Experimental Study on Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of SiC Cladding Under Atmospheric Pressure

Since the Fukushima accident in Japan, Accident-Tolerant Fuel (ATF) was investigated to mitigate the zircaloy-water oxidation reaction at a high temperature. Silicon carbide (SiC) cladding is one of the most promising ATF claddings as a replacement for zirconium-based cladding in the light water reactor. To verify the enhanced safety margin of the SiC cladding, a pool boiling experiment was conducted in deionized water at atmospheric pressure. The measured maximum heat flux of the SiC was 600.2 kW/m2. Based on the bubble behavior at low heat flux (23.69 kW/m2) recorded by a high-resolution camera, a heat transfer model of SiC cladding was developed. The measured and predicted heat flux values are in good agreement within ±20%.