As one of filtered venting systems which should be installed in light water reactors from viewpoint of protecting a containment vessel and suppressing the diffusion of radioactive materials, there is a system composed of venturi scrubbers. The radioactive materials in the contaminated gas are collected into liquid. By dispersed flow formed in the venturi scrubber, large interfacial area between liquid and gas was obtained, and large decontamination factor is realized. In evaluation for the decontamination performance of the venturi scrubber, interface of droplets and liquid film are important. However, there is a little knowledge about the interfacial area in the venturi scrubber for filtered venting. In this study, to obtain the interfacial area data, amount of the droplets and the liquid film in the venturi scrubber is evaluated by visualizing observation and sampling the liquid film at the outlet of the venturi scrubber.
In the venturi scrubber, a pressure drop occurs in the throat part by the inflow of air from the compressor. Water flows from the tank by a pressure difference between a suctioned hole with head pressure and a throat part. An annular spray flow is then formed in the venturi scrubber. Therefore, the liquid flow rate changes according to the gas phase flow rate. To discharge separately the droplets and the liquid film, a rectangular separator is installed at the venturi scrubber outlet. The superficial gas phase flow rate is 25.2–292.3 m/s in the throat.
As a result, the liquid film and the droplets through the wall were confirmed to be discharged separately by the separator. The ratio of the liquid film to the total amount of liquid is 80 to 95% and that of the droplets was estimated as 5 to 20%. However, the change of the liquid film thickness caused by the increase of gas phase flow rates was observed. When the liquid film thickness is large, it is possible that some liquid film flowing into the droplet side.
