Experimental study of incipient nucleate boiling in narrow vertical rectangular channel simulating subchannel of upgraded JRR-3.

Experiments were carried out with a vertical rectangular channel simulating a sub-channel of the upgraded JRR-3 fuel element, in order to investigate the validity and the error of the correlations predicting the superheat at the onset of nucleate boiling. These correlations were used in the core thermal-hydraulic design of the upgraded JRR-3. As the results, the following were made clear: (1) The existing Bergles-Rohsenow correlation gives a good prediction for the relationship of heat flux vs. superheat at the onset of nucleate boiling, with the error of about 1 K against the lower limits of the measured superheat. (2) There are no significant differences in the characteristics of the relationship of heat flux vs. superheat at the onset of nucleate boiling between upflow and downflow. (3) There are no significant differences in the histories of relationship of heat flux vs. superheat from the forced convection single-phase flow to the subcooled boiling between increasing heat flux and decreasing heat flux, with little overshoot of superheat at the onset of nucleate boiling both in the upflow and in the downflow.