Liquid suspension in subcompartment analysis investigation of its treatment and a new approach

In assessing the pressurization effect of a postulated high energy liquid line break in a subcompartment, it is generally assumed that the atmosphere-borne droplets created by the flashing of this liquid remain suspended in the atmosphere. This paper demonstrates that a number of conflicting definitions of liquid suspension have been proposed to date and that their uncritical utilization can lead to erroneous results. Attempts have been made to formulate a deposition model based on turbulent diffusion mechanisms. In these models, empirical results derived from the annular flow in process equipment scale experiments are employed. It is argued that scaling considerations and the lack of equilibrium make such data inapplicable. Moreover, it is shown that for subcompartment analysis, turbulent diffusion, as well as settling, are secondary mechanisms. The main deposition mode is impaction on small surfaces. A model based on inertial impaction is formulated and incorporated into a standard subcompartment analysis code. The results from a parametric study are presented