Numerical Investigation of Large-Scale Pool Boiling Outside the Condenser Tube of Passive Containment Cooling System

Abstract

Abstract The passive containment cooling system (PCCS) based on gravity heat tube is introduced to the new generation of nuclear technology. Large-scale pool boiling outside the condenser tube plays an important role in the operation of PCCS due to its excellent heat transfer capacity. Nonetheless, there are few studies on pool boiling outside the condensate tube of passive containment cooling system. In this paper, the pool boiling phenomenon outside the condenser tube of PCCS was numerically investigated. The effects of inclined angle and tube diameter on the heat transfer characteristics of the condenser tube were studied. The VOF method combined with the Lee mass transfer model was employed to model the pool boiling outside the condenser tube of PCCS. The influence of inclined angles and diameters on the boiling heat transfer has been analyzed. The results indicate that in the case of vertical tube, the average boiling heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase of tube side height. When the condenser tube is inclined, the bubbles on the upper wall of the condenser tube will leave the heating wall earlier, while the bubbles on the lower wall tend to merge into large bubbles. Combining the influences of the two aspects, the tube inclination has little effect on the heat transfer effect. In the case of vertical tube, the boiling heat transfer coefficient decreases with the increase of diameter.