High Temperature Ternary Chloride Molten Salt Pump

Conference · Thu Sep 28 04:00:00 EDT 2023 · TurboMachinery & Pump

OSTI ID:2280772

Handy-Cardenas, Lewis Francisco; Hensel, Joseph D; Mockels, Claude; Zentic, Clint

This work investigates the design criteria considering thermal, structural, and material selection of a ternary chloride (MgCl2-NaCl-KCl) molten salt pump that is capable of running at temperatures above 720 °C. In this work, preliminary testing of salt-wetted hydrodynamic bearings was done to investigate different material pairings including Colmonoy grades, Stellite grades, and a novel Nickel Tungsten Carbide alloy (HybrimetTM NiWC3b) used as a High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) coating. The coating has shown to withstand the corrosive nature of the molten salt. The pump wetted components are made of Inconel 625 and features a carbon ring seal (CIRPAC Seal) flooded with a N2 gas flow on the overhead to keep salt vapors from interacting with the external ambient air. A comprehensive pump test program has been completed. Over 90 hours run time pumping hot chloride salts at temperatures up to 720 °C in which enough data was captured to produce performance curves at 3 different operating speeds. This research showcases a promising design for use in the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Gen 3 liquid-pathway and sets the ground for further development and use of the HybrimetTM NiWC3b as a competitive alternative to available superalloys.

• Research Organization: Powdermet Inc
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: EE0008383
• OSTI ID: 2280772
• Conference Information: Journal Name: TurboMachinery & Pump
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
molten salt pump
cermet
metal matrix composite
NiWC3b