Loss of residual heat removal during mid-loop operation: BETHSY experiments

Local heat transfer during reflux condensation mode in a U-tube with and without noncondensible gases

“…More recently, studies in this field have been reported by Pilon et al [5], Chou and Chen [6], Moon et al [7], Thumm et al [8], and Vierow et al [9]. Several larger scale experiments have also been carried out with the aid of integral test facilities such as BETHSY [10] and IIST [11,12].…”

The use of a novel gradient heat flux sensor for characterization of reflux condensation

“…As a result, a possibly significant passive residual decay heat removal from the reactor's primary coolant system is established [1][2][3] . Reflux condensation can occur at high pressures 4-10 MPa, due to a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) during normal plant operation [4][5][6][7][8] or at containment pressures due to loss of residual heat removal (RHR) system during a mid-loop inventory operation [9][10][11] .…”