Experimental study on the characteristics of annular fluid film in a locally deformed narrow rectangular channel

The local deformation of plate fuel assembly due to neutron irradiation will lead to the deterioration of heat transfer in the flow channel. Studying the characteristics of annular flow films in narrow rectangular channels under localized deformation provides a foundation for understanding the heat and mass transfer and the hydrodynamic characteristics of the locally deformed narrow flow channel. In this study, the annular flow liquid film characterization experiments were conducted in a narrow rectangular channel under three conditions: no local deformation, ellipsoidal deformation, and pillow-shaped deformation. Various parameters of the annular flow liquid films, including liquid film thickness, disturbance wave height, and disturbance wave wavelength, were obtained using a high-speed camera acquisition system and advanced image processing techniques. The effects of flow conditions and local deformation on the liquid film parameters of each annular flow were analyzed. As the radial size of the local deformation increases relative to the liquid film thickness, the viscous bottom layer of the liquid film disintegrates, resulting in a reduction of the total liquid film thickness. When the gas-phase velocity is low, the local deformation exerts a greater shear force on the disturbance wave, prolonging the action time and increasing the likelihood of wave disintegration. Under conditions of no channel deformation, the disturbance wave wavelength is negatively correlated with the gas-phase velocity; conversely, under localized channel deformation, the wavelength is positively correlated with the gas-phase velocity. Thus, the effect of localized deformation on wavelength is bidirectional. Local deformation impact factor functions for liquid film thickness, disturbance wave height, and disturbance wave wavelength have been derived, with the error of these impact factor functions maintained within ±30 %.