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Title: An experimental investigation of critical flow rates of subcooled water through short pipes with small diameters

Journal Article · · International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Korea Advanced Inst. of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
  2. Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

Critical two-phase flow rates of subcooled water through short pipes (L < 400 mm) with small diameters (D < 7.15 mm) have been experimentally investigated for wide ranges of subcooling (0 {approximately} 199 C) and pressure (0.5 {approximately} 2.0 MPa). To examine the effects of various parameters (i.e., the location of flashing inception, the degree of subcooling, the stagnation temperature and pressure, and the pipe size) on the critical two-phase flow rates of subcooled water through short pipes with small diameters, a total of 135 runs were made for various combinations of test parameters using four different L/D test sections. Experimental results that show effects of various parameters on subcooled critical two-phase flow rates are presented in the form of graphs such as the dimensionless mass flux (G*) versus the dimensionless subcooling ({Delta}T*{sub sub}) curve. An empirical correlation expressed in terms of a dimensionless subcooling ({Delta}T*{sub sub}) is also obtained for subcooled two-phase flow rates through present test sections. Comparisons between the mass fluxes calculated by present correlation and a total of 679 selected experimental data points of 9 different investigators show that the agreement is fairly good except for very low subcooling data obtained from small L/D (less than 10) orifices. This study is applicable to LOCA analyses in LWR.

OSTI ID:
418045
Journal Information:
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 23, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1996
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English