Experimental Characterisation of the Interfacial Structure During Counter-Current Flow Limitation in a Model of the Hot Leg of a PWR

Abstract

In order to investigate the two-phase flow behaviour during counter-current flow limitation in the hot leg of a pressurised water reactor, dedicated experiments were performed in a scaled down model of Kobe University. The structure of the interface was observed from the side of the channel test section using a high-speed video camera. An algorithm was developed to recognise the stratified interface in the camera frames after background subtraction. The evolution of the water level along the hot leg is analysed in function of the liquid and gas flow rates.