PTV Experiments of Subcooled Boiling Flow Through a Rectangular Channel

Experiments were carried out to investigate turbulent sub-cooled boiling flow of Novec-2000 [1] refrigerant through a vertical square channel with one heated wall. Channel dimensions were selected to be similar to those encountered on a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) channel flow, with an hydraulic diameter of D_h = 8.2mm. Flow visualization techniques such as Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) and Shadowgraphy were used to measure time-average axial and normal velocities, axial and normal turbulence intensities, and Reynolds Stresses. Results are reported for hydraulic Reynolds numbers at channel inlet of 4638, 14513 and 24188 for up to thirteen wall heat fluxes (q^″) ranging from 0.0 to 64.0 kW/m². This work is an attempt to enrich the database already collected on turbulent subcooled boiling flow, with the hope that it will be useful in turbulence modeling efforts.