Flashing-induced natural circulation dynamics - instability mechanism and evaluation - by Masahiro Furuya, Waseda University, Japan

Natural circulation is a key issue in the design of chemical plants and nuclear power stations for simplicity, inherent safety, and maintenance reduction features. Those natural circulation systems are susceptible to flow instability, science the driving force of circulation is sensitive to momentum and energy balances. This seminar addresses characteristics of flashing-induced density wave oscillations on the basis of the experimental results in a boiling natural circulation system with an adiabatic chimney. Flashing is caused by the sudden increase of vapor generation due to the reduction in the hydrostatic head, since saturation enthalpy changes with pressure. Flashing-induced density wave oscillations may, therefore, occur at low pressure. The oscillation period correlates well with the passing time of bubbles in the chimney section regardless of the system pressure, the heat flux, and the inlet subcooling. The flow became stable below a certain heat flux regardless of the channel inlet subcooling. The stable region enlarged with increasing system pressure. Therefore, the stability margin becomes larger by pressurizing the loop sufficiently before heating.