Rod-bundle transient-film boiling of high-pressure water in the liquid-deficient regime

Results are reported from a recent experiment investigating dispersed flow film boiling of high pressure water in upflow through a rod bundle. The data, obtained under mildly transient conditions, are used to assess correlations currently used to predict heat transfer in these circumstances. In light of the scarcity of similar data, the data should prove useful in the development and assessment of new heat transfer models. The experiment was conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the Thermal-Hydraulic Test Facility, a highly instrumented, non-nuclear, pressurized-water loop containing 64, 3.66-m (12-ft) long rods (of which 60 are electrically heated). The rods are arranged in a square array typical of 17 x 17 fuel rod assemblies in late generation PWRs. Data were collected over typical reactor blowdown parameter ranges