Development of a coolant channel helium and nitrogen gas ratio sensor for a high temperature gas reactor

Cadell, S. R.; Woods, B. G.

Title: Development of a coolant channel helium and nitrogen gas ratio sensor for a high temperature gas reactor

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Abstract

To measure the changing gas composition of the coolant during a postulated High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) accident, an instrument is needed. This instrument must be compact enough to measure the ratio of the coolant versus the break gas in an individual coolant channel. This instrument must minimally impact the fluid flow and provide for non-direct signal routing to allow minimal disturbance to adjacent channels. The instrument must have a flexible geometry to allow for the measurement of larger volumes such as in the upper or lower plenum of a HTGR. The instrument must be capable of accurately functioning through the full operating temperature and pressure of a HTGR. This instrument is not commercially available, but a literature survey has shown that building off of the present work on Capacitance Sensors and Cross-Capacitors will provide a basis for the development of the desired instrument. One difficulty in developing and instrument to operate at HTGR temperatures is acquiring an electrical conductor that will not melt at 1600 deg. C. This requirement limits the material selection to high temperature ceramics, graphite, and exotic metals. An additional concern for the instrument is properly accounting for the thermal expansion of both the sensing componentsmore »« less

Authors:

Cadell, S. R.; Woods, B. G. ^[1]

Oregon State Univ., 116 Radiation Center, Corvallis, OR 97331 (United States)

Publication Date:: Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012

Research Org.:: American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)

OSTI Identifier:: 22107747

Resource Type:: Conference

Resource Relation:: Conference: ICAPP '12: 2012 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants, Chicago, IL (United States), 24-28 Jun 2012; Other Information: Country of input: France; 13 refs.; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2012 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants - ICAPP '12| 2799 p.

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; CAPACITORS; CERAMICS; COOLANT LOOPS; DISTURBANCES; FLUID FLOW; GRAPHITE; HELIUM; HTGR TYPE REACTORS; MEASURING INSTRUMENTS; METALS; NITROGEN; SENSORS; THERMAL EXPANSION

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                    Cadell, S. R., and Woods, B. G. Development of a coolant channel helium and nitrogen gas ratio sensor for a high temperature gas reactor.  United States: N. p., 2012. 
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                    Cadell, S. R., & Woods, B. G. Development of a coolant channel helium and nitrogen gas ratio sensor for a high temperature gas reactor.  United States.

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                    Cadell, S. R., and Woods, B. G. 2012.  
        "Development of a coolant channel helium and nitrogen gas ratio sensor for a high temperature gas reactor".  United States.

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@article{osti_22107747,

  title        = {Development of a coolant channel helium and nitrogen gas ratio sensor for a high temperature gas reactor},

  author       = {Cadell, S. R. and Woods, B. G.},

  abstractNote = {To measure the changing gas composition of the coolant during a postulated High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) accident, an instrument is needed. This instrument must be compact enough to measure the ratio of the coolant versus the break gas in an individual coolant channel. This instrument must minimally impact the fluid flow and provide for non-direct signal routing to allow minimal disturbance to adjacent channels. The instrument must have a flexible geometry to allow for the measurement of larger volumes such as in the upper or lower plenum of a HTGR. The instrument must be capable of accurately functioning through the full operating temperature and pressure of a HTGR. This instrument is not commercially available, but a literature survey has shown that building off of the present work on Capacitance Sensors and Cross-Capacitors will provide a basis for the development of the desired instrument. One difficulty in developing and instrument to operate at HTGR temperatures is acquiring an electrical conductor that will not melt at 1600 deg. C. This requirement limits the material selection to high temperature ceramics, graphite, and exotic metals. An additional concern for the instrument is properly accounting for the thermal expansion of both the sensing components and the gas being measured. This work covers the basic instrument overview with a thorough discussion of the associated uncertainty in making these measurements. (authors)},

  doi          = {},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22107747},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012},

  month        = {Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012}

}

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