Argon bubble flow in liquid gallium in external magnetic field

A comparison between the chemical behaviour of lead-gold and lead-bismuth eutectics towards 316L stainless steel

Radiochimica acta, 101 (10)

Internal geometry and coolant choices for solid high power neutron spallation targets

Abstract The next generation of neutron spallation sources envisages high power proton beam interaction with a heavy metal target. Solid targets have potentially higher spallation efficiency due to the possibility to use metals with higher density than used in liquid metal targets, but to realize this potential the solid fraction must be high enough. As the power released in the form of heat can reach several MW in the target volume of typically 10 l, target cooling can be a serious challenge. Heat evacuation efficiency for different solid fraction geometries at high power is analyzed for different coolant options (helium, water and gallium) using empirical correlations for friction factors…

HOW TO MAKE LIQUID METAL TRANSPARENT? A NEUTRON RADIOGRAPHY METHOD FOR SCALED-DOWN METALLURGICAL EQUIPMENT

Dynamic neutron imaging of argon bubble flow in liquid gallium in external magnetic field

This paper presents detailed results of neutron imaging of argon bubble flows in a rectangular liquid gallium vessel with and without the application of external horizontal magnetic field. The developed image processing algorithm is presented and its capability to extract physical information from images of low signal-to-noise ratio is demonstrated. Bubble parameters, velocity components, trajectories and relevant statistics were computed and analysed. A simpler version of the code was applied to the output of computational fluid dynamics simulations that reproduced the experiment. This work serves to further validate the neutron radiography as a suitable method for monitoring gas bubble fl…

A comparative study on the compatibility of liquid lead–gold eutectic and liquid lead–bismuth eutectic with T91 and SS 316LN steels

Abstract Liquid lead–gold eutectic (LGE) is considered as a potential target material for high power spallation sources. In the present work, the corrosion effects of LGE on T91 and SS 316LN steels have been investigated in comparison with that of liquid lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) under the same testing conditions. Two tests were conducted at 400 °C for 1800 h and at 450 °C for 1300 h, in which specimens of the two steels were exposed to 1 m/s flowing LGE and LBE. Surface inspections showed that the specimens underwent a mixed corrosion mode of dissolution and oxidation. The results obtained from the SS 316LN specimens are very interesting. Firstly, EDX (electron energy dispersion X-ray sp…

Target Cooling Options for Neutron Sources at High Power Densities

Abstract Compact neutron sources in many cases beat large ones when it comes to power density; thus, many issues concerning cooling are shared, and each party can learn a lot from the other facilities. Starting from accrued experience with water cooling at moderate power densities in SINQ over the last 15 years, a brief overview will be attempted showing the relevant parameters and specific approaches at several existing and planned neutron (spallation) sources. Extensions from the established ground of cooling with water will be sketched in two directions. An outline of an experiment planned for freshly determining in a representative geometry the hard limit for water cooling, i.e. full bo…

Resolving gas bubbles ascending in liquid metal from low-SNR neutron radiography images

We demonstrate a new image processing methodology for resolving gas bubbles travelling through liquid metal from dynamic neutron radiography images with an intrinsically low signal-to-noise ratio. Image pre-processing, denoising and bubble segmentation are described in detail, with practical recommendations. Experimental validation is presented—stationary and moving reference bodies with neutron-transparent cavities are radiographed with imaging conditions representative of the cases with bubbles in liquid metal. The new methods are applied to our experimental data from previous and recent imaging campaigns, and the performance of the methods proposed in this paper is compared against our p…

Structural-hydraulic test of the liquid metal EURISOL target mock-up

Abstract Structural-hydraulic tests of the European Isotope Separation On-Line (EURISOL) neutron converter target mock-up, named MErcury Target EXperiment 1 (METEX 1), have been conducted by Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI, Switzerland) in cooperation with Institute of Physics of the University of Latvia (IPUL, Latvia). PSI proceeded with extensive thermal-hydraulic and structural computational studies, followed by the target mock-up tests carried out on the mercury loop at IPUL. One of the main goals of the METEX 1 test is to investigate the hydraulic and structural behaviour of the EURISOL target mock-up for various inlet flow conditions (i.e. mass flow rates) and, in particular, for nominal …

Phase boundary dynamics of bubble flow in a thick liquid metal layer under an applied magnetic field

Dynamic neutron radiography is used to observe the effect of a transverse magnetic field on argon bubbles rising through a thick layer of liquid gallium without interactions with the container walls.

Neutron Radiography Visualization of Solid Particles in Stirring Liquid Metal

Abstract This paper presents the analysis of the first dynamic neutron radiography experiment that visualized motion of solid particles in liquid metal, which was stirred by a system of four counter-rotating magnets. The paper also contains the quantitative results derived from neutron images: the distribution of particle concentration, number of admixed particles and velocities as functions of the magnet rotation speed.

Wavelet analysis of experimental results for coupled structural–hydraulic behavior of the EURISOL target mock-up

During test runs of the The European Isotope Separation On-Line (EURISOL) target mock-up performed in December 2008, data were recorded for strain gages and for acceleration sensors. In this paper, the applicability of wavelet analysis for detecting the onset and the status of flow-induced cavitation is investigated for the first time. Even under noisy conditions, the detection of incipient cavitation was possible when combining measurements with data from structural and fluid dynamic simulations. The distribution of coefficients of suitably selected wavelets yields a quantitative measure for the extent of cavitation in the EURISOL target mock-up under representative flow conditions. Withou…

Lead–gold eutectic: An alternative liquid target material candidate for high power spallation neutron sources

Abstract One of the main technical concerns of Megawatt-class spallation neutron sources is the removal of the heat deposited in the target station. A way to overcome it is to use targets consisting of flowing liquid metals, but the already tested materials – mercury and lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) – are not unproblematic. We show here that another eutectic alloy containing lead and gold (LGE) could be a suitable alternative. Besides a chemical toxicity lower than mercury, this low melting-point alloy has the advantage of being solid at RT. Moreover, it combines a neutron production similar to mercury and LBE with smaller amounts of alpha-emitting nuclides, relieving safety and environmenta…