• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.548-560
• /
• 1999

An experimental investigation has been peformed to examine the effects of various geometrical parameters and an initial operating condition on the air-water countercurrent How limitation (CCFL) in a simulated PWR hot leg. A total of 118 experimental data for the onset of CCFL and zero liquid penetration were obtained for various combinations of test parameters. It was observe that the CCFL can be classified into three different categories: (the onset of CCFL, (the partial liquid delivery, and (r) the zero liquid penetration. The observed mechanisms of the onset of CCFL were different depending on the inlet water flow rate. The parametric effects of pipe diameter, horizontal pipe length, horizontal pipe length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio, and initial water level in the horizontal pipe of the test section on the onset of air-water CCFL were also examined. An empirical correlation for the onset of CCFL in a horizontal pipe connected to an inclined riser was developed in terms of Wallis flooding parameters for the low inlet water flow rate region. Comparisons of the present empirical correlation with the air-water CCFL data of large pipe diameters show that the present correlation agrees more closely with the experimental data than the existing CCFL correlations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.557-564
• /
• 2005

Air-water countercurrent flow limitation at perforated plates with four holes was investigated in a vertical tank to see the effects of the plate thickness, the number of hole, and the diameter of the hole on the onset of CCFL. The thickness of plates was 1 cm and 4 cm, with a relatively large hole diameter of 5 cm. The collapsed water level formed on the perforated plate and its distribution in the upper plenum were measured. The gas flow rate in the multi-hole plate is relatively higher than one in the single tube because some of holes in the multi-hole plate provide a flow path fur liquid with less air-liquid resistance than in the single tube. The onset of CCFL occurred at nearly the same air flow rate regardless of the plate thickness. The negligible effect of the plate thickness on CCFL means that the flooding is initiated at the top of the plate rather than at its bottom. It turns out that $j_k$ and $K_k$ better fit the data than $H_k$ when hole diameter is greater than 2.86 cm. In our experimental ranges, the collapsed water levels at the onset of CCFL ranged from 7.5 cm to 10.5 cm. There was no three dimensional distribution of water level before and after the onset of CCFL.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.618-630
• /
• 1999

An analytical model that includes the steam condensation effect has been derived and a parametric study has been performed. In addition, a series of experiments were performed and a total of 34 experimental data for the onset of CCFL in nearly horizontal countercurrent two-phase How have been obtained for various flow rates of water. Comparisons of the present CCFL data with slug formation models show that the agreement between the present as well as the existing model and the data is about the same. However, the deviation between the Taitel and Dukler's model predictions and the data is the largest when if j$_{f}$<0.04 m/s. A parametric study of the effect of the steam condensation using the present model shows that, when all local conditions are similar, the model predicted local gas velocities that cause the onset of flooding are slightly lower when condensation occurred. Based on the visual observation and the evaluation of the present work, it has been concluded that the criterion derived for the onset of slug flow can be directly used to predict the onset of inner flooding in nearly horizontal two-phase flow within the experimental ranges of the present work.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 1999.05a
• /
• pp.115-115
• /
• 1999

To demonstrate the applicability of RELAP5 to the prediction of the onset offlooding in the hot leg at the reflux condensation phase during mid-loop operation, numerical analysis is performed for the counter-current flow in a horizontal pipe with the inclined riser using the RELAP5/MOD3.2.2b code. It is found that the RELAP5, simulating the CCFL phenomena using interfacial friction along with the flow regime map in the horizontal pipe, produces unsatisfactory results. Under the CCFL condition, it is observed that large oscillation exists in the flow rate, void fraction, and etc. and the liquid flow rate is much lower than that predicted by the CCFL model measured in the experiment. The CCFL model of RELAP5 for the vertical volume is extended to the model for the horizontal and inclined volumes. The horizontal volume flow regime map and interfacial friction model coupled to the CCFL model are modified. And a new correlation developed from Kang's experiment is implemented to the CCFL model of RELAP5. With this modified RELAP5, the analysis of CCFL phenomena in the horizontal pipe and hot leg geometry is performed, and produces reasonable results in comparison with experimental data.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2004.05a
• /
• pp.89-89
• /
• 2004

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.6
• /
• pp.1821-1833
• /
• 2021

The gas-liquid counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) is closely related to efficient and safety operation of many equipment in industrial cycle. Air-water countercurrent flow experiments were performed in a tube with diameter of 25 mm to understand the triggering mechanism of CCFL. A parallel electrode probe was utilized to measure film thickness whereby the time domain and frequency domain characteristics of liquid film was obtained. The amplitude of the interface wave is small at low liquid flow rate while it becomes large at high liquid flow rate after being disturbed by the airflow. The spectral characteristic curve shows a peak-shaped distribution. The crest exists between 0 and 10 Hz and the amplitude decreases with the frequency increase. The analysis of visual observation and characteristic of film thickness indicate that two flooding mechanisms were identified at low and high liquid flow rate, respectively. At low liquid flow rate, the interfacial waves upward propagation is responsible for the formation of CCFL onset. While flooding at high liquid flow rate takes place as a direct consequence of the liquid bridging in tube due to the turbulent flow pattern. Moreover, it is believed that there is a transition region between the low and high liquid flow rate.