Development of technologies on innovative-simplified nuclear power plant using high-efficiency steam injectors. (6) Operating characteristics of center water jet type supersonic steam injector

One of the most interesting devices for next generation reactor systems aiming at simplified system and improvement of safety and credibility is the steam injector which is a passive pump without large motor or turbo-machinery. One of the applications of the steam injector is the passive water injection system to inject the coolant water into the core. The system can be started up merely by injecting the steam without any outer power supply. Since the steam injector is a simple, compact and passive device for water injection, if the steam injector is applied to the actual reactor, it is expected to make the system simple and to reduce the construction cost. Although non-condensable gases are well known for reducing heat transfer between water and steam, the effect of the non-condensable gas on the condensation of supersonic steam on high-speed water jet has not been cleared. The present paper reports about the experimental apparatus, measurement instrument and experimental results of observing the phenomenon inside the test section supplying water and steam to the test by using both the high-speed camera and the video camera and measuring the temperature and the pressure distribution n the test section. (author)