Effect of geometrical and operating parameters on performance of a rectangular two-phase natural circulation loop

Abstract

Natural Circulation Loops (NCLs) find application in a wide range of engineering devices and it is often necessary to predict and ensure the performance of such loops under various operating conditions. In this paper analytical expressions are presented in non-dimensional form for steady-state mass flow rate in typical rectangular, two-phase natural circulation loops having Vertical-Heater Vertical-Cooler (VHVC) and Vertical-Heater Horizontal-Cooler (VHHC) configurations. The normalized loop mass flow rates are expressed in terms of several geometrical and operating variables such as, normalized heat input, density ratio, volume/diameter of heater and cooler sections, aspect ratio of loop, inlet subcooling, fractional length of heater and cooler sections, two-phase friction multiplier and the loss coefficient at heater inlet. The analytical mass flow rate expressions are first validated using published data for various loops and shown to reasonably capture the gravity and friction dominated regimes in two-phase pipe flow. Parametric studies are then conducted to elucidate the effect of key variables on steady-state loop mass flow rates. For the chosen geometrical configuration of the loops, the possibility of existence of multiple steady-state solutions is checked for the entire range of values used in this study for each variable. The discussions in this paper are limited to explaining the influence of individual variables by comparing with a base case analysis.