Non-Axisymmetric Mass Transfer Phenomenon behind an Orifice in a Curved Swirling Flow

Tsuyoshi Takano, Takayuki Yamagata, Yuki Sato, Nobuyuki Fujisawa

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Visualization Research Center, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/jfcmv.2013.11001                

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to understand the mechanism of non-axisymmetric wall-thinning that caused a pipe break in the pipeline of the Mihama nuclear power plant in 2004. The wall thinning was caused by the flow accelerated corrosion which affects low carbon steel pipelines. The mass transfer rate measurement of the wall thinning behind an office in a curved swirling flow is carried out in a closed-circuit water tunnel using a benzoic acid dissolution method. The experimental results indicate that the high mass transfer rate is observed on one side of the pipe behind the orifice, which is similar to the observation of the wall-thinning rate in the Mihama case. This result suggests that the influence of the secondary flow in the long elbow combined with the swirling flow can produce the non-axisymmetric mass transfer phenomenon behind the orifice.

Keywords

Pipe-Wall Thinning; Flow Accelerated Corrosion; Orifice; Mass Transfer; Nuclear Power Plant; Benzoic Acid

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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