• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 2006

We investigated resistance development in $Au/YBa_2Cu_3O_7(YBCO)$ thin film meander lines during high-power faults. The meander lines were fabricated by patterning 300 nm thick YBCO films coated with 200 nm thick gold layers into meander lines. A gold film grown on the back side of the substrate was also patterned into a meander line. The front meander line was connected to a high-power fault-test circuit and the back line to a DC power supply. Resistance of both lines was measured during the fault. They were immersed in liquid nitrogen during the experiment. Behavior of the resistance development prior to quench completion could be understood better by comparing resistance of the front meander lines with that of the back. Quench completion point could be determined clearly. Resistance and temperature at the quench completion point were not affected by applied field strength. The experimental results were analyzed quantitatively with the concept of heat transfer within the meander lines/substrate and to the surrounding liquid nitrogen. In analysis, the fault period was divided into three regions: flux-flow region, region prior to quench completion, and region after quench completion. Resistance was calculated for each region, reflecting the observation for quench completion. The calculated resistance in three regions was joined seamlessly and agreed well with data.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.118-123
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• 2004

We investigated quench distribution in AU/YBCO thin film meander lines with a heater. Quench distribution during faults is important for superconducting fault current limter applications, because uniform quench allows application of higher voltages across the meander lines. AU/YBCO thin films grown on sapphire substrates were patterned into meander lines by photolithography. Gold films grown on the rear sides of the substrates were also patterned into meander lines, and used as heaters. Meander lines on the front and the rear sides were connected in parallel. The meander lines were subjected to simulated AC fault currents for quench measurements during faults. They were immersed in liquid nitrogen during the experiment for effective cooling. Resistance of the AU/YBCO meander lines initially increased more rapidly with the rear heater than without, and consequently the fault current was limited more. The resistance subsequently became similar, The resistance distribution was more uniform with the heater, especially during the initial quench. Quench was completed more uniformly and significantly earlier. This resulted in uniform distribution of dissipated power. These results could be explained with the concept of quench propagation, which was accelerated by heat transfer across the substrate from the rear heater.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.23-34
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• 2020

Two-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics during the reflood phase of a single heated rod in the KHU reflood experimental facility were examined. Two-phase flow behavior during the reflooding experiment was carefully visualized along with transient temperature measurement at a point inside the heated rod. By numerically solving one-dimensional inverse heat conduction equation using the measured temperature data, time-resolved wall heat flux and temperature histories at the interface of the heated rod and coolant were obtained. Once water coolant was injected into the test section from the bottom to reflood the heated rod of >700℃, vast vapor bubbles and droplets were generated near the reflood front and dispersed flow film boiling consisted of continuous vapor flow and tiny liquid droplets appeared in the upper part. Following the dispersed flow film boiling, inverted annular/slug/churn flow film boiling regimes were sequentially observed and the wall temperature gradually decreased. When so-called minimum film boiling temperature reached, the stable vapor film between the heated rod and coolant was suddenly collapsed, resulting in the quenching transition from film boiling into nucleate boiling. The moving speed of the quench front measured in the present study showed a good agreement with prediction by a correlation in literature. The obtained results revealed that typical two-phase flow and heat transfer behaviors during the reflood phase of overheated fuel rods in light water nuclear reactors are well reproduced in the KHU facility. Thus, the verified reflood experimental facility can be used to explore the effects of other affecting parameters, such as CRUD, on the reflood heat transfer behaviors in practical nuclear reactors.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.108-112
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• 2005

We investigated temperature behavior of superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) during quenches. Knowledge on temperature behavior during quenches is important to the design of SFCLs, because the temperature of SFCLs is related to their stability. SFCLs were fabricated by patterning $Au/YBa_2Cu_3O_7$ thin films grown on sapphire substrates into meander lines by photolithography. A gold film grown on the back side of the substrate was patterned into a meander line, and used as a temperature sensor. The front meander line was subjected to simulated AC fault currents, and the back line to DC current. They were immersed in liquid nitrogen during the experiment for effective cooling. Overall, temperature at the back side of SFCLs was close to that at the front side. It was closer at the beginning of faults, and at lower applied voltages. Temperature distribution at the back side was even except at the edge, as at the front side. These results tell that the whole SFCL was heated to similar degree during quenches, and that effective cooling of SFCLs at the back side is as important to the stability of SFCLs as at the front side. The results could be explained with the concept of heat transfer within the film.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.522-531
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• 2002

In order to study the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the cable-in-conduit-conductor (CICC), a numerical model has been developed. In the model, the high heat transfer approximation between superconducting strands and supercritical helium is adopted. The strong coupling of heat transfer at the front of normal zone generates a contact discontinuity in temperature and density. In order to obtain the converged numerical solutions, a moving mesh method is used to capture the contact discontinuity in the short front region of the normal zone. The coupled equation is solved using the finite element method with the artificial viscosity term. Details of the numerical implementation are discussed and the validation of the code is performed for comparison of the results with thse of GANDALF and QSAIT.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05b
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• pp.586-591
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• 1996

Through the analysis of many experimental post-dryout data, it is shown that the most probable flow regime near dryout or quench front is not annular flow but churn-turbulent flow when the mass flux is low. A correlation describing the initial droplet size just after the CHF position at low mass flux is suggested through regression analysis. In the post-dryout region at low pressure and low flow, it is found that the suggested one-dimensional mechanistic model is not applicable when the vapor superficial velocity is very low, i.e., when the flow is bubbly or slug flow regime. This is explained by the change of main entrainment mechanism with the change of flow regime. Therefore, the suggested correlation is valid only in the churn-turbulent flow regime ( $j_{g}$ $^{*}$＝0.5~4.5).).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.895-910
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• 2013

The reflood test data from the rod bundle heat transfer (RBHT) test facility showed that the grids in the upper portion of the rod bundle could become wet well before the arrival of the quench front and that the sizes of liquid droplets downstream of a wet grid could not be predicted by the droplet breakup models for a dry grid. To investigate the water droplet generation from a wet grid spacer, a viscous linear temporal instability model of the water sheet issuing from the trailing edge of the grid with the surrounding steam up-flow is developed in this study. The Orr-Sommerfeld equations along with appropriate boundary conditions for the flow are solved using Chebyshev series expansions and the Tau-Galerkin projection method. The effects of several physical parameters on the water sheet oscillation are studied by determining the variation of the temporal growth rate with the wavenumber. It is found that a larger relative steam velocity to water velocity has a tendency to destabilize the water sheet with increased dynamic pressure. On the other hand, a larger ratio of steam boundary layer to the half water sheet thickness has a stabilizing effect on the water sheet oscillation. Droplet diameters downstream of the spacer grid predicted by the present model are found to compare reasonably well with the data obtained at the RBHT test facility as well as with other data recently reported in the literature.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.508-519
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• 2020

During transients or accidents, the reactor core is uncovered, and droplets entrained above the quench front collides with the uncovered fuel rod surface. Droplet impact cooling can reduce the peak cladding temperature. Besides zirconium-based cladding, versatile accidental tolerant fuel (ATF) claddings, including FeCrAl, have been proposed to increase the accident coping time. In order to investigate the effect of surface properties on droplet impact cooling of cladding surfaces, the droplet impact phenomena are photographed on the FeCrAl and zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) surfaces under different conditions. On the oxidized FeCrAl surface, the Leidenfrost phenomenon is not observed even when the surface temperature is as high as 550 ℃ with We > 30. Comparison of the impact behaviors observed on different materials shows that nucleate and transition boiling is more intensive on surfaces with larger thermal conductivity. The Leidenfrost point temperature (LPT) decreases with the solid thermal effusivity (${\sqrt{k{\rho}C_p}}$). However, the CHF temperature is relatively insensitive to the surface oxidation and Weber number. Droplet spreading diameter is analyzed quantitatively in the film boiling stage. Based on the energy balance a correlation is proposed for droplet maximum spreading factor. A mechanistic model is also developed for the LPT based on homogeneous nucleation theory.