Paper 24: The Development of a Controlled Wet-Steam Generator

Abstract

This paper describes what is believed to be the first attempt to make a wet-steam ‘wind’ tunnel. Saturated water is sprayed from a small high-speed rotating disc so that the globules are entrained by a stream of saturated steam at the same temperature in which the disc is immersed.

The tunnel is designed for a maximum steam speed of 30 ft/sec in a circular working section of 16-in diameter with steam pressures ranging from a full vacuum to 10 lb/in² gauge. The entrained globules range in size from 5 to 100 micron, and the minimum nominal dryness fraction is 94 per cent.

A sampling technique was developed based on the impressions made by the globules on a prepared slide, and an attempt is made to relate the globule size to the disc size and speed, the injection water flow and the physical characteristics of the saturated liquid and vapour.

Globule trajectories were calculated by computer allowing for variation of drag coefficient and acceleration of the entraining steam.

In the paper the design of the equipment and the problems encountered both in generating the wet steam and in determining the size of the globules are discussed.