineering-- Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow
EVAPORATION
EXPLOSIONS
FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
FUEL-COOLANT INTERACTIONS
HYDRODYNAMICS
LIQUIDS
MECHANICS
MOLTEN METAL-WATER REACTIONS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
SHOCK TUBES
SIMULATION