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Nuclear

Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347

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ELSEVIER

Scaling laws for single-phase natural circulation loops

P . K . V i j a y a n a, H . Austregesilo b
a Reactor Safety Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay 400085, India
b Gesellschaft ffir Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit, D-85748 Garching, Germany

Abstract

The power-to-volume scaling laws used for the construction of scaled test facilities simulating the primary system
of nuclear power plants result in loops of the same elevation (and length) with reduced diameters. The adequacy of
these scaling laws for simulating single-phase natural circulation was tested in three rectangular loops, each having the
same elevation but different loop diameters of 6 ram, 11 mm and 23.2 mm respectively. The experiments showed that
the power-to-volume scaling principles adequately describe the steady state behaviour. The stability behaviour
observed in the loop 23.2 mm in diameter, however, could not be reproduced in the smaller diameter loops.
Subsequent theoretical investigation of the single-phase natural circulation phenomenon showed that the transient
and stability behaviour can be simulated only if the diameter ratio DrJD m is also simulated. The theoretical
investigation suggested the following scaling laws for single-phase natural circulation:
(Grin)p = (Grin)m
L__z= P_z = u p = (z~)~
Lm Dr. H~ (~)m
(Stm) p = (Stm)m
For simulating the steady state behaviour alone, it is sufficient to simulate the product Grm(D/L ).

1. Introduction applications, i.e. nuclear reactor core cooling, so-

A fluid-filled loop formed by pipe connections
between a heat source and a heat sink is the
essential hardware of a natural circulation loop.
Usually, the sink is located at a higher elevation
than the source to enhance circulation rates. The
fluid absorbs the heat from the source, becomes
lighter and rises to the sink, where it is cooled,
becomes heavier and falls, thus establishing a
circulation. This simple phenomenon has several
lar water heaters, geothermal processes, trans-
former cooling, gas turbine blade cooling, and
cooling of certain types of internal combustion
engine. Since the configuration has no moving
parts, it is also suitable for corrosion studies,
especially at the low flow rates requiring long-
term operation without interruption (Hamilton,
1954). Because of its simplicity, this configuration
has even been used for the dissipation of heat in
so-called liquid fins (Madejski, 1971). General

0029-5493/94/$07.00 © 1994 Elsevier ScienceS.A. All fights reserved

SSD1 0029-5493(94)00804-8
 332 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347
reviews on natural circulation loops have been
given by Japikse (1973), Zvirin (1981a), Mertol
and Greif (1985, 1987) and Greif (1988).
Many of the proposed advanced designs of
nuclear power reactors have natural circulation of
the primary coolant as the normal mode of heat
transport from the core to the steam generators.
As increasingly more of these reactors are being
conceived, there is an increasing need to construct
scaled test facilities to simulate natural circulation
behaviour in prototype plants. General scaling
laws for modelling nuclear reactor systems have
been proposed by Nahavandi et al. (1979). Most
test facilities built so far are based on the power-
to-volume scaling philosophy. The essential re-
quirements of this scaling method are described
by Zuber (1980) and Karwat (1985). One of the
basic tenets of this scaling methodology is the
preservation of the geodetic elevation to be the
same as that in the prototype. As a result of this,
the test facility has a flow cross-section area scaled
by the volume scaling ratio. Scaled test facilities
constructed so far have volume scaling ratios in
the range 50-2000 (Karwat, 1985). This means
that the diameter of the scaled test facilities can be
smaller by a factor of at least 7. Although it is
recognized that the reduced loop diameters can
result in the distortion of certain physical phe-
nomena observed in prototype plants, no experi-
mental investigation has been carried out to study
the effect of the loop diameter on scale distortion.
It has long been recognized that one of the
basic problems in understanding the behaviour of
natural circulation in closed loops is the lack of
generally acceptable scaling laws (Zvirin, 1981a)
which are non-loop-specific. This makes it difficult
to compare data from different loops and to ex-
tend data from small-scale to large-scale loops.
The first attempt to develop scaling laws for natu-
ral circulation loops was made by Heisler (1982)
and later on by Ishii and Kataoka (1984). How-
ever, these authors did not compare their scaling
laws against the available experimental data. Vi-
jayan et al. (I991) found that the steady state flow
rate data from various natural circulation loops,
when plotted as Reynolds number (Re) vs. the
modified Grashof number (Grm), fall on parallel
straight lines. However, attempts to obtain a gen-
eralized correlation of natural circulation flow
was only partially successful. Subsequently, Vi-
jayan (1992a) carried out experiments in three
rectangular, natural circulation loops. Based on
these experiments, and using a simple one-dimen-
sional theory as used by Zvirin (1981a), it is
shown that scaling laws for single-phase natural
circulation loops can be developed. The scaling
laws obtained in this way are tested against exper-
imental data from various loops. The present
paper provides a brief description of the develop-
ment of the scaling laws and testing of these
against the experimental data.
2. Theoretical development of the sealing laws
The analysis presented below is based on the
one-dimensional approach, where the only co-ordi-
nates runs around the loop, as shown in Fig. 1, with
its origin at the beginning of the heated section. The
following simplifying assumptions are made:
(1) viscous heating and axial conduction effects
are negligible;
(2) heat losses are negligible;
(3) the Boussinesq approximation is valid, i.e.
fluid properties can be considered to be constant
in the governing equations, except for the density
in the buoyancy force term, which is assumed to
vary linearly with temperature as
p = p0{1 - fl(T -- To)} (1)
(4) since the analysis is for the single-phase
liquid conditions, the fluid is assumed to be in-
compressible.
With these assumptions, the conservation of
mass reduces to
8W
= 0 (2)
8s
This equation implies that the mass flow rate in
the loop is a function of time only, and is inde-
pendent of the space co-ordinate. Using this and
the Boussinesq approximation, the integrated mo-
mentum equation can be written as
LdW f L W2
A dt gflPoy T d z - f ~ 2 p o A 2 (3)
 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347 333

the friction factor f can be expressed as

EXPANSION P (4)
TANK f = Re b
where the constants p and b take different values
:_ u rJ _ 1~7 ~ 1 for laminar and turbulent flow. For example,
p = 64 and b = 1 for laminar flow, while p and b
are respectively 0.316 and 0.25 for turbulent flow
(Blasius equation).
"~ COOLER * s st~'~
" The energy equation for the different segments
of the loop can be written as
ST W ST 4q
St + ~4po Os - DpoCp (heater) (5a)
ST W ST 4 U i ( T - Ts)
St + ~4po Os - DpoC p (cooler) (5b)

ST W ST
+ -- - 0 (pipes) (5c)
St Apo Os
The momentum and the energy equations are
then non-dimensionalized using the following sub-
stitutions:
W z
o9- Z=--
Wss H
s t Wss
S = -- T= (6)
H Vpo
s • o,st s-s h T--Ts
0----
!d d I I_ z (ATh)~,
with these substitutions, the non-dimensional mo-
mentum and energy equations can be obtained as
fl NC,nm _
do9 Grin _ ~ 0 d Z - P Leo (2-b)
v -I- Lh -I d--~ = Res, 3 __ Ress b D 2 (7)
80 . 80 V
• THERMOCOUPLE + ¢o9 ~ = ~hh (heater) (8a)
Fig. 1. Schematicdiagram of the rectangular natural circula- 00 00
tion loops. ~z + c,bo9 ~ = --Stm0 (cooler) (8b)

In writing the above expression, it is assumed 80

0-~ + ~bo9~00 = 0 (pipes) (8c)
that the form losses are negligible compared with
the wall friction losses. One could also absorb the The non-dimensional groups in Eqs. (7) and (8)
effect of form losses in the circulation length, in can be expressed as
which case, the term L in Eq. (3) should be
D3p2flgQH
replaced by the equivalent length Lea. This ap-
Grm - 1~3ACp (9a)
proach was adopted by Huang (1988). In general,
334 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347

DWss can be evaluated, and it can be shown that

Re~ - (9b)
A#
4Num ~Oss(Z) dZ = 1 (11)
Stm = (9C)
RessPr
for the rectangular natural circulation loops con-
UiL sidered for the present analysis. Using this result
Num= k (9d)
in Eq. (7), the following equation for the flow rate
under steady state conditions can be obtained:
P r - Cp/a
k (9e)

V
q~= AH (9f)
This can be expressed as
The subscript m indicates that the definitions of
the corresponding non-dimensional groups are Ress = C Grm (13)
modified and differ somewhat from their classical
definitions. Some authors (Bau, 1981) prefer to Eq. (13) states that, if the steady state Reynolds
call the non-dimensional grouping expressed by number data are plotted against the product of
Eq. (9a) a non-dimensional heating rate. How- Grin(D/L) on a log-log graph, then the data from
ever, the term QH/(A#Cp) has the dimensions of all three loops will fall on a straight line with
temperature and, if we consider it as a reference slope equal to r and intercept equal to C. Know-
temperature difference, then it is appropriate to ing C and r, the constants p and b can be evalu-
refer to it as a modified Grashof number. The ated as
Richardson number used by Heisler (1982) and
1
Ishii and Kataoka (1984) is in fact simply Grm/ b = 3 -- (14)
Re~ 3. Since Res~ is a dependent parameter and not r
an independent parameter controlling natural cir- 2
culation, we have decided not to combine Gr m P - C(3 - b) (15)
and Re~ into one single parameter. The definition
of the modified Stanton number used by Ishii and These equations can be used to obain an empir-
Kataoka (1984) is similar to that used here, ex- ical correlation for the friction factor of natural
cept that the overall heat transfer coefficient is circulation flow. For simulating the transient and
used in the present definition rather than the the stability behaviour of natural circulation flow,
individual heat transfer coefficient. the coefficients of the Eqs. (7) and (8) must be the
For the steady state condition, &o/& = 0 and same. Thus, for simulating the energy equation,
~0/& = 0 and, by definition, o9~= 1. There- we need to simulate the parameters ~b, V/Vh and
fore, the steady state temperature distribution for Stm.
the various segments of the loop can be expressed The parameters ~b and V[ Vh are defined as
as V AL L
V dp A H - A H - H (16a)
Os,(S) = 0d + ~--~hS (heater) (10a)
V AL L
O,,(S) = 0hl (hot leg) (10b) Vh AL h Lh (16b)

fStm Using Eq. (12), Eq. (7) can be rewritten as

0,s(S) = 0hi exp~--~- (Sh, -- S)} (cooler) (10c)
dw ( p / 2 ) 3/(3-b) Lrc ~ ]
0s,(S) = 0d (cold leg) (10d) d---z-- { G ~ - b ) DLY 0 dZ -- o9(2-b)
Using these equations, the integral in Eq. (7) (17)
 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347
Hence, for simulating the transient behaviour
of the momentum equation, the parameter
(Grm)b/(3-b)(D/L) 3/(3-b) is to be simulated,
whereas simulation of the steady state behaviour
needs the simulation of the product Grin(D/L).
Therefore, simulation of the steady state, transient
and stability behaviours of natural circulation re-
quires the following equalities to be satisfied:
(Grm)p = (Grm)m
(:) p rn
(L)p ~ (L)m
(Stm) p = (Stm) m
Eq. (19) can be rewritten as
L____pp= Hp = (Lh)p _ Dp
- (21)
Lm Hm (Lh)m Dm
Eq. (21) states that, if Hp = Hm, then the tran-
sient and the stability behaviours can be simulated
only if Lp = Lm, (Lh)p = (/-~)m and Dp = Din. Ob-
viously, scaled test loops based on the power'to-
volume scaling cannot simulate the transient and
the stability behaviours, because the loop diame-
ters are different.
3. Experiments to test the scaling laws
3.1. Test loops
For testing the scaling laws proposed above,
experiments were carried out in three rectangular
loops. Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram which is
applicable for all three rectangular loops used for
the experiments. The loops differ only in the
diameter of the loop piping employed. For the
three loops constructed, the inside diameters of
the loop piping were 6 mm, 11 mm and 23.2 mm
respectively. If we consider the loop 23.2 mm in
diameter as the reference, then the volume scaling
ratio of the loops of diameter 11 mm and 6 mm
are 1:4.5 and 1:15 respectively.
335
Each loop consisted of horizontal heating and
cooling sections, connected by vertical pipes. An
expansion tank was provided at the topmost ele-
vation to allow the volumetric expansion of the
loop fluid. This expansion tank was open to the
atmosphere. The entire loop was made of borosil-
icate glass tubes. The heating and cooling sections
were of equal length. The cooler was of a tube-in-
tube type, with cooling water flowing in the an-
(18)
nulus formed with another glass tube. The heater
(19a)
was built by uniformly winding electrical heating
wire on the outside of the glass tube. The heater
and the loop piping were insulated except for the
(19b) cooler. The expansion tank also was not insu-
lated. The uninsulated cooler helped in the visual
observation of the flow.
(19c)
The loops were instrumented with thermocou-
pies 1 mm in diameter (mineral insulated type K)
(20)
to measure the temperature changes across the
heater, and across the primary and the secondary
sides of the cooler. The thermocouples were posi-
tioned to measure the temperatures at the pipe
centre. The locations of the thermocouples on the
primary side (indicated by the numbers 1-4 in
Fig. 1) are such that the distance between thermo-
couples 1 and 3 (also 2 and 4) is equal to one-half
of the total circulation length. The loop instru-
mentation also included a wattmeter to measure
the heater power and a rotameter to measure the
cooling water flow rate.
3.2. Experiments conducted
Single-phase natural circulation experiments
were carried out in these loops for a wide range of
heater powers (up to 2 kW) and cooling water
flow rates (1-5dm3min-l). The heater power
and the cooling water flow rate were maintained
at constant values during the entire duration of an
experiment. The tests were conducted with water
as the working fluid. To drive out the dissolved
air, the loop was initially run under natural circu-
lation conditions for about 4 h at a power greater
than that planned for the test to follow. During
this initial run, the loop was vented intermittently
to remove the released air. This procedure not
only removed the air released during the initial
run but also prevented further release of dissolved
336 P.K. Vijayan, 1-1. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347
air during the actual test runs, since the fluid
temperature during the test runs was actually
lower than that in the initial run.
3.3 Typical stability behaviour
The experiments have shown that a stable
steady state is obtained for the loops 6 mm and
11 mm in diameter for the entire single-phase
region. For the loop 23.2 mm in diameter, how-
ever, instability was observed for a certain range
of operating parameters in the single-phase re-
gion. This instability was visually observed by the
occurrence of flow reversal and also by measured
fluid temperature oscillations.
Fig. 2(a) shows the typically observed unstable
behaviour of the temperature rise across the
heater (ATh). The occurrence of the negative val-
ues in ATh is a clear indication of flow reversal.
Fig. 2(b) shows that the amplitude of the AT
oscillations on the secondary side is much smaller
than that on the primary side. This is attributed to
the larger flow rate of cooling water to the sec-
ondary side compared with the primary side natu-
ral circulation flow rate. Another interesting
feature about the AT oscillations is that the fre-
quency of the oscillations on the secondary side of
30.0
I LEGEND
Delto--T ocross
18.0
6.0
f,
oJ
P --6.0
--18.0
--30.0 p i i ~ i i
O. 0 12,0.0
Fig. 2(a).
the cooler is almost twice that on the primary
side. This is attributed to the flow reversal, which
causes the cooler to work alternately in the cocur-
rent and countercurrent modes.
Fig. 2(c) shows the oscillatory behaviour of the
measured fluid temperatures of thermocouples 2
and 4. It should be noticed that the fluid tempera-
ture oscillations of thermocouples 2 and 4 are out
of phase by 180°. Since the points 2 and 4 (i.e.
locations of thermocouples 2 and 4) divide the
loop exactly into two halves, the out-of-phase
oscillation of the temperatures is an indication of
the equality of the period of oscillation and the
loop circulation time. The frequency of flow re-
versal (1/period) is found to depend on the power.
The flow reversal frequency increases as the power
increases. At high powers (about 1000 W), how-
ever, unlike the regular oscillations shown in Fig.
2, irregular oscillations appear.
4. Testing the scaling laws
The main advantage of the present scaling laws
over those previously proposed by Heisler (1982)
and Ishii and Kataoka (1984) is that the number
of independent physical similarity groups is very
heater -- I
I
i i F ~ r
240.0 360.0 480.0 600.0
Time -- s
 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347 337

3.0
b 5 ~ E ~ ~
~.4

7.a
I
I

N_

0.6
i '
1
I

I
i
i I
0.0
! !
I I I

0.0 1~0.0 240.0 360.0 480.0 •00. 0

(b) Time - - s

7 0 . 0 --

P~ p~
62.0

/! /i
o
54.0
I : ~ i / !
I
ta~

N_
~ 46.0

38.0
i
i
Cooler outlet ternperoture I
!
30.0 - ~ ' - - - t - - ~ - r - - r - - ~ - -
0.0 120.0 ~40. 0 360.0 480.0 600.0
(c) Time -- s

Fig. 2. Typical unstable behaviour observed at 420 W (cooling water flow rate, 4.51 min-1 at inlet temperature of 31 °C).

small (in fact, only two, i.e. Grin and Stm); there- form. From this figure, it can be seen that the
fore, it is possible to use the existing experimental measured Reynolds number for the same value of
data to test these laws. Grin(D/L) is about the same, irrespective of the
diameter of the loops used, confirming the ade-
4.1. Steady state behaviour quacy of Grm(D/L) as the appropriate scaling
parameter for the steady state behaviour. It is also
The experimental data on the steady state flow observed that the data from all three loops fall on
rate are plotted in Fig. 3 in non-dimensional a straight line, as expected. The following equa-
338 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 0994) 331-347

I 0 ~

LEGENO I ]lnlll
I llllJ
iI iiiiiii
I IIIIN
lillUl
lilllll
lillll
liliiO
ExperTment -- 23.2mm loop z~ I lllllll I IIlilll I|IUll Illlll
Experiment -- 11 mm loop []
Experiment 6 m m loop 0 I[Jlllll IIIM liilll
10 4
E!!!!!!11
ootion I *, IIIIIII] I I lllllll
--' / I1!!!!!!
I Illllll
, ,, IIII1[ !l|lll
i i i[~ [ [ Eiit~l
I I ...... , i i IIIIIII] Ii',IIIII i l',l'r'J ', i i~lu rlltiJ
J IEI]IH I I i[llll] I IIlill ]I]IHJ J ~ r f r'l"FII I I rll]lJ
"11'ffl II]1 I IIIIlli
I I II]111 i !llliii
,i h, L~!I J i .............. J' irlNH
r l 'Ll',~l
I Illll!l
i i iiiiii
,,,i,,,, I 'I'll" 'l"llll' IIIlf ',l-., '
{ [ ] ! [IJlH J liil][I i C IIItlfl IlIH ~ ' - . e ~ l [ i [ l l l [ [ I]lllll i I illllll
1 I ii[i[ill ! Ii!:'~i! ] !1!11[![ l]ll~k~'~ I IIIr!ll I I IIIIIll [ I ll!lil [ I IIIIHI
J I i i,,, li i l ii~ ~, i libel:i, >,'~illJ l i!i!lll I ]~,ll,,i i! ]Jill[

I 0 "~
r !!ii~! !l!ll
i i:!i !ili
i i I,

: ii1:
10' ~ ~Hm i ~ ~ ~IH. I ~ = ~ihd I ~ ~ ~H.I I i i ilii,, I i i i=i~lit

0 3 I 0 6 10 ~" 10 ~ 1 0 t'
Or~ x D/L

Fig. 3. Steady state natural circulation data for different rectangular loops.

tion has been fitted to this straight line (Vijayan, circulation flow in these loops can be deduced:
1992a): 22.26
[ D ' ~ 0.43 f = Re0.6744 (23)
Re = 0.3548LGrm~ ) (22)
It may be noted that, if we plot Re vs. Grin,
Using Eqs. (14) and (15), the following empiri- instead of Grm(D[L), then we obtain three sepa-
cal correlation for the friction factor for natural rate straight lines almost parallel to each other, as

1 0 4
'1--1 ~ ; t'iil'i i I iililli I I i [Jl Ei]I
LEGEND Eli ' '"
ill
-m
-a
Experiment
Experiment
--
6
1 1
m m
m m
loop
loop E:~
o ' -
j
JJJ
~ J Crevelin~l et OI. O III
III
I, i ; il ,,!i

ii "
I 0 a = '~ UI Ilii
....
.~'11 ] fill
~" II] ....
I!i rill
I / ,,r

1 0 a I,,I

10 e 1 0 ~' I 0 '° Ott 10 'm I 0 ='a

(cr~)o

Fig. 4. Steady state natural circulation data f r o m various loops.

 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 0994) 331-347 339

I 0 "~
Illlll
--
I I l ll]IIl
LEOEND
I I I IIIL[I
iilili IllllI..¢
I I[tIJ~
IIII]
iliil
- -- BQu ond Torronco I
_ Haware ot al. 0 iili]
Vijayan et aI. (1991)
-- J e u c k et oi, ~'
Zvirim et al. E3
-- Huan~ and Zelo~'o 0

I 0 "~
I I

~i~'~" I
iliil
L I li!] .o~1 I I1~" i~'
~,,,dk4~J~I I BRUit
~,LcJ41 Ill llllli ilili
~" I,d,~q I I =~"el Illl iliil
"..;~I I [IJ/'.4 Y° IIIIII
i Illli ..
/d. °

1 0 ~*

1 0 ~ 1 0 ~ I 0 ~° /0 ~ 1 0 ~ I O tm

(Gr~)©

Fig. 5. Steady state natural circulation data from various loops.

shown in Fig. 4. The reported data of Alstad et al. Some of the loops considered are quite complex
(1956), Ardron et al. (1983), Bau and Torrance in geometry, having different diameters at differ-
(1981), Brand et al. (1988), Creveling et al. ent sections of the loop. For such loops, the
(1975), Haware et al. (1983), Holman and Boggs Reynolds number and the modified Grashof num-
(1960), Huang and Zelaya (1988), Jeuck et al. ber are based on the cooler dimensions, and are
(1981), Loomis and Soda (1982), Vijayan et al. represented as (Re¢) and (Grin) c respectively. The
(1991) and Zvirin et al. (1981b) can be correlated parameter H, used in the calculation of the
in a similar way as shown in Figs. 4-6. modified Grashof number, is taken as the differ-

i Illll[ IIFIII
illill t tllll
!!!!! ! i i1iiII lllIll
llllll Itttt~

i L IIII- i p lull

.... I ll~l~ I IIIII

kIiiI °
I 0 ~
I I IIII
i iiii[
IIIIII ~
~ 6 I,Q. I I
,~ 4,[ i i ~,I ~ " i ! ~lffl
!!!!! iliiH
''''" I I IU,4,,'v i llii
ttttlt ~, .......
......... l]lili
. . . . . . . . . . .
i ii]j.L.1 .....
k I I I I

1
Y'G~'ND
dstod et al.
~D-- 1 2 data zx
;EMISCA/E det~ o
> K L Ill d c l t o
4olman ~: BO~C~S o

t0"~ 'I ' ' ';i~t

I 0 ~ I 0 ''~ f 0 ~ I 0 ~ I 0 ~ 10'o
(o~)o

Fig. 6. Steady state natural circulation data from various loops.

340 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347
ence between the centre-line elevations of the
cooler and the heater. For the low pressure test
loops, the calculated (Grm)~ value was found to
be 5-10 orders of magnitude less than that of the
high pressure test loops. Therefore, the low
Grashof number data are plotted in Figs. 4 and 5,
while the high Grashof number data are plotted in
Fig. 6.
From Figs. 4-6, it can be observed that the
data from all loops fall on nearly parallel straight
lines. This suggests that an equation of the flow
rate, of the form of Eq. (12), is generally applica-
ble for all these loops, and they have the same
exponent. The value of the exponent is somewhat
different for the different range of (Grm) ~ values,
i.e.
3 - b = 2.365 for 2 x 108 <(Grm)~< 1013 (24a)
3 - b = 2.75 for 1013 < (Grin) ~ < 1018 (24b)
It should be mentioned here that one could also
draw conclusions similar to those expressed by
Eqs. (24a) and (24b) if the Re and Grin values
were based on the dimensions of any other pipe
section in the loop. Although this changes the
values of Re and Grin to some extent, its effect is
not very significant to the specified range of Grm
in Eqs. (24a) and (24b) for the loops considered
in Figs. 4-6.
For laminar flow, b = 1, so that 3 - b = 2; for
turbulent flow, b = 0.25, leading to a value of 2.75
for 3 - b. Since the observed value of 3 - b is
equal to 2.75 for (Grm)c > 1013, this range of
Grashof number can be considered to be in the
turbulent regime. For the transition range be-
tween laminar and turbulent flow, the value of
3 - b will be between 2 and 2.75. Obviously, the
range of Grashof number shown in Eq. (24a) falls
in the transition range. For a case where the
friction factor is completely independent of the
flow rate (b = 0), one could obtain a value of 3 for
3 - b. Such a situation can be expected in high
flow loops, where the friction factor is completely
independent of the Reynolds number. However,
this does not occur even in the large-scale test
facilities simulating the nuclear power plants, as
can be seen from Fig. 6.
The values of 3 - b expressed by Eq (24) seem
to be universally valid for all the natural circula-
tion loops considered. It should be noted that
Lapin (1969) and Huang and Zelaya (1988) used
a value of 2 for 3 - b to correlate their experimen-
tal data. Creveling et al. (1975), Bau and Tor-
rance (1981) and Vijayan et al. (1991) correlated
their data with 3 - b values of 2.56, 2.43 and 2.34
respectively. Even the data from the rotating
closed loop of Davis and Morris (1966) (whose
data are not considered here, owing to differences
in the force field; centrifugal force field instead of
gravitational force field) indirectly implies a value
of 2.45 for 3 - b ( 2 x 1 0 8 < ( G r i n ) c < 2 x 101°).
Moreover, Holman and Boggs (1960) correlated
their turbulent natural circulation data with
3 - b = 2.75, thus providing further evidence for
the universal validity of the exponent 3 - b.
All the data from loops having uniform pipe
diameter (altogether, seven experimental loops)
are plotted in the form of Re vs. G r m ( D / L ) in Fig.
7. It can be observed that the data from all these
loops are quite close to each other. It should be
noted that the experimental loop of Huang and
Zelaya (1988) contained a valve which was throt-
tled during the experiment. The presence of the
valve increases the form losses tremendously,
affecting the L I D ratio. For example, the equiva-
lent circulation length L~ calculated by Huang
and Zelaya (1988) for three different valve open-
ings designated as low friction, medium friction
and high friction were 12.1 m, 24.6m and 37m,
respectively, whereas the physical circulation
length of the loop is only 4.5 m. However, even
these data are seen to be close to the data from
other loops, emphasizing the fact that the differ-
ences in the form loss coefficient can be accounted
for by a proper evaluation of Leq.
From Fig. 7, it can be observed that Eq. (22)
can be used to calculate the natural circulation
flow rate up to a G r m ( D / L ) value of 1011 without
serious error, for all loops except that of Huang
and Zelaya (1988). For this loop, Huang and
Zelaya (1988) reported an uncertainty of + 10%
in the calculation of L ~ , which is believed to be
the cause of the above deviation. For Grin(D/L)
> 1011, it is suggested to use the Holman-Boggs
equation for the prediction of the flow rate. The
 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347 341

# 0 ~
L_=~E:ND ......
C .... ling ot ol. (I-/D=79.6) O ~ IIIIIIII
Bau
Huong 8¢ T& .......
Zelaya (L/D=135.6)
(L/D=160.7) o& E IIIIitll II'",IH',I
IIIIII
[LI~II
"llllll
VUayan et al. (1_/D=279.3) o ~ IIIIIIII IIIllJ,ll-~ ]1[111
105 ~
•,,,,o>,o..-, ,,,< o,.
Holmen &: Boggs
<.,_,.o=..,o,,,o)
(I,._/D:508.4)
:V . ,
. ll',lll
llHII
Equot;on (22) .'. I 'rIIII
Holman--Bo~l~lS e n, Itllll
l i IIIIll 1 I llllil I I I I~1111 I I IIIIII IIIII I I.r'd[ll I IIIIIII II Illlll I[1111
IIIIII1[ llllllll IIIIIIII 11111111 Iltllli,l.._,~lll',i, lll IIIIIIII llllllll [IHII
~_ 10" III]N ........ , . . . . . . . . !!!!!!H, 1117! ,,,!!!!!L
ilNN IIIIII I[NTI
" !111111 I liNIII I I]NIII [[INI
lllr III IllIl,I illl,ll i lH, illliHi HHI
......
,o. '~_~_.~-~ ~ . iiiHiii 'i~iHiii liiiiiJi ............ :::;:; ' "''"'
I I ', ',I ',,I=,,:"A:"# N" ] ' I lll',l', ', I I ',I',',I ....... ,,,,,,, I IIIIIII I IIIIIII iiiill
_ .r.,,.... IIII1 t,,,,,, ,,,,,, ,,,,,, ,,,,,,
~'11111111 iiIll iiiiiiil Illlllll iiiiiiii IIIIli
,o. <'11111111 IIIlilll IIIII IIIIIIII Iil11111 IIIItllt IlJlll
10 e 1 0 ~" 10 a 10 a 1 0 ~o 10 ~ 10 la 10 ~ 10 ~''~ 10 ~a
G; r m x D/L

Fig. 7. Steady state natural circulation data for uniform diameter loops.

original Holman-Boggs equation is given by tained using Eqs. (14) and (15):
Nu Gr 0.391
- - = 0.00494Re 2"75 (25)
Pr f- Re0.25 (28)
where
In general, for natural circulation flow, sec-
kD ondary circulation driven by temperature varia-
Nu = - -
k tions within each cross-section is present,
especially in the heated and cooled sections. The
Gr = D3p2~g(Tb - Tw)
effect of this secondary circulation is to enhance
the friction factor for natural circulation. For
and Tb and Tw are the average fluid and the wall example, the friction factor calculated using Eq.
temperatures respectively. (23) is about 70% greater than that predicted by
Noting that h(Tb - Tw) = q, it is easy to show the laminar forced convection equation. A similar
that comparison for turbulent flow using Eq. (28)
D NuGr4/~AZ shows an overprediction of only about 20%, indi-
GrmL - Pr DL (26) cating that the effect of secondary circulation is
more significant for the laminar case.
where AZ is the centre-line elevation difference The basic problem in correlating the data from
between the cooler and the heater. complex geometry loops in a similar way to that
Noting that the value of the multiplier of in Fig. 7 lies in the choice of appropriate values
Nu Gr/Pr in Eq. (26) is 39.76 for their loop, Eq. for the parameters H, A, D and L to be used in he
(25) can be rearranged as calculation of Re and Grm(D/L). The centre-line
[ D \ '12.75 elevation difference between the cooler and the
R e = 1.81tGrmz ) (27) heater seems to be the appropriate value for the
parameter H. For A, D and L, equivalent quanti-
From this equation (also plotted in Fig. 7), the ties can be defined for non-uniform diameter
following friction factor correlation can be ob- loops. For example, the total loop volume divided
342 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347

by the circulation length can be used as the equiv- Grin ~b {1 - exp( - n/q~)}
alent flow area of the loop, and a hydraulic Y(n) = n Ress3 n
diameter for the loop also can be defined as four
times the loop volume divided by the wetted x exp( -- nSx/C~) + p ~) fR-~b
surface. These definitions also can be extended to
parallel loop systems, as suggested by Vijayan et (30)
al. (1991). and
Following the suggestion made by Huang and
Zelaya (1988), the circulation length L can be Oh - 0~ V
- - - - - {exp( -- nShlc~) - 1}
replaced by the equivalent length L~q, which takes (0 nV h
care of the form loss coefficients. With this defini- B+C
tion, it is possible to evaluate the Leq value, + (exp{ - n ( S c - S t - S h ) / ~ } -- 1)
provided the form loss coefficients are known.
However, it is not an easy task to calculate Leq, (31)
because complete details of the loop geometry are The parameters B, C and D in the above equa-
often not readily available. Nevertheless, fact that tions are given by
the data from all uniform diameter loops can be
represented by using the product Grin(D/L) as the V
B=~ exp( - nSc/49) {1 - exp(nSh/~b) }
independent parameter suggests that, even for
complex geometry loops, it seems to be the appro-
priate independent parameter for scaling the C - 0hlStm [1 -- exp{n(Shl -- S¢)/q~}]
n
steady state performance.
O = exp{ -- Stm(Sh, - Sc)/q~ } - exp( - n S t / ~ )

4.2. Stability behaviour where St is the dimensionless circulation length,

As already stated, for simulating the transient
a n d s t a b i l i t y behaviour of natural circulation
loops, the parameter (Grm)b/(3-b)(D[L) 3/(3-b)
should be simulated. This also can be established
for the stability behaviour by carrying out a linear
stability analysis. In this method, the loop flow
rate and temperature are perturbed as
= O~ss + ~t;e m
0 = 0ss + gee "~ (29)
where ~ is a small quantity, 6~ and ff are the
amplitudes of the flow and temperature distur-
bances, respectively, and n is the growth rate of
the perturbations.
Substituting Eq. (29) in Eqs. (7) and (8), and
using the continuity of temperature perturbation
in various segments as the boundary condition,
the characteristic equation for the stability
parameter can be derived, following the procedure
given by Vijayan and Date (1992b). Thus, the
characteristic equation can be represented as
Y(n) = 0, where
and the dimensionless distance Sx is shown in Fig.
1.
In general, n can be taken to be a complex
variable, such that Y(n) = Yr +iYi, where Yr and
Y~ are the real and imaginary parts of Y(n). The
stability of the system is determined by investigat-
ing the roots of Y(n) in accordance with the
Nyquist stability criterion. Eq. (30) can be written
as
Grm P ~-
n Res~-b)~k(n, Stm) +-~ ( 2 - b ) = 0 (32)
where ~0 is a function of n, Stm and the non-di-
mensional lengths. Since the non-dimensional
length is the same for all the loops represented in
Fig. 1, it is omitted in the above equation. Using
Eq. (12), Eq. (32) can be rewritten as
(p/2) 3/(3 -- b)
n ( G r i n ) b / ( 3 _b)(D/L)3/(3_b )
× {~k(n, Stm) + 2 - b)} = 0 (33)
It should be noted that the stability behaviour
is now a function of only the parameters
 P.K. V{iayan,H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineeringand Design 152 (1994) 331-347 343

2.5.0

LEGEND
Prediction -- 25.2 mm loop
i
Prediction -- 11 m m loop []
Prediction -- 6 mm loop 0
Stable data -- 2.3,2 mm loop A
o Umstable data -- 23.2 m m loop
18.7"5 stable data -- 11 mm loop II
stable data -- 6 rnm loop <>
%o
oi,P :
x 12.5

a E
. . . . i _

!
6.~5

0.0

0.5 .5.375 10.2.5 15. 125 20.0

St~

Fig. 8. Stabilitymaps for the rectangular loops (unstable within the region enclosed by the points).

(Grm)b/(3-b)(D/L) 3/(3-b) and St= for the three
rectangular loops considered here. Furthermore,
these are the same as that obtained for the tran-
sient behaviour, as shown in Eqs. (17) and (8).
To check the validity of this proposition,
the stability maps were generated using
(Grin) b/(3 b)(D/L) 3/(3 b) and St= as independent
- -
parameters for the three rectangular loops. For
this calculation, the experimental values of p and
b obtained from Eq. (23) were used. If we use
these values, then the exponents of Grin and D/L
becomes 0.29 and 1.29 respectively. Therefore, the
stability maps are plotted as (Grm)°29(D/L)1.29 vs.
St,, in Fig. 8. It can be observed that the stability
maps for all three loops can be represented by a
single curve, confirming the validity of our propo-
sition expressed by Eq. (33).
The experimental data are also plotted in Fig.
8. It can be seen from Fig. 8 that all the data
obtained from the loops of diameter 6 mm (L/
D) = 1080) and 11 mm (L/D = 589) fall in the
stable region, while some data from the loop of
diameter 23.2 mm (LID = 279.3) fall in the un-
stable region. The linear stability analysis cor-
rectly predicts these unstable points. However, it
should be noted that some of the stable points
(experimental) also fall in the predicted unstable
region. Experiments were repeated to check this,
and it was observed that these points can be stable
or unstable, depending on the path followed in
the experiment (conditional stability). For exam-
ple, a stable steady state can be achieved if the
power is increased in small steps from a stable
steady state operating point at a lower power.
However, if the power is reduced from an un-
stable operating point at a higher power, then the
oscillatory behaviour is found to be sustained.
The heat exchanger which removes more heat
during countercurrent flow than during cocurrent
flow is believed to be the reason for this be-
haviour. The existence of a conditionally stable
regime was theoretically and experimentally estab-
lished by Vijayan and Date (1992b) for a figure-
of-eight loop with throughflow.
4.3. Effect of loop diameter on the stability
behaviour
For loops with the same length, the diameter
affects the L/D ratio. Hence, stability maps have
been generated using LID as one of the indepen-
dent parameters, as shown in Fig. 9. It can be
observed that the unstable region shifts upwards
with an increase in LID. Even for two-phase
conditions, D'Auria et al. (1991) reported differ-
ences in the calculated oscillatory behaviour with
344 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 3 3 1 - 3 4 7

10 I9

10 ~a

10 ~"

1 0 ~e

1 0 f6

10 ~4'

I 0 ~a

1 0 ~'~

10 ~

10 to •~" "a = o I- ° ° E @

10 a / PredictTon -- 23.2 mm loop --

/ / Predictlon -- 11 mm loop
10a // Prediction -- 6 mm loop
' stable data -- 23.2 mm loop v
- Unstable data -- 2.3.2 mm loop
1 0 ~" "I stable data -- 11 mm 10013
stable data -- 6 mm loop
10 B I I I I [ I I I I I I I I [ r I F ~ I i i ~ i
0.5 4.4 8.3 12.2 16. 1 20.0
St~

Fig. 9. Effect of L / D on the stability of the rectangular natural circulation loops (unstable within the region enclosed by the
curves). • • • •, L I D = 1080; -- -, L / D = 589; , L / D = 279.3.

L/D. The effect of L/D on the stability behaviour where Re,, will be automatically simulated by
is of some practical importance in nuclear reactor simulating the product Grm(D/L) and, if the same
loops where stable operation is desired. Unstable fluid is used in the model as well as in the proto-
operation can lead to several undesirable opera- type, then the Prandtl number also will be simu-
tional problems, such as flow, power and reactivity lated. In this case, simulation of the modified
excursions, which in turn can lead to boiling crises Stanton number reduces to the simulation of the
and problems in reactor control. To stabilize the modified Nusselt number.
unstable natural circulation, flow stabilizers are The overall heat transfer coefficient in the defin-
introduced at selected sites in the loop. These flow ition of Nu~ (see Eq. 9(d)) can be expressed as
stabilizers, also known as 'gags' (Bailey, 1977) are
1 1 D Do 1 D (34)
simply flow restrictions, usually in the form of an Ui = h~ + ~ w ln-D -4 hoDo
orifice or a value which essentially acts by increas-
ing the LID (actually the form loss coefficient, Knowing that h =Nu(k/D), Num can be ex-
which can be expressed as a multiple of L/D) value pressed as
of the loop, so that stable operation is achieved.
Stability maps similar to that in Fig. 9 are helpful Num =
{ 1/Nui +
-°
k/(2kw) ln(Do/D) + k/(Nuoko)
}
for the design of the flow stabilizers.
(35)
By analyzing the steady state data, it was
found that, for a specified value of the parameter Since the wall resistance is usually a negligible
Grin(D/L), the Re~ value is the same, irrespective fraction of the total resistance, this means that
of the loop diameter. Despite this, the experimental Nui, LID and Nuo must be simulated to simulate
values of Stm for these loops are significantly Num. By satisfying Eqs. (18) and (19), and by
different, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. By definition, using the same fluid in the model as in the proto-
we have type, the Reynolds number and the Prandtl num-
ber are simulated on the primary side, thus
4Num leading to the simulation of N u i. If we also use
St~---
Ress Pr the same fluid on the secondary side of the model
 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo [ Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347 345

as in the prototype, then the simulation of NUm
reduces to the simulation of Nuo only. Therefore,
for this case, it is sufficient to simulate the follow-
ing equation in addition to Eqs. (18) and (19):
(Nuo)p = (NUo)m (36)
If Lp = Lm and kp = km, then Eq. (9d) means
that simulation of NUm implies that (U0p = (Ui)m.
The overall heat transfer coefficient also can be
expressed as
For a case where the model and the prototype
use the same fluid in the primary and secondary
sides of the heat exchanger, simulation of Stm
reduces to the simulation of the Nusselt number
on the secondary side (i.e. Nuo).
(2) If only the steady state behaviour is to be
simulated, then it is only necessary to simulate the
product Grin(D/L).
(3) The power-to-volume scaling principles
used to simulate nuclear reactor loops can simu-

Ui= 1
1 1
} late correctly the steady state behaviour. The tran-
sient and the stability behaviours are significantly
affected by the loop diameter and Stm. Hence,
Nuik/-----D+ D/(2kw)ln(Do/D) + Nuo~:o/D scaled test facilities constructed based on the
power-to-volume scaling principles do not neces-
(37) sarily reproduce the stability behaviour expected
Since kiD can be substantially large for loops in prototype plants.
of smaller diameters (for example, this ratio is 28, (4) The effect of the loop diameter on the
60 and 110 W m - 2 K -1 at 70°C for the loops of stability behaviour is twofold. It can stabilize the
diameter 23.2 mm, 11 mm and 6 mm, respectively, natural circulation flow directly, as a result of the
as considered for the present investigation), the increased LID value, and indirectly, as a result of
heat transfer coefficient can be substantially large its effect in enhancing the modified Stanton number.
for the smaller diameter loops, making simulation
of the overall heat transfer coefficient (and, hence,
Stm) impossible in such loops. The higher overall Appendix A: Nomenclature
heat transfer coefficient helps to diffuse the insta-
bility, causing disturbances sufficiently fast, lead- A cross-section area
ing to stable behaviour in the small diameter Cp specific heat
loops. D inside diameter
It follows that the effect of the loop diameter on g acceleration due to gravity
the stability behaviour is twofold. It can stabilize h heat transfer coefficient
the natural circulation flow directly, as a result of H loop height
the increased LID value, and indirectly, as a result k thermal conductivity
of its effect in enhancing the modified Stanton L total circulation length
number. q heat flux
Q heater power
s dimensional co-ordinate around the loop
5. Conclusions t time
T temperature
(1) The steady state, transient and the stability U overall heat transfer coefficient
behaviours of natural circulation loops can be V total volume
simulated by satisfying the following equalities: W mass flow rate
z dimensional elevation
(Gl"m)p = (Grm)m
L__pv= O___p_=p Hp _ (Lh)p Greek letters
Lm Dm Hm (Lh)m
fl thermal expansion coefficient
(Stm)p = (Stm)m p dynamic viscosity
346 P.K. Vijayan, H. Austregesilo / Nuclear Engineering and Design 152 (1994) 331-347

A difference
p density
Subscripts
0 reference
c cooler
cl cold leg
h heater
hi hot leg
i inside
m model
o outside
p prototype
s secondary
ss steady state
w wall
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