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Title: Scaling of two-phase flow regimes in a rod bundle with freon

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6892195

Fluid to fluid modeling of the thermal-hydraulics of steam/water systems using Freon has been the subject of research for the past 25 years. However, there is as yet no universally accepted set of scaling laws to define the geometry and velocity scaling requirements of an equivalent Freon test of the full scale steam/water system being simulated. This paper describes a scaling concept where the Weber and Froud numbers of the Freon model are matched to that of the prototype being simulated, thus creating a comparable balance among inertia, surface tension and buoyancy forces. In this test it was demonstrated that similar flow regime transitions are observed in a half scale Freon simulation of a full scale steam/water test run at Dynatech. It is also shown using a two fluid analytical model and existing correlations for friction and interfacial momentum exchange from the open literature, that a half scale simulation leads to nearly the same slip ratio as for full scale steam/water, while the slip ratio for a full scale Freon simulation is too high. A comparison of the predicted flow distribution in the 4-rod bundle is made using the COBRA-IV code for a full scale simulation using Freon, a half scale simulation using Freon and full scale test with water. The COBRA results demonstrated that a half scale test section model using Freon yields a subchannel flow distribution similar to the steam/water case, while a full scale Freon simulation results in a distorted subchannel flow distribution. It is concluded that the appropriate geometric scale factor for Freon simulation of two-phase steam/water flow in tube bundles is one-half for a broad range of thermal-hydraulic conditions. 24 refs., 12 figs., 4 tabs.

Research Organization:
Knolls Atomic Power Lab., Schenectady, NY (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/NE
DOE Contract Number:
AC12-76SN00052
OSTI ID:
6892195
Report Number(s):
KAPL-4718; ON: DE90016661
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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