Keiko Chitose

Integrated Numerical Prediction of Atomization Process of Liquid Hydrogen Jet

The 3-D structure of the liquid atomization behavior of an LH2 jet flow through a pinhole nozzle is numerically investigated and visualized by a new type of integrated simulation technique. The present Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis focuses on the heat transfer effect on the consecutive breakup of a cryogenic liquid column, the formation of a liquid film, and the generation of droplets in the outlet section of the pinhole nozzle. Utilizing the governing equations for a high-speed turbulent cryogenic jet flow through a pinhole nozzle based on the thermal nonequilibrium LES-VOF model in conjunction with the CSF model, an integrated parallel computation is performed to clarify the detailed atomization process of a high-speed LH2 jet flow through a pinhole nozzle and to acquire data, which is difficult to confirm by experiment, such as atomization length, liquid core shape, droplet-size distribution, spray angle, droplet velocity profiles, and thermal field surrounding the atomizing jet flow. According to the present computation, the cryogenic atomization rate and the LH2 droplets-gas two-phase flow characteristics are found to be controlled by the turbulence perturbation upstream of the pinhole nozzle, hydrodynamic instabilities at the gasliquid interface and shear stress between the liquid core and the periphery of the LH2 jet. Furthermore, calculation of the effect of cryogenic atomization on the jet thermal field shows that such atomization extensively enhances the thermal diffusion surrounding the LH2 jet flow. (Translation of the article originally published in Cryogenics 48 (2008) 238–247)

Visual Observation of Fragmentation Behavior on Molten Material Jet Surface in Coolant

For the safety design of the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR), it is strongly required that the post accident heat removal (PAHR) is achieved after a postulated core disruptive accident (CDA). In the PAHR, it is important that the molten core material is solidified in sodium coolant which has high boiling point. Thus it is necessary to estimate the jet breakup length which is the distance that the molten core material is solidified in sodium coolant. In the previous studies (Abe et al., 2006), it is observed that the jet is broken up with fragmenting in water coolant by using simulated core material. It is pointed out that the jet breakup behavior is significantly influenced by the fragmentation behavior on the molten material jet surface in the coolant. However, the relation between the jet breakup behavior and fragmentation on the jet surface during a CDA for a FBR is not elucidated in detail yet. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the influence of the internal flow in the jet and fragmentation behavior on the jet breakup behavior. The Fluorinert™ (FC-3283) which is heavier than water and is transparent fluid is used as the simulant material of the core material. It is injected into the water as the coolant. The jet breakup behavior of the Fluorinert™ is observed by high speed camera to obtain the fragmentation behavior on the molten material jet surface in coolant in detail. To be cleared the effect of the internal flow of jet and the surrounding flow structure on the fragmentation behavior, the velocity distribution of internal flow of the jet is measured by PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique with high speed camera. From the obtained images, unstable interfacial wave is confirmed at upstream of the jet surface, and the wave grows along the jet-water surface in the flow direction. The fragments are torn apart at the end of developed wave. By using PIV analysis, the velocity at the center of the jet is fast and it suddenly decreases near the jet surface. This means that the shear force acts on the jet and water surface. From the results of experiment, the correlation between the interfacial behavior of the jet and the generation process of fragments are discussed. In addition, the influence of surface instability of the jet induced by the relative velocity between Fluorinert™ and coolant water on the breakup behavior is also discussed.© 2008 ASME

Study on Jet Breakup Behavior at Core Disruptive Accident for Fast Breeder Reactor

It is important to estimate the cooling possibility of the molten jet in coolant during a core disruptive accident (CDA) of a fast breeder reactor (FBR). In the present study, the molten jet of U-alloy 78 simulating the core material is injected into the water simulating the coolant. The visual data of the molten jet breakup behavior is observed by using the high-speed video camera. The front velocity of the molten jet is estimated by using the image processing technique from the visual data. It shows that the front velocity of the molten jet can be divided into three time regions. In the first region, the front velocity of the molten jet increases. In the second region, the front velocity of the molten jet suddenly decreases. In the third region, the front velocity of the molten jet keeps at low and steady. In first region, the column diameter of the molten jet decreases with the passage of time. At the location between first region and second region, the column of the molten jet breaks up and disappears. In the present study, the jet breakup length is defined as the distance from the water surface to the location where the jet column disappears. The results show that the jet breakup length depends on the injection nozzle diameter, but does not depend on the jet penetration velocity. This tendency agrees with the prediction by Epstein’s equation. After the experiment, the solidified fragments are collected and the mass median diameter is measured. The mass median diameter is compared with the existing theories. Furthermore, a model to estimate the cooling possibility during a CDA of a FBR is constructed, reflecting the above-mentioned results.Copyright

Study on the Interaction of Molten Metal and a Coolant

In a core disruptive accident (CDA) of a fast breeder reactor, the post accident heat removal (PAHR) is crucial for the accident mitigation. The molten core material should be cooled by the inventory of the coolant in the lower plenum of the reactor vessel. It is still unknown whether two phase cooling can be expected during molten core material and coolant interaction. The purpose of the present study is to experimentally clarify the cooling capability of the coolant for the molten material including two phase boiling. In the experiment, simulated molten metal jet is injected into water to experimentally obtain the visualized information of the fragmentation and boiling phenomena during PAHR in CDA.Copyright