Experimental Study of Air-Steam-Mixture Condensation Underneath Containment Vessel Surface

Authors：Tan, Bing^*; Tian, W. X.; Chen, R. H.; Qiu, S. Z.; Su, G. H.

Source：Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2021, 195(8): 838-852.

DOI：10.1080/00295639.2021.1878780

• Passive cooling system
• steam condensation
• flow regime
• new empirical correlation

Aiming at studying the condensate flow phenomenon and air-steam-mixture condensation heat transfer underneath a containment vessel surface, a test bench was constructed. The plate dimension was 1.5 x 0.6 m, with Carbozinc 11 coating on the surface, suspended in a pressure vessel with 2.5-m diameter and 4.5-m height. The air-steam mixture was condensed on an inclined plate through natural convection mode and jet mode. By observing flow behavior on the plate through a viewport, four basic regimes were obtained as the inclination angle gradually increased: droplet, droplet to rivulet transition, developed rivulet, and uniform film. During the experiment, we observed a steam atomization phenomenon; therefore, the model predicted better with the atomization effect considered. A simple formula from the condensation data is proposed when the air mole fraction is small. The error between the experimental results and the predicted data is within 25%.

• Institution
  西安交通大学