Comparison of FLOWTRAN predictions of onset of significant voiding (OSV) to Savannah River Heat Transfer Laboratory subcooled boiling flow instability measurements, Part 1

The onset of flow instability (OFI) was measured in the first of a scheduled series of subcooled boiling tests at the Savannah River Heat Transfer Laboratory (HTL). This report summarizes the benchmarking of predictions of the onset of significant voiding (OSV) using Version 16 of the FLOWTRANΩ reactor limits code against the HTL measurements. This study confirms that, for this series of HTL subcooled boiling tests, the Saha-Zuber OSV correlation was a conservative indicator of OFI for Peclet numbers between 30,000 and 80,000. The Saha-Zuber correlation was not a conservative indicator of OFI for Peclet numbers below 30,000. A conservative bound to the Saha-Zuber correlation (the Saha-Zuber constant Stanton number criterion -- 30%) was agreed to at a meeting of SRL, DOE, and the DOE EH and DP review panels. This bound was a conservative indicator of OFI for all measurements in this study