A new correlation for the prediction of the Countercurrent Flow Limitation (CCFL)
in a large diameter tube with a falling water lm is proposed. Dierent from previous
correlations, it predicts the onset of
ooding by considering the relative velocities of
the working
uids and the lm thickness of the liquid layer. This provides a more
complete accounting of the physical forces contributing to CCFL. This work has been
undertaken in order to provide a better estimate of CCFL for reactor safety codes
such as MELCOR, MAAP, and SCDAP/RELAP.
Experiments were conducted to determine the CCFL for a 3-inch inner diameter
smooth tube with an annular liquid lm and air injection from the bottom. The size
of the test section and the range of working
uid
ow rates were based on a scaling
analysis of the surge line of a PressurizedWater Reactor pressurizer. An experimental
facility was designed and constructed based on this analysis in order to collect data
on the CCFL phenomenon.
In order to capture some of the physical phenomena at the onset of
ooding visual
pictures were taken at high speed. These pictures provided a new understanding of
the process of transition to
ooding. The facility also produced a new set of
ooding
data. This can also lead to a more comprehensive mechanistic model.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/85944 |
| Date | 10 October 2008 |
| Creators | Solmos, Matthew Aaron |
| Contributors | Vierow, Karen |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, born digital |
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