The flow patterns and heat transfer of a downstream bubbly flow in a sudden pipe expansion are experimentally and numerically studied. Measurements of the bubble size were performed using shadow photography. Fluid phase velocities were measured using a PIV system. The numerical model was employed the Eulerian approach. The set of RANS equations was used for modelling two-phase bubbly flows. The turbulence of the carrier liquid phase was predicted using the Reynolds stress model. The peak of axial and radial fluctuations of the carrier fluid (liquid) velocity in the bubbly flow is observed in the shear layer. The addition of air bubbles resulted in a significant increase in the heat transfer rate (up to 300%). The main enhancement in heat transfer is observed after the point of flow reattachment.

— The article presents the results obtained from verification of the EUCLID/V2 coupled code developed at the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is intended for...

Experiments with impulse gas injection into model coolants, such as water or the Rose alloy, performed at the Novosibirsk Branch of the Nuclear Safety Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, are described. The test facility and the experimental conditions are presented in details. The dependence of coolant pressure on the injected gas flow and the time of injection was determined. The purpose of these experiments was to verify the physical models of thermohydraulic codes for calculation of the processes that could occur during the rupture of tubes of a steam generator with heavy liquid metal coolant or during fuel rod failure in water-cooled reactors. The experimental results were used for verification of the HYDRA-IBRAE/LM system thermohydraulic code developed at the Nuclear Safety Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. The models of gas bubble transportation in a vertical channel that are used in the code are described in detail. A two-phase flow pattern diagram and correlations for prediction of friction of bubbles and slugs as they float up in a vertical channel and of two-phase flow friction factor are presented. Based on the results of simulation of these experiments using the HYDRA-IBRAE/LM code, the arithmetic mean error in predicted pressures was calculated, and the predictions were analyzed considering the uncertainty in the input data, geometry of the test facility, and the error of the empirical correlation. The analysis revealed major factors having a considerable effect on the predictions. The recommendations are given on updating of the experimental results and improvement of the models used in the thermohydraulic code.

Results of an experimental and numerical simulation of heat transfer in an upward bubbly flowin a sudden pipe expansion are presented. The experimental study of the heat transfer has been performed using infrared thermography. The measurements of the bubble size before the pipe expansion area were carried out by the shadow photographymethod. The numerical simulation of the bubbly flow structure in the sudden pipe expansion has been performed using the Eulerian approach in the presence of heat transfer between the two-phase flow and the wall surface. The model uses the system of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations in an axisymmetric approximation, written with consideration of the back effect of bubbles on the averaged and pulsation characteristics of the flow. It has been experimentally and numerically shown that addition of air bubbles causes a significant (up to 3-fold) increase in the heat transfer intensity, these effects growing with bubble concentration. The largest rise in the heat transfer has been revealed in the region of flow relaxation downstream of the flow attachment point.

Results from an experimental study of the local hydrodynamic structure of liquid flow in a 37-cell model simulating a fuel assembly used in the AES-2006 reactor are presented. Special attention is paid to the effect of spacer grid on flow hydrodynamics. Data on variations of the local and integral values of the liquid axial velocity and friction stress on the fuel rod simulator’s wall with distance from the grid are given.