Experimental study on the characteristics of the strong boiling induced by pressure relief at the top of vertical vessels

In this study, the strong boiling process of a superheated liquid induced by pressure relief at the top of a vertical vessel was experimentally investigated. Through monitoring the response of the pressure at the top of the vessel and the full field morphology of the two-phase flow, the correlations between the pressure rise and the two-phase flow as well as the trend of the characteristic pressure values under different discharge areas and filling rates were analyzed. The results indicated that the expansion of the mist-like two-phase flow, which was generated due to the strong boiling and bubble collapse, was the direct reason for the two pressure rebounds at the top of the vessel. And under the effect of the intermittent expansion of the two-phase flow, the pressure rising rate in the second rebound stage fluctuated. When the discharge area changed, the characteristic pressure values presented different relativeness under different filling rates. In addition, the average pressure rising rate during the second pressure rebound process presented an exponential growth with the increase of the discharge area, and the exponent coefficient decreased with the increase of the liquid filling rate.