Analysis of SONACO axial cooling experiments

Abstract The SONACO test rig contained a sodium-cooled, electrically heated 37-pin bundle. On this rig, a series of forced, mixed and natural convection experiments have been performed with the aim of contributing to the understanding of Thermal-hydraulic phenomena and providing data for code validation for a subassembly at decay heat power level with low flow or stagnant coolant. The test section and especially the heater pins were equipped with an extensive number of chromel-alumel thermocouples. In addition, special permanent-magnet probes were used for measuring local velocities. In this paper we give a survey of results from axial cooling experiments, where heat was removed by natural convection to a cooling coil situated in the coolant channel (plenum) above the bundle. The experimental conditions led to turbulent convection with a slowly varying, large scale flow pattern. It is shown that a power tilt in the bundle reduces these fluctuations but does not eliminate them. For the uniformly heated bundle, aglebraic expressions for the average turbulent heat flux as well as for temperature and velocity fluctuations are derived from a second-moments model and compared with experimental data. Furthermore, heat transfer in the plenum and the consequences of the SONACO experiments for the coolability of reactor fuel elements under loss-of-flow conditions are discussed.