Experimental and computational study of a low-pressure natural circulation loop

The experimental and analytical study of single-phase flow and heat transfer in natural circulation loop has been carried out. Experiments were performed on water and ethanol that are the liquids with significantly different thermophysical properties. Experimental apparatus was a rectangular shaped loop with vertical flow up leg. The flow up and flow down legs of the loop are joined to the separator-condenser at the top of the loop. The upper limit of heat flux densities in the experiments was set with the consideration for flow regime to remain in single phase state along the whole heated length. Wall temperature time records being registered at different distances from the inlet to the heated zone indicate the occurrence of temperature fluctuations near the exit from heated zone even at relatively low heat flux densities. This fact displaces a complex changing of velocity profiles along the tube with vortex formation and occurrence of flow instability. Experimental data on longitudinal wall temperature distributions of heated section have been used to test a modified method of hydraulic calculation of the loop. It was pointed out that in spite of long year (since early 1950s) experimental, analytical and numerical investigations of natural circulation loops no suitable predicting recommendations for heat transfer and friction have been proposed till today for engineering hydraulic calculations of single-phase natural circulation loops.