Experiment and Numerical Simulation of Bubble Behaviors in Argon Gas Injection Into Lead-Bismuth Pool

Author(s):  
Yumi Yamada ◽  
Toyou Akashi ◽  
Minoru Takahashi

In a lead-bismuth alloy (45%Pb-55%Bi) cooled direct contact boiling water fast reactor (PBWFR), steam can be produced by direct contact of feed water with primary Pb-Bi coolant in the upper core plenum, and Pb-Bi coolant can be circulated by buoyancy forces of steam bubbles. As a basic study to investigate the two-phase flow characteristics in the chimneys of PBWFR, a two-dimensional two-phase flow was simulated by injecting argon gas into Pb-Bi pool in a rectangular vessel (400mm in length, 1500mm in height, 50mm in width), and bubble behaviors were investigated experimentally. Bubble sizes, bubble rising velocities and void fractions were measured using void probes. Argon gas was injected through five nozzles of 4mm in diameter into Pb-Bi at two locations. The experimental conditions are the pressure of atmospheric pressure, Pb-Bi temperatures of 443K, and the flow rate of injection Ar gas is 10, 20, and 30 NL/min. The measured bubble rising velocities were distributed in the range from 1 to 3 m/s. The average velocity was about 0.6 m/s. The measured bubble chord lengths were distributed from 1mm up to 30mm. The average chord length was about 7mm. An analysis was performed by two-dimensional and two-fluid model. The experimental results were compared with the analytical results to evaluate the validity of the analytical model. Although large diameter bubbles were observed in the experiment, the drag force model for spherical bubbles performed better for simulation of the experimental result because of high surface tension force of Pb-Bi.

2001 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 811-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Ishimoto ◽  
Mamoru Oike ◽  
Kenjiro Kamijo

The two-dimensional characteristics of the vapor-liquid two-phase flow of liquid helium in a pipe are numerically investigated to realize the further development and high performance of new cryogenic engineering applications. First, the governing equations of the two-phase flow of liquid helium based on the unsteady thermal nonequilibrium multi-fluid model are presented and several flow characteristics are numerically calculated, taking into account the effect of superfluidity. Based on the numerical results, the two-dimensional structure of the two-phase flow of liquid helium is shown in detail, and it is also found that the phase transition of the normal fluid to the superfluid and the generation of superfluid counterflow against normal fluid flow are conspicuous in the large gas phase volume fraction region where the liquid to gas phase change actively occurs. Furthermore, it is clarified that the mechanism of the He I to He II phase transition caused by the temperature decrease is due to the deprivation of latent heat for vaporization from the liquid phase. According to these theoretical results, the fundamental characteristics of the cryogenic two-phase flow are predicted. The numerical results obtained should contribute to the realization of advanced cryogenic industrial applications.


Author(s):  
David Heinze ◽  
Thomas Schulenberg ◽  
Lars Behnke

A simulation model for the direct contact condensation of steam in subcooled water is presented that allows determination of major parameters of the process, such as the jet penetration length. Entrainment of water by the steam jet is modeled based on the Kelvin–Helmholtz and Rayleigh–Taylor instability theories. Primary atomization due to acceleration of interfacial waves and secondary atomization due to aerodynamic forces account for the initial size of entrained droplets. The resulting steam-water two-phase flow is simulated based on a one-dimensional two-fluid model. An interfacial area transport equation is used to track changes of the interfacial area density due to droplet entrainment and steam condensation. Interfacial heat and mass transfer rates during condensation are calculated using the two-resistance model. The resulting two-phase flow equations constitute a system of ordinary differential equations, which is solved by means of the explicit Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg algorithm. The simulation results are in good qualitative agreement with published experimental data over a wide range of pool temperatures and mass flow rates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Ronghua Chen ◽  
Minghao Zhang ◽  
Kailun Guo ◽  
Dawei Zhao ◽  
Wenxi Tian ◽  
...  

Two-phase flow instability may occur in nuclear reactor systems, which is often accompanied by periodic fluctuation in fluid flow rate. In this study, bubble rising and coalescence characteristics under inlet flow pulsation condition are analyzed based on the MPS-MAFL method. To begin with, the single bubble rising behavior under flow pulsation condition was simulated. The simulation results show that the bubble shape and rising velocity fluctuate periodically as same as the inlet flow rate. Additionally, the bubble pairs’ coalescence behavior under flow pulsation condition was simulated and compared with static condition results. It is found that the coalescence time of bubble pairs slightly increased under the pulsation condition, and then the bubbles will continue to pulsate with almost the same period as the inlet flow rate after coalescence. In view of these facts, this study could offer theory support and method basis to a better understanding of the two-phase flow configuration under flow pulsation condition.


2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simo A. Mäkiharju ◽  
Celine Gabillet ◽  
Bu-Geun Paik ◽  
Natasha A. Chang ◽  
Marc Perlin ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 015501
Author(s):  
Shirin Najafizadeh ◽  
Afshin Ahmadi Nadooshan ◽  
Morteza Bayareh

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document