CFD investigation of nucleate boiling in non-circular geometries at high pressure

Abstract

Boiling flows are commonplace in the nuclear industry. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is slowly beginning to be used to deliver the relevant two-phase thermal hydraulic analyses required for nuclear applications. This paper presents a blind assessment of the capabilities of the commercial CFD code STAR-CCM+ against measurements for a vertically upward mildly subcooled boiling flow approaching saturation in a rectangular channel at a pressure of 41bar. The available measurements comprised transverse distributions and cross-sectional area averages of void fraction at numerous axial positions along the channel. The predictive ability of several combinations of turbulence, wall heat flux partitioning, interfacial area transport and lift force models was tested. In general, good agreement was obtained for the area-averaged void, with the most mechanistic modelling combination reproducing the measurements accurately. Reasonable agreement was also observed for the distributions of transverse void, however this agreement could not be maintained beyond the channel entrance. The transition from near-wall to core void peaking exhibited in the experiments, attributable presumably to a bubbly to churn-turbulent flow regime transition, could not be reproduced accurately with any of the modelling combinations used, and the basic qualitative trend was captured only in part. Suggestions for future investigation are outlined subsequently.