Novel Design of a CHF Experimental Facility

Abstract

This paper discusses the design of a critical heat flux (CHF) experimental water flow loop being constructed at McMaster University. A brief review of existing water-based CHF data in open literature is presented. The loop's physical specifications (mass flux, heat flux, sub-cooling, and pressure) are determined so that some identified gaps in current CHF data can be eliminated by performing experiments. The design of the loop structure, data acquisition system, calibration requirements, instrumentation and uncertainties, standard operating procedures and some measurement uncertainties are also presented.