Experimental Study of the Diversion Crossflow Caused by Subchannel Blockages. Part I: Experimental Procedures and Mass Flow Rates in the Channels

Abstract

In this research, the hydrodynamic behavior of two laterally interconnected channels with blockages in one of them has been studied experimentally. For blockages of different shapes and severities, the mass flow rates as well as the pressures in the channels upstream and downstream of the blockage were determined. The experiments were conducted on a test sections which consists of two-square channels separated by an intermediate plate with slots of different geometric parameters. Two types of blockages have been considered: plate and smooth. The shape of the smooth blockage was a cosine. In the region upstream of the blockage, the diversion cross-flow takes place over a relatively short distance. Downstream of the blockage, the recovery of the diverted flow by the blocked channel is a slow process and the rate of this recovery worsens with increasing blockage severity. For a given blockage rate, the diversion crossflow caused by a smooth blockage is smaller than that of a plate blockage.