Interfacial Area Transport Model for Bubbly Flow System in Vertical Rod Bundle With Spacer Grids

Abstract In relation to the modeling of the one-dimensional interfacial area transport equation for an adiabatic bubbly flow in a vertical rod bundle, some existing models of sink and source terms were reviewed and evaluated. Based on the reviewed interaction mechanisms of bubbles and turbulent eddies, a new interfacial area transport model has been proposed. Two important impacts on bubble interaction have been taken into account in the new model: the effects of spacer grids with mixing vanes and the impacts of geometry structure. The spacer grids breakup large bubbles into small bubbles resulting in enhanced bubble random collision at the downstream of the spacer grids. Void transport is the main contribution between spacer grids. The new interfacial area transport model has been evaluated against the obtained experimental data in 17 bubbly flow conditions. The results indicate that the new model can predict the interfacial area concentration with the relative error of 19.9%. It is recognized that the proposed model is promising for predicting the interfacial area concentration for a bubbly flow in a rod bundle.