Liquid film thickness measurements in University of Michigan wet steam tunnel

The initial results from the wet-steam flow research program at the University of Michigan were described previously. The program is concerned with the behavior and stability of thin liquid films upon simulated turbine blades under high velocity steam flow, and their subsequent breakup into liquid droplets, which are then entrained into the wake, giving rise to an erosion problem in the next downstream rotating row. The problem of thin liquid film behavior in the nonadiabatic case has application also to problems of 'dry-out' in high void fraction boiling, particularly with regard to emergency core cooling of liquid-cooled nuclear reactors.