Two-phase flow structure in a particle bed packed in a confined channel

Ito, Daisuke*; Kurisaki, Tatsuya*; Ito, Kei*; Saito, Yasushi*; Imaizumi, Yuya ; Matsuba, Kenichi  ; Kamiyama, Kenji  

In core disruptive accident of sodium-cooled fast reactor, cooling of residual fuel debris formed in the reactor core is one of important factors to achieve in-vessel retention of the fuel. To clarify the feasibility of the cooling which is called "in-place cooling", characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow in the debris bed must be well understood. Since the debris bed can be formed in a confined flow channel in the core, effect of the channel wall cannot be neglected. Thus, this study aims to clarify the effect of the wall on two-phase flow characteristics in the debris bed, which was simulated as a particle bed packed in a pipe. The pressure drop was measured and compared with results by previous models, and porosity and void fraction distributions were measured by X-ray radiography. Then, the pressure drop evaluation model was modified considering the wall effect, and the applicability of the models was discussed.