Comparison of steady-state and transient condition flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) of FeCrAl alloy, Zircaloy-4 and Inconel600

Soon K. Lee, Maolong Liu, Edward D. Blandford, Youho Lee, Nicholas R. Brown, Heng Ban, Colby B. Jensen, Kurt A. Terrani

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

    1 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    This study presents an investigation of critical heat flux (CHF) variation upon the use of candidate Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) cladding (FeCrAl alloy) compared to Inconel600, Zircaloy-4 and the 2006 CHF look-up table by conducting the flow boiling experiments under steady-state condition at an atmospheric pressure and at fixed inlet temperatures and a mass flux. To directly compare the CHF change during transient condition relevant to Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA), experiments were done at the same thermodynamic quality and flow condition following the steady-state condition CHF results. An increased thermal safety margin of FeCrAl alloy compared to other tested alloys were identified as well as a disagreement between the Zircaloy-4 experimental CHF results and the 2006 CHF look-up table, which implies limitation of the current thermal-hydraulic codes for interpreting fuel design safety margin. To gain a better understanding on the implications of wettability on CHF, contact angle measurements were carried out on both fresh and oxide surfaces and the detailed morphology analysis was done by scanning electron microscope, which suggests a negligible impact of the wettability on the flow boiling CHF.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages414-427
    Number of pages14
    StatePublished - 2018
    EventInternational Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018, ATH 2018 - Held in conjunction with the 2018 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting - Orlando, United States
    Duration: Nov 11 2018Nov 15 2018

    Other

    OtherInternational Topical Meeting on Advances in Thermal Hydraulics 2018, ATH 2018 - Held in conjunction with the 2018 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityOrlando
    Period11/11/1811/15/18

    All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

    • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
    • Nuclear Energy and Engineering
    • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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