Countercurrent Flow Limitation in a Pipeline with an Orifice

Danni Zhao, Chende Xu, Zhengguang Wang, Xixi Zhu, Yaru Li, Xiangyu Chi and Naihua Wang ()
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Danni Zhao: Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing 100082, China
Chende Xu: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518172, China
Zhengguang Wang: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518172, China
Xixi Zhu: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Yaru Li: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Xiangyu Chi: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
Naihua Wang: Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL) refers to an important class of gravity-induced hydrodynamic processes that impose a serious restriction on the operation of gas–liquid two-phase systems. In a nuclear power plant, CCFL may occur in the liquid level measurement system where an orifice is applied in the pipeline, which may introduce error into the level measurement system. CCFL can occur in horizontal, vertical, inclined, and even much more complicated geometric patterns, and the hot-leg channel flow passage has been widely investigated; however, a pipeline with variable cross-sections, including an orifice, has not yet been investigated. An experimental investigation has been conducted in order to identify the phenomenon, pattern, and mechanism of CCFL onset in this type of geometry. Both visual and quantified experiments were carried out. A high-speed camera was applied to capture the flow pattern. Visual experiments were implemented at atmospheric pressure, while quantified pressurizer experiments were implemented at higher pressures. It was determined that if the condensate drainage is low and the liquid level is also low, with a stable stratified flow upstream of the orifice, there is no oscillation of the differential pressure. However, at higher condensate drainage levels, when the liquid level increases, a stratified wavy flow occurs. One of these waves can suddenly rise upstream of the orifice to choke it, which subsequently gives rise to differential pressure across the orifice, with periodic variation. This pattern alternately features stratified flow, stratified wavy flow, and slug flow, which indicates the occurrence of CCFL. The CCFL occurring under these experimental conditions can be expressed as a Wallis type correlation, where the coefficients m and C are 0.682 and 0.601, respectively.

Keywords: countercurrent flow limitation; orifice; mechanism; condensation; visualization; experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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