Analytical and Computational Analysis of Flow Splitting in Multiple, Parallel Channels Systems

Previous analytical results on flow splitting are generalized to consider multiple boiling channels systems. The analysis is consistent with the approximations usually adopted in the use of systems codes (like RELAP5 and TRACE5, among others) commonly applied to perform safety analyses of nuclear power plants. The problem is related to multiple, identical, parallel boiling channels, connected through common plena. A theoretical model limited in scope explains this flow splitting without reversal. The unified analysis performed and the confirmatory computational results found are summarized in this paper. New maps showing the zones where this behavior is predicted are also shown considering again twin pipes. Multiple pipe systems have been found not easily amenable for analytical analysis when dealing with more than four parallel pipes. However, the particular splitting found (flow along N pipes dividing in one standalone pipe flow plus N -1 identical pipe flows) has been verified up to fourteen pipes, involving calculations in systems with even and odd number of pipes using the RELAP5 systems thermal-hydraulics code.