Tk. Larson et al., FLOODING IN A THIN RECTANGULAR SLIT GEOMETRY REPRESENTATIVE OF ATR FUEL ASSEMBLY SIDE-PLATE FLOW CHANNELS, Nuclear Engineering and Design, 152(1-3), 1994, pp. 277-285
Air-water counter-current flow limit experiments were conducted in thi
n rectangular channels at atmospheric pressure. The parameters were: n
arrow channel width, either 1.1 mm or 2.2 mm; inlet water temperature,
ranging from 294 K to 330 K; channel surface condition, either clean
aluminum, aluminum oxide, or acrylic; location and geometry of the air
inlet; method of forcing air through the channel; and liquid head abo
ve the channel. Experimental results for each set of parameters can be
linearly correlated using the square root of the non-dimensional supe
rficial velocities. Channel surface wetting and location and geometry
of the air injection had the greatest effect. Narrow channel width, wa
ter temperature, method used to force air through the channel, and liq
uid head above the channel had little effect on the flooding character
istics.