Experimental investigation on the propagation characteristics of pressure oscillation in direct contact condensation with low mass flux steam jet

The propagation characteristics of pressure oscillation in direct contact condensation with low mass flux steam jet have been investigated experimentally. Steam is injected into subcooled water at one atmosphere pressure with steam mass flux and water temperature range of 186-272 kg/(m(2) s) and 293-343 K. The pressure oscillation propagates in the form of wave with stable dominant frequency, however the wave intensity attenuates with the increasing distance from the oscillation source. The root mean square of pressure wave p(rms) attenuates rapidly with the increasing dimensionless radial distance from the nozzle exit. At about dimensionless radial distance R = 100, the p(rms) is attenuated by about 90%. Although the dominant frequency of the pressure oscillation is constant during the propagation, after R= 100, there will be not enough energy for the pressure oscillation to resonate with relevant equipment. A correlation equation to calculate the root mean square of pressure oscillation along the radial distance is given. The prediction errors are within +/- 30% compared with the experimental data. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.