Enhancement of critical heat flux with additive-manufactured heat-transfer surface

In-Vessel Retention (IVR) is a key technology to retain the molten core in the reactor vessel during severe accidents of Pressurized-water reactors (PWRs). In order to gain the safety margin of IVR, it is crucial to enhance the critical heat flux (CHF) of the reactor vessel, which is submerged in a water pool. To enhance the CHF, we have designed and additive-manufactured porous grid plates with a 3-D printer for the design flexibility. We measured the CHF for the porous grid plate on the boiling heat transfer surface and found that the CHF was enhanced by 50 % more than that of the bare surface. The CHF enhanced more with a narrower grid pitch and a lower grid height. The visual observation study revealed that the vapor film was formed at the bottom of the grid plate.