Evaluation of advanced two-phase flow instrumentation in SCTF Core-1

In the Slab Core Test Facility (SCTF) Core-I, advanced two-phase flow instruments have been provided by the USNRC to measure the thermohydraulic behavior in the primary system including pressure vessel during the end of blowdown, refill and reflood phases of a postulated loss-of-coolant accident in a pressurized water reactor. The advanced instruments are turbine meters, drag disks, γ-densitometers, spool pieces, liquid level detectors (LLD), fluid distribution grids (FDG), impedance probes (flag, prong and string probes), film probes, and video optical probes. This report presents evaluated results of the data from these instruments. Some instruments are quantitatively evaluated by comparing with the data from the conventional instruments or the other advanced instruments. Main conclusions are as follows: (1) The spool pieces and the γ-densitometers work well and provide satisfactory results; (2) Some of the turbine meters, the impedance probes and the film probes give partially reasonable results, but still more improvements are required; (3) Most of the LLDs, the FDGs, the impedance probes, and the film probes do not work well due to a hard cable corrosion, and (4) The video optical probes give clear image of the flow pattern. (author)