Experimental study on a two-phase critical flow with a non-condensable gas at high pressure conditions

An experimental study was performed on a two-phase critical flow with a non-condensable gas at high pressure conditions. Experimental data for the critical flow rates were generated by using sharp-edged stainless steel pipes with an inner diameter of 10.9 mm, a thickness of 3.2 mm, and a length of 1000 mm. The test conditions were varied by using the stagnation pressures of 4.0, 7.0, and 10.0 MPa, water subcoolings of 0.0, 20.0, and 50.0 degrees C, and nitrogen gas flow rates of 0.0-0.22 kg/s. The experimental results show that the critical mass flux decreases rapidly with an increase of the volumetric non-condensable gas fraction. Also the critical mass flux increases with an increase of the stagnation pressure and a decrease of the stagnation temperature. An empirical correlation of the non-dimensional critical mass flux, which is expressed as an exponential function of the non-condensable gas fraction of the volumetric flow, is obtained from the experimental data. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.