The critical heat flux (CHF) point for a reactor core system is one of the most important factors to discuss in regards to reactor safety. If this point is reached, standard coolant systems are not enough to handle the temperature increase in the cladding, and the likelihood of meltdown greatly increases. While the nucleate boiling and film boiling regimes have been well-investigated, the transition boiling regime between the point of departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) and the minimum film boiling temperature (T<sub>min</sub>) remains difficult to study. This is due to both the complexity of the phenomena, as well as limitations in measurement, where experiments typically utilize thermocouples for temperature data acquisition. As a result of technological advancement in the field of fiber optics, it is possible to measure the quenching temperature to a much higher degree of precision. Optical fiber sensors are capable of taking many more measurements along a fuel simulator length than thermocouples, which are restricted to discrete points. In this way, optical fibers can act as an almost continuous sensor, calculating data at a resolution of less than one millimeter where a thermocouple would only be able to measure at one point. In this thesis, the results of a series of quenching experiments performed on stainless steel, Monel k500, and Inconel 600 rods at atmospheric pressure, with different subcooling levels and surface roughnesses, will be discussed. The rewetting temperature measurement is performed to compare results between thermocouples and optical fiber sensors in a 30 cm rod. These results are further discussed with regard to future application in two-phase flow experiments. / Master of Science / There are multiple types of boiling that can occur depending on the heat transfer capabilities of the system and the power applied to the coolant. The most common is nucleate boiling, where vapor produced at the surface forms bubbles and move away from the surface due to buoyancy. At a high enough power, the bubbles can coalesce into a film and lead to a point at which the liquid coolant can no longer contact the surface. Since vapor is not as effective at transferring heat from the surface, the temperature will increase drastically. In nuclear reactors, this situation (known as departure from nucleate boiling), can quickly lead to a meltdown of the fuel rods. Another important safety parameter in nuclear reactors is the minimum temperature at which this vapor film can be maintained, T<sub>min</sub>. This parameter is a source of significant concern with regard to accident scenarios such as LOCA (loss of coolant accident), where reintroducing coolant to the rods efficiently is of top priority. While much research has been done on nucleate and film boiling, it has been difficult to study the transition period between the two regimes due to both its transient nature and the lack of continuous measurement capabilities. Typically, temperature is measured using thermocouples, which are point-source sensors that do not allow for high spatial resolution over a large area. This thesis deals with the utilization of optical fibers for temperature measurement, which are capable of calculating data at every millimeter, potentially a much more precise measurement system than with the thermocouples. The experiments performed in this paper are quenching experiments, where a rod embedded with thermocouples and an optical fiber is heated to well above T<sub>min</sub> and quickly plunged into a volume of water, in order to view the transition from film to nucleate boiling.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/99035 |
| Date | 17 June 2020 |
| Creators | Hurley, Paul Raymond |
| Contributors | Mechanical Engineering, Pacheco Duarte, Juliana, Liu, Yang, Palmore, John A., Jr. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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