Review: Steam cavity characteristics of steam submerged jet condensation at SC regime

Abstract Steam submerged jet condensation has been widely used in nuclear fission and fusion industries, chemical engineering and aerospace industry. Steam cavity and its feature in stable condensation regime play important roles since they are closely related to heat transfer and condensation oscillation. Due to the different definitions of steam cavity, the properties of steam cavity, such as shapes, void fraction distribution and two-phase mixing regions, are different. The mechanism of steam cavity forming and development remains unclear. The existing analytical models and empirical correlations for steam jet length are verified with experimental data. Most correlations based on Kerney's model can predict the experimental jet lengths when water is stagnant and steam mass flux lower than 800 kg m−2·s−1. For other conditions, significant discrepancy is found among existing experimental jet lengths, and no model can predict them well. The heat transfer coefficient calculation models based on steam jet length correlations fail to predict the experimental data, and no unified correlations or models can predict heat transfer coefficient well. The causes of prediction deviation for jet length and heat transfer coefficient are analyzed. The inconsistent tendency and nonunified saturated temperature cause the significant predicted deviation. Further efforts on analytical and experimental studies on steam jet length and heat transfer coefficient are encouraged in the future.