Investigation of the Circulation of Helium in the Prismatic Modular Reactor
Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Major
Chemical Engineering
Research Advisor
Usman, Shoaib
Al-Dahhan, Muthanna H.
Advisor's Department
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science
Second Advisor's Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Funding Source
U.S. Department of Energy-Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (DOE-NERI) project (NEUP 13- 4953 (DENE0000744)
Abstract
The prismatic modular reactor (PMR) is one of the leading designs for the next generation of nuclear reactors because of its ability to passively remove heat by convection in an accident scenario. It is important to understand how the coolant, helium, circulates in order to design reactors that safely shutdown in the event of a loss of coolant flow accident. We studied the effect of the outer surface temperature of the reactor vessel on the circulation of the helium and the transfer of heat within the reactor. A scaled down duel-channel facility was used to study the plenum-to-plenum circulation. Data was taken with one channel heated, and the other channel and the upper plenum cooled to different temperatures. The temperature and heat flux was measured at several points along the channels.
Biography
Christopher Mark is a sophomore student majoring in Chemical Engineering from Manchester Missouri. He is currently doing undergraduate research with graduate student Salman Alshehri.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Upper Atrium
Presentation Date
17 Apr 2018, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Investigation of the Circulation of Helium in the Prismatic Modular Reactor
Upper Atrium
The prismatic modular reactor (PMR) is one of the leading designs for the next generation of nuclear reactors because of its ability to passively remove heat by convection in an accident scenario. It is important to understand how the coolant, helium, circulates in order to design reactors that safely shutdown in the event of a loss of coolant flow accident. We studied the effect of the outer surface temperature of the reactor vessel on the circulation of the helium and the transfer of heat within the reactor. A scaled down duel-channel facility was used to study the plenum-to-plenum circulation. Data was taken with one channel heated, and the other channel and the upper plenum cooled to different temperatures. The temperature and heat flux was measured at several points along the channels.
Comments
Joint project with Salman M. Alshehri (Ph.D. Candidate)