Experimental investigation on the second dominant frequency of pressure oscillation for sonic steam jet in subcooled water

Abstract

Experimental investigations and analysis on the dominant frequency of pressure oscillation for sonic steam jet in subcooled water have been performed. It was found that sometimes there is only one dominant frequency for pressure oscillation, and sometimes there is a second dominant frequency for pressure oscillation. The first dominant frequency had been investigated by many scholars before, but the present study mainly investigated the characteristics of the second dominant frequency. The first dominant frequency is mainly caused by the periodical variation of the steam plume and the second dominant frequency is mainly caused by the generating and rupture of the large steam bubbles. A dominant frequency regime map related to the water temperature and steam mass flux is given. When the water temperature and the steam mass flux are low, there is only one dominant frequency of pressure oscillation. When the water temperature or the steam mass flux is high, the second dominant frequency appears for pressure oscillation. The second dominant frequency decreases with the increasing water temperature and steam mass flux. Meanwhile, the second dominant frequency at high steam mass flux and water temperature is lower than the first dominant frequency at low steam mass flux and water temperature. A dimensionless correlation is proposed to predict the second dominant frequency for sonic steam jet. The predictions agree well with the present experimental data, the discrepancies are within ±20%.