Flow dynamics of volume-heated boiling pools

Safety analyses of fast breeder reactors require understanding of the two-phase fluid dynamic and heat transfer characteristics of volume-heated boiling pool systems. Design of direct contact three-phase boilers, of practical interest in the chemical industries also requires understanding of the fundamental two-phase flow and heat transfer behavior of volume boiling systems. Several experiments have been recently reported relevant to the boundary heat-loss mechanisms of boiling pool systems. Considerably less is known about the two-phase fluid dynamic behavior of such systems. This paper describes an experimental investigation of the steady-state flow dynamics of volume-heated boiling pool systems