Characteristics of type-i density wave oscillations in a natural circulation bwr at relatively high pressure

Experiments were conducted to investigate two-phase flow instabilities in a boiling natural circulation loop with a chimney at high pressure. The SIRIUS-N facility was designed to have non-dimensional values which are nearly equal to those of a typical natural circulation BWR. The observed oscillations are found to be density wave oscillations, since the void fractions in the chimney inlet and exit are out of phase. They belong to the Type-I category, since they occur at low flow qualities, according to the Fukuda—Kobori's classification. Moreover, the oscillation period correlates well with the passing time of bubbles in the chimney section regardless of the system pressure, the heat flux, and the inlet subcooling. Two distinct phenomena are found in relation between the oscillation period and liquid passing time in the chimney, indicating that the driving mechanisms of the instabilities are different between low and high pressures. Stability maps were obtained in reference to the inlet subcooling and the heat flux at the system pressures of 1, 2, 4, and 7.2 MPa. The flow became stable below a certain heat flux regardless of the channel inlet subcooling. The stable region enlarges with increasing system pressure. Thus, the stability margin becomes larger in a startup process of a reactor by pressurizing the reactor sufficiently before withdrawing the control rods. The obtained stability map demonstrates that the nominal operating condition of the ESBWR has a significant stability margin to the unstable region.