ASSERT Validation Against the Stern Laboratory Pressure Drop Tests

Abstract

This paper describes the preliminary validation of ASSERT-IV against the single phase pressure drop tests from the 37-element CHF experiments conducted at Stern Laboratories, and shows how this study fits, into the overall ASSERT validation plan. The effects on the pressure drop of several friction and form loss models are evaluated, including the geometry-based K-factor model. The choice of friction factor has a small effect on the predicted channel pressure drop, compared to the form loss model choice. Using the uniform K-factors of Hameed, the computed pressure drops are in excellent agreement with the experimental results from the nominal pressure tube tests. For future ASSERT applications, either Hameed's uniform K-factors or the geometry-based model using Idelchik's thick-edged orifice equation are recommended, as are the friction factor correlations of Colebrook-White, Selander, and Aly and Groeneveld. More analysis of the geometry-based K-factor model is required.