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Two-Phase Critical Flow in Long Nozzles

J. Y. Boivin

Nuclear Technology / Volume 46 / Number 3 / December 1979 / Pages 540-545

Technical Paper / Nuclear Power Reactor Safety / Reactor / dx.doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32364

Experimental work was carried out by Electricité de France at Chatou on two-phase critical flow in long nozzles. The experiments were carried out on two steam-water facilities: one with steady-state conditions and the second with transient conditions. The ranges of the various parameters studied are as follows:

  1. critical pressure: from 1.7 to 6.1 MPa
  2. mass flux: from 17 000 to 50 000 kg/m2·s
  3. nozzle diameter: from 12 to 50 mm.
A comparison with theoretical calculations made with a computer code that takes thermal nonequilibrium in account was made. These are precalculations because the code had been fitted to low-pressure data only. The error in the flow rate prediction lies between +5 and −5% for most of the points and between +5 and −27% for all experimental points.