Predicting the mean liquid film thickness and profile along the annular length of a uniformly heated channel at dryout

Abstract

The objective of this study was to predict the mean liquid film thickness and profile at high shear stress using a mechanistic approach. Knowledge of the liquid film thickness and its variation with two-phase flow parameters is critical for the estimation of safety parameters in the annular flow regime. The mean liquid film thickness and profile were predicted by the PLIFT code designed in Fortran 95 programming language using the PLATO FTN95 compiler. The film thickness was predicted within the annular flow regime for a flow boiling quality ranging from 40 to 80 % at high interfacial shear stress. Results obtained for a laminar liquid film flow were dumped into an excel file when the ratio of the actual predicted film thickness to the critical liquid film thickness lied within the range of 0.9 to unity. The film thickness was observed to decrease towards the exit of the annular regime at high flow boiling qualities and void fractions. The observation confirmed the effect of evaporation in decreasing the film thickness as quality is increased towards the exit of the annular regime. © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2011.