Non-uniform boiling heat transfer characteristics and calculation evaluation in U-tube steam generator tube bundle

U-tube steam generator, as one of the core equipment in nuclear power plants, has lateral non-uniform heating on the secondary side, which complicates the progress of heat transfer on the secondary side of the evaporator by causing fluid cross mixing. However, there is relatively little research on the properties of transverse non-uniform heat transfer in the secondary side tube bundle of the evaporator under natural circulation conditions with the free liquid surface. Therefore, to conduct comparative experiments and studies between uniform and non-uniform heating, an experimental setup with the natural circulation of the free liquid surface and the ability of transverse non-uniform heating was constructed, considering the characteristics mentioned above for the secondary side of the evaporator. The results indicate that higher proportions of gas-phase distribution are frequently found in the tube bundle on the high-power side, and corresponding positions usually have higher water temperature, heat transfer capacity, and heat transfer coefficient. Besides, four heat transfer correlations that are suitable for pool boiling are estimated, and the results show that the Rohsenow correlation has the best applicability to compute the heat transfer coefficient for uniform heating experiments while performing worse in non-uniform heating experiments. The main reason is the lack of consideration for the factors of fluid cross mixing in traditional correlations.