Critical Heat Flux for Annulus under High-Pressure, Low-Flow and Mixed Inlet Conditions

Abstract

Dryout experiments of water have been conducted in an annulus with inside heating (heat flux from inner wall only) under high-pressure, low-flow and mixed inlet conditions which are of importance in the core thermal-hydraulic behavior during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and also partially during an anticipated transient without scram (ATWS) of a nuclear reactor. The experimental conditions have covered ranges of pressure of 3 MPa, mass flux from 105 to 320 kg/m2·s and inlet quality from 0.15 to 0.90. The dryout data have been compared with several existing empirical critical heat flux (CHF) correlations and a new correlation. The Katto correlation predicts best the CHF among the existing correlations examined. However, even the Katto correlation overpredicts the CHF by factors up to 2 at about 1/6 data points of the present dryout data. The present dryout data are divided into two groups (regions) according to the value of a non-dimensional number l bo/d he, where l bo is the assumed boiling length a...