Critical Heat Flux under Forced and Natural Circulations of Water at Low-Pressure, Low-Flow Conditions

The CHF phenomenon has been investigated for water flow under forced and natural circulation modes with vertical round tubes at low pressure and low flow condition. Experiments have been performed by using three different test sections for mass fluxes below 400 kg/㎡s under near atmospheric pressure. The experimental data for forced and natural circulation are compared with each other. To predict the flow rate at the two-phase region our test condition has been analyzed by RELAP5/MOD3 because the local two-phase condition inside the stainless steel tube cannot be directly measured. To predict the CHF with accuracy we have to consider the parameters at the single-phase region as well as the flow behavior at the two-phase region.