{"id":20880,"date":"2019-01-21T17:32:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-21T17:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/?page_id=20880"},"modified":"2023-02-18T08:53:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-18T08:53:02","slug":"dnb-departure-from-nucleate-boiling","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/nuclear-engineering\/heat-transfer\/boiling-and-condensation\/dnb-departure-from-nucleate-boiling\/","title":{"rendered":"DNB – Departure from Nucleate Boiling"},"content":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0nucleate boiling heat flux<\/strong> cannot be increased indefinitely. At some value, we call it the \u201ccritical heat flux<\/strong>\u201d, the steam produced can form an insulating layer over the surface, which in turn deteriorates the heat transfer coefficient. Dynamic changes of boiling regime associated with exceeding the critical heat flux are widely known as \u201cboiling crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n The\u00a0boiling crisis<\/strong>\u00a0can be classified as:<\/p>\n But the\u00a0critical heat flux<\/strong>\u00a0is used for both regimes.<\/p>\n <\/a>In the case of PWRs<\/a>, the critical safety issue is named DNB<\/strong> (departure from nucleate boiling<\/strong>), which causes the formation of a local vapor layer<\/strong>, causing a dramatic reduction in heat transfer capability. This phenomenon occurs in the subcooled or low-quality region. The behavior of the boiling crisis depends on many flow conditions (pressure, temperature, flow rate). Still, the boiling crisis occurs at relatively high heat fluxes and appears to be associated with the cloud of bubbles adjacent to the surface. These bubbles or films of vapor reduce the amount of incoming water. Since this phenomenon deteriorates the heat transfer coefficient and the heat flux remains, heat accumulates <\/strong>in the fuel rod, causing a dramatic rise<\/strong> in cladding and fuel temperature<\/strong>. Simply, a very high-temperature difference is required to transfer the critical heat flux produced from the fuel rod\u2019s surface to the reactor coolant (through the vapor layer).<\/p>\n In the case of PWRs, the critical flow is inverted annular flow<\/strong>, while in BWRs, the critical flow is usually annular flow. The difference in flow regime between post-dry-out flow and post-DNB flow is depicted in the figure. In PWRs<\/strong> at normal operation,<\/strong> the flow is considered to be single-phase. But a great deal of study has been performed on the nature of two-phase flow<\/strong> in case of transients and accidents<\/strong> (such as the loss-of-coolant accident \u2013 LOCA or trip of RCPs<\/strong>), which are of importance in reactor safety and in must be proved and declared in the Safety Analysis Report<\/strong> (SAR).<\/p>\n One of the key safety requirements of pressurized water reactors is that a departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) will not occur during steady-state operation, normal operational transients, and anticipated operational occurrences (AOOs). Fuel cladding integrity will be maintained if the minimum DNBR remains above the 95\/95 DNBR limit for PWRs ( a 95% probability at a 95% confidence level). DNB criterion is one of the acceptance criteria in safety analyses as well as it constitutes one of the safety limits in technical specifications.<\/p>\n An important duty of the plant operator is to control plant parameters such that a safe margin to DNB<\/strong> (or distance from DNB on the heat transfer curve) is maintained. Any sudden, large change in the following plant parameters\/directions will decrease the margin to DNB:<\/p>\n Therefore, the function of the operators and the plant design is to prevent a sudden, large change in these plant parameters.<\/p>\n\n
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