Desing of the high Pressure HIgh temperature annuLUS flow (PHILUS) Facility

Critical heat flux (CHF) and post-CHF are two critical phenomena in light water-cooled nuclear power plants regarding safety. Even though the general trends of CHF and post- CHF are known, the exact mechanisms are still unknown. To better understand CHF and post-CHF, experimental flow boiling facilities are constructed around the world. However, these facilities are limited in their experimental conditions and spatial resolution necessary to advance our understanding of two-phase heat transfer. Previous rod surface measurements were collected with thermocouples to measure CHF location and temperature excursion, yet thermocouples provide limited spatial resolution, which leads to significant uncertainties in the CHF prediction. On the other hand, optical fiber temperature sensors can measure the temperature and the CHF propagation with high spatial resolution. Also, the capability of the optical fiber at high temperatures has been proven in previous studies. The current study aims to apply optical fiber at high-pressure and high mass fluxes. The high-Pressure HIgh-temperature annuLUS flow (PHILUS) facility was designed to provide desired working conditions in the test section that uses optical fiber temperature sensors. The PHILUS test section has a length of 1320 mm, with 1000 mm of heated length. The working conditions of the PHILUS are up to 18 MPa, temperatures up to 357◦C, and coolant mass flux from 500 to 3700 kg/m2s. The main components of the loop are a steam separator, two heat exchangers (a condenser and a cooler), a bladder-type accumulator, two bypass lines, and a high-pressure pump. Coolant-Boiling in Rod Arrays-Two Fluids (COBRA-TF) code was used to design the CHF and post-CHF experiments to be performed at the PHILUS facility.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nuclear Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Karabacak, Ali Haydar

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Pacheco Duarte, Juliana

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Pierson, Mark Alan
• Liu, Yang

• High Pressure Loop
• Critical Heat Flux (CHF)
• post-CHF
• Design

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:35075

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110838