On the characteristics of two-phase flow in T-junctions

Dividing and combining two-phase flow in branching conduits are encountered in many engineering systems in the power and process industries. A particular case of interest is the analysis of loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in nuclear reactors which requires accurate prediction of phase separation and pressure distribution for steam-water flow in branching conduits. Virtually all available experimental data are for air-water flow. The work presented herein involves the use of a steam-water flow loop to obtain detailed experimental data on the characteristics of steam-water flow in a horizontal ''T'' junction. The experimental facility assembled at McMaster University allows for measured amounts of steam and water to be mixed to thermodynamic equilibrium and delivered to a horizontal tee test section. The test section is made up of approximately 3m of stainless steeltubing (31.75 mm O.D., 25.65 mm I.D.) with a 610 mm branch installed such that the inlet and branching legs are of equal lengths. The measurement systems allowed the time averaged distribution of pressure (25 stations), void fraction (17 stations) and the quality in each leg of the test section to be determined. A set of detailed experiments were carried out to isolate the effect of inlet mass flux (450 - 1200 kg/m/sup 2/s), inlet quality (0 - 15%) and branch flow split (0.07 - 1.0) on the measured parameters