A MODEL FOR CHOKED FLOW-THROUGH CRACKS WITH INLET SUBCOOLING

The leaks through steam-generator cracks are the subject of research c arried out in cooperation between EDF and UCL. A model to predict the mass flow rate has been developed and has been successfully validated. The purpose of the paper is to present this model and to show some co mparisons between the results and the presently available data. The mo del takes into account the persistence of some metastable liquid in th e crack and the special flow pattern which appears in such particular geometry. Although the model involves the use of several correlations (friction, heat transfer, ... ), no adjustment of parameters against t he data has been needed, neither in the single-phase of the flow, nor in the two-phase part.