Experimental measurement of frictional law under CCFL in porous debris

Counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) is the dominant phenomena for dryout in porous debris, which would be formed during a severe accident of a nuclear power plant. Since flow at CCFL in porous debris is far away from normal two-phase flow in a pipe, it is not clear whether the interfacial friction laws in a pipe can be applied to the CCFL in porous debris. In the present experimental research, the void fraction in porous debris is measured simultaneously with the differential pressure and flow rates for gas and liquid. The combination of these simultaneously measured data makes it possible to estimate the shear stresses and friction factors in a porous debris at CCFL. It results that the wall friction factor estimated is larger than the Ergun equation proposed for single-phase flow in a porous bed. Furthermore, the interfacial friction factor estimated is well correlated by the theoretical correlation derived here from a force balance for a hypothetical flow channel in porous debris at CCFL.