Condensation Enhancement on a Pool Surface Caused by a Submerged Liquid Jet

Abstract

One advanced nuclear reactor design has a residual heat removal (RHR) pipe connected to the bottom of a steam generator outlet plenum. The water in the plenum can become thermally stratified during postulated loss of coolant accidents. Cold water injected through the RHR pipe has the potential effect of increasing the steam condensation on the pool surface due to the stirring action of the jet. The amount of increase depends on a number of factors, including the jet velocity and the pool height above the jet injection point. Prediction of steam condensation rates, before and after the jet breaks the pool surface, is the topic of this paper. Data and correlations exist for pre surface breakthrough and a method has been developed for post breakthrough. The models have been incorporated into the reactor safety analysis computer software known as RELAP5 (1995). Comparisons of predictions against data are presented.