An investigation to develop measurement techniques for quantifying fission product transport in a gas-cooled fast reactor-versatile test reactor program

Preliminary tests and simulations have shown that even at relatively low turbulent Reynold's number, the particles will have a tendency of moving towards a wall. In the half-scaled vent, preliminary numerical results showed that particles grouped on the wall opposite of the inlet. Experimental measurements in the horizontal duct showed that particle velocity decreased as it moved towards the wall. However, the Reynold's number will have to be increased by at least one order of magnitude to have the full effect of turbophoresis move the particles to the wall. The measurement techniques of PIV, PTV, and LIF will be applied to the simplified reactor building facility, focusing on the outlet of steam generator and the vent [13] [14] [15]. The idea is to measure the deposition of graphite particles within the facility. Graphite particles are capable of carrying away fission products from the core as it degrades. The use of a modified surface within the facility can prevent such exposure to the atmosphere, as particle will deposit on the surface walls [16]. Future work includes carrying out experiments within the half-scaled vent to measure particle penetration. Once the physical phenomena is well understood, the surface of the test section will be modified and its effects on particulate deposition will be investigated. Further experimental and numerical results will be presented and discussed.