This study experimentally investigated the flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) under heaving conditions pertinent to floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs). Experiments were conducted using R134a to simulate the operational pressure of pressurized water reactors, extending the CHF database to a pressure range of 5 to 18 MPa. The tested heaving motion reached up to 0.6 g of maximum acceleration, with a period that varied from 3 to 5.3 s. A parametric trend involving mass flux, critical quality, and motion conditions was analyzed through extensive tests encompassing static and heaving conditions.

The results showed that CHF reduction was observed due to the effect of heaving acceleration, even in the absence of oscillations in other thermal-hydraulic factors. The CHF reduction was up to 9% in the present experimental conditions. The heaving motion effect was prominent under two specific thermal-hydraulic conditions: when the critical quality was close to zero and when it exceeded the value of 0.6. Furthermore, an examination of wall temperature responses suggested that a longer period of heaving motion can lead to an earlier occurrence of CHF. This fundamental effort was conducted to enhance the understanding of the CHF mechanism under motion conditions, with the aim of contributing to the safe and efficient design of FNPPs.