| Correctly predicting the interfacial area concentration (a i) is vital to the overall accuracy of the two-fluid model because ai describes the amount of surface area that exists between the two-phases, and is therefore directly related to interfacial mass, momentum and energy transfer. The conventional method for specifying ai in the two-fluid model is through flow regime-based empirical correlations coupled with regime transition criteria. However, a more physically consistent approach to predicting ai is through the interfacial area transport equation (IATE), which can address the deficiencies of the flow regime-based approach. Some previous studies have been performed to demonstrate the feasibility of IATE in developmental versions of the nuclear reactor systems analysis code, TRACE. However, a full TRACE version capable of predicting boiling two-phase flows with the IATE has not been established.;Therefore, the current work develops a version of TRACE that is capable of predicting boiling two-phase flows using the IATE. The development is carried out in stages. First, a version of TRACE which employs the two-group IATE for adiabatic, vertical upward, air-water conditions is developed. An in-depth assessment on the existing experimental database is performed to select reliable experimental data for code assessment. Then, the implementation is assessed against the qualified air-water two-phase flow experimental data. Good agreement is observed between the experimental data for ai and the TRACE code with an average error of +/-9% for all conditions. Following the initial development, one-group IATE models for vertical downward and horizontal two-phase flows are implemented and assessed against qualified data. Finally, IATE models capable of predicting subcooled boiling two-phase flows are implemented. An assessment of the models shows that TRACE is capable of generating ai in subcooled boiling two-phase flows with the IATE and that heat transfer effects dominate the evolution of ai in these flows.;In parallel to developing a TRACE version with the IATE capability, an extensive study is performed to improve the capabilities of the four-sensor conductivity probe. These include improvements in both the signal processing software and processing schemes. Furthermore, experiments are performed in 14 additional test conditions. These test conditions are strategically chosen to establish database in flow conditions where specific bubble interaction mechanisms in the IATE are highlighted. The data established in the experiments are used to further assess and validate the IATE models available in TRACE. |
