Critical heat flux at high velocity channel flow with high subcooling

Abstract

A quantitative analysis of critical heat flux (CHF) in heated channels under high mass flux with high subcooling was successfully carried out by applying a new flow model to the existing CHF model of a macro-water-sublayer on the heated wall and steam blankets over it. The CHF correlation proposed could correctly predict the existing experimental data for circular tubes of 0.33–4 mm in diameter with mass flux of 124–90 000 kg (m 2 s) −1 and inlet water subcooling of 35–210 K at 0.1–7.1 MPa, resulting in CHF of 4.2–224 MW m −2, and for rectangular channels of 3–20 mm gap with a mass flux of 940–27 000 kg (m 2 s) −1 and inlet water subcooling of 13–166 K at 0.1–3.0 MPa, resulting in CHF of 2.0–62 MW m −2. An error of the CHF correlation has also been estimated.