SILFIDEexperiment:CoolabilityinavolumetricallyheateddebrisbedOriginalResearchArticle

TheSILFIDEfacilitywasdesignedatEDFR&Dtostudythecoolabilityofadebrisbedinmultidimensionalconfigurations.Thechoiceofinductionheatingmodewasmotivatedbythenecessityfortheheattobegeneratedprimarilywithinthesolidparticlesinsteadofusingexternalheaters.Particlesweresimulatedbysteelbeadswithdiametersrangingfrom2to7mm.CoolabilityissignificantlybetterintermsofCHFvaluesincomparisonwiththeLipinski1Dformulationappliedtotheconditions(especiallywhenconsideringverticallyintegratedpower)wherethedryoutoccursfirst.Theexperimentsalsoshowthatbottomcoolantinjectionisatleasttwotimesmoreefficientthantopcoolantinjection.Withincreasingthermalpower,steadytemperatureoverheatsupto200°Cabovesaturationwereobserved,andthebedwasstillcoolable.Combinedphenomenaconsideredasresponsiblearediscussed:steamflowcoolingwithorwithoutentrainedliquiddropletsinpost-dryoutregime,andpreferentialpathsoffluidinporousmedia.Asaconsequence,thecriticalheatfluxdefinitionundersuchconditionsmustbeconsideredwithcare.Especially,afailureofcoolabilitycannotnecessarilybeconcludedonlyfromtheoccurrenceofdryzones.