Pressurized Water Reactor Fuel Assembly Subchannel Void Fraction Measurement

The voidfraction measurement experiment of pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies has been conducted since 1987 under the sponsorship of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry as a Japanese national project. Two types of test sections are used in this experiment. One is a 5 × 5 array rod bundle geometry, and the other is a single-channel geometry simulating one of the subchannels in the rod bundle. Wide gamma-ray beam scanners and narrow gamma-ray beam computed tomography scanners are used to measure the subchannel void fractions under various steady-state and transient conditions. The experimental data are expected to be used to develop a void fraction prediction model relevant to PWR fuel assemblies and also to verify or improve the subchannel analysis method. The first series of experiments was conducted in 1992, and a preliminary evaluation of the data has been performed. The preliminary results of these experiments are described.