Abstract
A boiling experiment was conducted to acquire a three-dimensional void fraction distribution in a rod bundle with part length rods. The test section was a 5 × 5 heated rod bundle that partially simulated a BWR rod bundle, and three PLRs were arranged together in the corner. The heated length of the full-length rod was 3.71 m, which is equal in length to an actual fuel rod in BWRs, whereas the heated length of the PLR was 1.85 m. The rod bundle exhibited an axially and radially uniform heat flux. Further, the local void fraction was quantified by normalizing the intensities in the CT images of the boiling two-phase flow with those obtained under the liquid-phase and gas-phase conditions. The cross-sectional void fraction distribution was acquired at six height levels. The experimental results exhibited the void distribution around PLRs with respect to a wide range of flow conditions, inlet temperatures, inlet flow rates, bundle thermal powers, and system pressures.
Void fraction distribution in a rod bundle with part-length rods via high-energy X-ray computed tomography
