Effect of Surface Oxidation on the Onset of Nucleate Boiling in a Materials Test Reactor Coolant Channel
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NERS_2_2_021001.pdf
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1.59 MB
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Adobe PDF
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38ef89fa13d8408685dc22ab98f12cb0
Author(s)
Forrest, Eric C
Don, Sarah M.
Hu, Lin-Wen
Buongiorno, Jacopo
McKrell, Thomas J.
Date Issued
February 2016
Journal
Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science
Publisher
ASME International
Citation
Forrest, Eric C., Sarah M. Don, Lin-Wen Hu, Jacopo Buongiorno, and Thomas J. McKrell. “Effect of Surface Oxidation on the Onset of Nucleate Boiling in a Materials Test Reactor Coolant Channel.” Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science 2, no. 2 (February 29, 2016): 021001.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) serves as the thermal-hydraulic operating limit for many research and test reactors. However, boiling incipience under forced convection has not been well-characterized in narrow channel geometries or for oxidized surface conditions. This study presents experimental data for the ONB in vertical upflow of deionized (DI) water in a simulated materials test reactor (MTR) coolant channel. The channel gap thickness and aspect ratio were 1.96 mm and 29:1, respectively. Boiling surface conditions were carefully controlled and characterized, with both heavily oxidized and native oxide surfaces tested. Measurements were performed for mass fluxes ranging from 750 to 3000 kg/m2s and for subcoolings ranging from 10 to 45°C. ONB was identified using a combination of high-speed visual observation, surface temperature measurements, and channel pressure drop measurements. Surface temperature measurements were found to be most reliable in identifying the ONB. For the nominal (native oxide) surface, results indicate that the correlation of Bergles and Rohsenow, when paired with the appropriate single-phase heat transfer correlation, adequately predicts the ONB heat flux. Incipience on the oxidized surface occurred at a higher heat flux and superheat than on the plain surface.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Sloan School of Management
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4031503
