Mechanistic Model of Dryout in a Heat-Generating Porous Medium

In the present work the influence of various physical parameters on the two-phase flow behavior in a self-heated porous medium has been studied using a numerical model, that is, the effects of heat generation rate, of porosity, of particle size, and of system pressure on the dryout process. To analyze the effect of these parameters, the variation of both liquid volumetric fraction and liquid axial velocity is evaluated at the steady state or at the onset of a first boiled-out region. The analysis of computational results indicate that a qualitative tendency exists between the parameters such as heat generation rate, porosity, effective particle diameter and the temporal development of the liquid volumetric fraction field up to dryout. In addition to these parameters, a variation of fluid properties such as phase density, phase viscosity due to a change of system pressure can be used for gaining insight into the nature of two-phase flow behavior up to dryout.