Summary report on four foot septifoil cooling experiment

Cooling parameters for some of the SRS reactor internal components are computed using the Transient Reactor Analysis Code, TRAC.'' In order to benchmark the code, the Safety Analysis Group of SRL requested an experiment to provide measurements of cooling parameters in a well defined physical system utilizing SRS reactor component(s). The experiment selected included a short length of septifoil with both top and bottom fittings containing five simulated control rods in an unseated'' configuration. Power level to be supplied to the rods was targeted at 2.5 kilowatts per foot. The septifoil segment was to be operated with no forced flow in order to evaluate thermal-hydraulic cooling. Parameters to be measured for comparison with code predictions were basic cooling phenomena, incidence of film boiling, thermal-hydraulic flow rate, pressure rise, and ratio of heat transfer through the wall of the assembly vs heat transfer to axial water flow through the assembly. Experimental apparatus was designed and assembled incorporating five simulated control rods four feet long, joule heated inside a five foot length of type Q'' septifoil. Water at 70 C was fed independently to the bottom inlet and along the outside of the septifoil. Water flowing along the outside of the septifoil was in confined flow and provided calorimetry to measure power flow through the septifoil housing. A shadowgraph technique was developed and used to monitor unforced flow of water pumped thermal-hydraulically through the septifoil. Electrical power of 10,000 to 70,000 watts was fed to the simulated rods from a dc power supply. Computer data acquisition was accomplished using LabView'' software programmed to match the configuration of the experiment along with scanning digital voltmeters and requisite signal sensors. Video camcorders were used to provide video records of six areas of the experiment