Design and application of a single-beam gamma densitometer for void fraction measurement in a small diameter stainless steel pipe in a critical flow condition

A single-beam gamma densitometer is utilized to measure the average void fraction in a small diameter stainless steel pipe under critical flow conditions. A typical design of a single-beam gamma densitometer is composed of a sealed gamma-ray source, a collimator, a scintillation detector, and a data acquisition system that includes an amplifier and a single channel analyzer. It is operated in the count mode and can be calibrated with a test pipe and various types of phantoms made of polyethylene. A good average void fraction is obtained for a small diameter pipe with various flow regimes of the core, annular, stratified, and bubbly flows. Several factors influencing the performance of the gamma densitometer are examined, including the distance between the source and the detector, the measuring time, and the ambient temperature. The void fraction is measured during an adiabatic downward two-phase critical flow in a vertical pipe. The test pipe has an inner diameter of 10.9 mm and a thickness of 3.2 mm. The average void fraction was reasonably measured for a two-phase critical flow in the presence of nitrogen gas