Drop size measurements and entrainment in APR1400 during LBLOCA reflood phase

Abstract

A study has been performed to investigate droplet size in the nuclear reactor of APR1400 during LBLOCA reflood phase and to develop droplet entrainment and deposition models for SPACE (Safety and Performance CodE) which is a safety analysis tool for PWR being developed in Korea. A freezing technique for measuring the size of droplets was developed to obtain the droplet size distribution in horizontal annular flow in a pipe with a 37.1 mm diameter. Droplets are frozen by using an extremely low temperature nitrogen gas with liquid film extraction. They are then photographed with a microscope and a CCD camera and measured by means of an image process. The results are compared with various experimental data. The droplet sizes measured by the freezing technique are comparable with those measured by other methods at a high superficial air velocity (of 50 m/s). However, because of the film extraction problem, the droplet sizes measured at a low superficial air velocity of less than 40 m/s are higher than those measured by other methods. A present method suggested for predicting the Sauter mean diameter is based on the maximum droplet size correlation for the experimental data, with and without liquid film extraction. The average droplet size is remarkably smaller downstream of the liquid film extractor because large droplets from the liquid film are excluded. In order to understand and to predict a heat transfer between superheated steam and droplets properly during reflood phase of LBLOCA, it is very important to measure broken droplet sizes by spacer grids. A study, therefore, has been performed to investigate droplet size in rod bundles with spacer grids and to develop a spacer grid droplet breakup model for safety analysis codes. Experiments were conducted with liquid droplets (SMD of $300~700\mum$) and various spacer grids at superficial air velocity of 10 m/s and 20 m/s based on FLECHT SEASET. The test channel and the grids were heated to $150\degC$ to prev...