Transient cooling rate of partially dry fuel elements

Empirical equations have been presented to estimate the temperatures of fuel-element cladding in a partially dry core of water-colored, water-moderated reactor in a {open_quotes}low flow{close_quotes} loss of coolant accident, in which the residual thermal power changes insignificantly with time and does not exceed 1% of the nominal core power. These equations are based on analysis of experimental data including experiments on a 7-element assembly of fuel element simulators. The urgency of experimental research on heat transfer for rod bundles under these conditions comes not only from the differences in the corrresponding equations for convective and radiative heat transfer, but also from the complexity of the various forms of heat and mass transfer.