Numerical simulation of ultrasonic velocity in wet steam

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and design 2023-12, Vol.414, p.112578, Article 112578
• Main Authors: Zhu, Jiahong, Lin, Yuansheng, Cheng, Hui, Tan, Sichao, Li, Xiaochang, Wen, Jiming, Tian, Ruifeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Droplet size; Steam turbine; Steam wetness; Ultrasonic
• ISSN: 0029-5493; 1872-759X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112578

•The experimental results are compared with the theoretical numerical calculation of ultrasonic propagation characteristics, a more comprehensive ultrasonic theoretical model suitable for high velocity processing is obtained.•The particle size distribution of droplets produced by atomizer under different humidity conditions was measured experimentally.•This paper points out the limitation of steam wetmess measurement technology using ultrasonic sound velocity method. It is proved that the ultrasonic velocity method combined with U-A coupling phase can improve the feasibility of steam wetness measurement technology. Wet steam widely exists in thermal power plants, nuclear power plants and other power engineering. The accurate measurement of steam wetness is very important for the safety and economy of power engineering. Ultrasonic method is feasible to measure the concentration of two-phase flow in particle system. In order to obtain a theoretical model of ultrasonic velocity which can be applied to high flow velocity conditions (Reynolds number > 4000), the numerical results of several ultrasonic propagation characteristics theoretical models are compared with the experimental results. The calculated results of U-A coupled phase model show good agreement with the experimental results (the max error is 3.8%), and the model is more suitable for the numerical calculation of ultrasonic sound velocity in droplet two- phase flow with high flow velocity. The ultrasonic sound velocity of steam system in nuclear power plant is calculated numerically. When the droplet size is less than 8 μm, the sound velocity is sensitive to the variation of the droplet size, and when the droplet size is larger than 8 μm, the sound velocity is almost unaffected (velocity variation