Experimental Investigation on Critical Heat Flux in Bilaterally Heated Annulus with equal heat flux on both sides

A phenomenological study on CHF in a bilaterally heated annulus with equal heat flux on both sides was experimentally performed. The working fluid of the present test was R-134a. Variation characteristics of CHF and transition of CHF occurrence location were investigated under different pressure, mass flux and quality conditions. With the increase of critical thermodynamic quality, it was found that CHF first occurred on the outer surface of the annulus, then simultaneously occurred on both sides, and finally occurred on the inner surface at relatively high critical quality. After the CHF location transitioned to the inner rod, the sharp fall of CHF in the limiting critical quality region was observed. The critical quality corresponding to the CHF location transition decreased with the increase of mass flux and pressure. Besides, CHF in tube, internally heated, externally heated and bilaterally heated annuli were compared under the same hydraulic diameter conditions. The present study is conducive to improving the understanding of complicated CHF mechanism in bilaterally heated annulus, enriching the experimental database, and providing evidence for developing accurate CHF mechanism model for annuli.