PWR-blowdown heat transfer separate effects program

The ORNL Pressurized-Water Reactor Blowdown Heat Transfer (PWR-BDHT) Program is an experimental separate-effects study of the relations among the principal variables that can alter the rate of blowdown, the presence of flow reversal and rereversal, time delay to critical heat flux, the rate at which dryout progresses, and similar time-related functions that are important to LOCA analysis. Primary test results are obtained from the Thermal-Hydraulic Test Facility (THTF). Supporting experiments are carried out in several additional test loops - the Forced Convection Test Facility (FCTF), an air-water loop, a transient steam-water loop, and a low-temperature water mockup of the THTF heater rod bundle. The studies to date are described