Safety relief valve performance for two-phase flow.

The performance of main steam safety relief valve has been evaluated with respect only to the steam. In the present study, two-phase flow and subcooled water blow-out tests with model valves were performed in order to evaluate the valve's characteristics and performance. From the test results, it was made clear that not only for the steam but also for the two-phase flow the measurement data were hardly affected by scaling and also that the reaction force of the fluid to the valve stem was hardly dependent upon the void fraction. Analytical study was performed using the two-phase flow model in the valve. The results of the analysis showed good agreement with the test data. It was shown from the test and analysis results that the reaction force of the two-phase flow and subcooled water to the valve stem was almost as much as that of the steam flow, and the integrity of the safety relief valve could be maintained.