Hybrid Two-phase Flow Measurements in a Narrow Channel Using Neutron Radiography and Liquid Film Sensor

Abstract

Gas-liquid two-phase flow in a narrow gap has been studied to develop a solid target cooling system for an accelerator driven system. Flow measurements are important to understand two-phase flow dynamics also in such a narrow channel. Although contact methods can measure detailed structure of two-phase flow, the intrusive effect on the flow becomes relatively larger in such a small channel. Therefore, non-intrusive measurement would be desirable. Neutron radiography (NRG) is one of the powerful tools for gas-liquid two-phase flow measurement and void fraction distribution can be estimated from the acquired images. However, the temporal resolution of NRG is about 100∼1, 000 Hz depending on the neutron flux and it should be increased to investigate flow dynamics. So the authors focused on a hybrid measurement of the NRG and a conductance liquid film sensor (LFS). The combination of these methods can complement the spatial and temporal information of the flow. In this study, the hybrid measurements were performed by NRG and LFS to visualize the detailed structure of narrow two-phase flow.