Validation of COBRA-TF Critical Heat Flux Predictions for a Small-Hydraulic-Diameter Geometry under Natural Boiling Conditions

Abstract

Critical heat flux (CHF) at a natural boiling condition is an important phenomenon for a research reactor having a small-hydraulic-diameter geometry under a large-break loss-of-coolant accident condition. Accurately predicting the CHF under this condition is very important; therefore, the CHF models used in the best-estimate codes must be validated using appropriate experimental data for a given geometry. The present work focuses on validating the CHF calculations and models within the COolant Boiling in Rod Arrays-Two Fluid (COBRA-TF) code by simulating two sets of experiments, which were performed in tubes and annuli with different length-to-diameter ratios. In this work, the cocurrent upflow and downflow correlations developed by Mishima and Nishihara and Holowach et al. and Zuber correlations for the CHF used in COBRA-TF are validated against the experimental data obtained by Monde and Yamaji and Islam et al. Conclusions on the predictive capability of COBRA-TF for the CHF calculations for small-hydraulic-diameter geometry under natural boiling conditions are provided with the description of the correlations and models used.