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e o
fA_«EB RESEARCH ANIIIFIIIE!EI.IIPMENT REPORT ORNL-1508
@ i
3 yy45L 0349799 O
ANP LIMITED DISTRIBUTION
ENTRAL RESEARCH LIBRARY
DOCUMENT COLLECTION
DESIGN CALCULATIONS FOR A MINIATURE HIGH-
TEMPERATURE IN-PILE CIRCULATING FUEL LOOP
“ea
M. T. Robinson and D, F. Weekes \ A1
CENTRAL RESEARCH LIBRARY
DOCUMENT COLLECTION
LIBRARY LOAN COPY
DO NOT TRANSFER TO ANOTHER PERSON
If you wish someone else to see this document
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2223 UNION CARBIDE NUCLEAR COMPANY
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ORNL-1808
This document consists of 31 pages.
Copy’ 36 of 209 copies. Series A.
Contract No, W-7405-eng-26
SOLID STATE DIVISION
DESIGN CALCULATIONS FOR A MINIATURE HIGH-
TEMPERATURE IN-PILE CIRCULATING FUEL LOOP
M. T. Robinson and D, F. Weekes
With An Appendix on Analog Simulation by
E. R. Mann, F. P. Green, and R, S, Stone
Reactor Controls Department
DATE ISSUED
SEP 19 1955
OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY
Operated by
UNION CARBIDE NUCLEAR COMPANY
A Division of Unioh Carbide and Carbon Corpeoration
Pibst Office Box P
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
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romer ) 84.
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Cunnigih 87.
OO ~MA M > MErMENIADNAZOCOIMMAEOOENDNCSPOPMAETETD
D DN A CER P AONOZVN O P MMP MLKEAIATEIC AT R
ORNL-1808
e R
. Adamson ‘ . J. Gray
. Affel . P. Green
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11
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118.
. L. Sproull (consiiliant)
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MEM-N=T0VOD0OMAPOITOMMIP>PIETIO
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ing —
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CONTENTS
Development of Loop Model ... 1
Basis of Heat Transfer Calculations .......ccooiiiiiiiiicieini i 3
Derivation of Heat Transfer EQUations ..o 4
Solution of Heat Transfer Equations ..o, 7
NUMEEICA] DB . oottt et s et e ea e sat s sae s smae b e b e b e e e e e s s b rna e pat e 8
Selection of Best Loop Model .........c.ooviiiiriniciii 8
Results of Design Calculations for the Mark VI Loop ... 10
Miscellaneous Calculations for the Mark Y Loop ... 11
Appendix A. Importance of Reynolds Number in Mass Transfer ..., 16
Appendix B. Analog Simulation in an In-Pile Loop—Liquid-Salt Fuel Study .......ccccoonviviminninn, 16
Appendix C, Time-Constant Modification through Positive Feedback ..o 25
DESIGN CALCULATIONS FOR A MINIATURE HIGH-TEMPERATURE
IN-PILE CIRCULATING FUEL LOOP
M. T. Robinson and D. F. Weekes
DEVELOPMENT OF LOOP MODEL
The calculations presented in this report have
been carried out as part of the development of a
small circulating fuel loop designed for a study
of the effects of reactor radiation on the inter-
action of fused fluoride fuels with container
materials, and particularly with Inconel.! One of
the principal purposes in making a small loop is
to simplify construction and operation of the
equipment to the extent that many loops can be
run under a variety of conditions. Another con-
sideration is that a small loop can be examined
more easily after irradiation. Finally, a suf-
ficiently small system can be inserted into any
one of several vertical irradiation facilities in
either the LITR or the MTR. This will allow high
thermal- and fast-neutron fluxes to be used and
will simplify experimental work by eliminating the
need for elaborate beam-hole plugs.
Two important considerations governed the
choice of the basic design. Safety of both the
reactor and the personnel dictated that no portion
of the loop be left uncooled. This is especially
important in the region of high thermal-neutron
flux, since, in case of fuel stagnation, the temper-
ature of the fuel will rise at a very great rate
(650°C per second for fuel composition 30 in the
MTR is a typical figure). Since the time neces-
sary for taking appropriate corrective action is
appreciable, a considerable amount of heat should
be extracted from the high-flux regions of the
loop to avoid melting of the container and release
of fuel and fission products into the cooling air
or into the reactor itself. It is impractical to use
two cooling circuits so that there will be one for
emergency use only, since such an emergency
circuit cannot be operated sufficiently rapidly.
The second consideration was simplicity, both of
construction and of design calculation.
1Eor details of the mechanical design, development
tests, etc., see reports by J. G. Morgan and W. R. Willis,
Solid State Semiann. Prog. Rep. Feb. 28, 1954, ORNL-
1677, p 30; W. R. Willis et al., Solid State Semiann,
Prog. Rep. Aug. 30, 1954, ORNL-1762, p 44 ff.
As a result of these considerations, the basic
design chosen was a coaxial heat exchanger, bent
into a close-limbed U-shape. Fuel is pumped
through the inner member in a loop closed by the
pump, and cooling air is forced through the sur-
rounding annulus. Studies have been made of
several different ways of arranging the cooling-air
circuit relative to the fuel circuit, as illustrated
schematically in Fig, 1. Detailed calculations
to be presented later show the marked superiority
of the type 3 arrangement, when viewed as to the
amount and pressure of air required to maintain
the desired operating conditions.
Studies have been made also of the effects that
the diameter of the fuel tube and the length of
the loop will have on the thermal behavior of the
UNCLASSIFIED
SSD-A-1052
ORNL-LR-DWG-3772
Uy
Ty
INNER LOOP SHOWS DIRECTION OF FUEL FLOW, OUTER LOOP
SHOWS DIRECTION OF AIR FLOW
Fig. 1.
Models,
Air Flow Patterns in Miniature Loop
TABLE 1, SUMMARY OF LOOP MODELS
Inside Diameter of Outside Diameter of Inside Diameter of a ) .
Mark No. Fuel Tube Fuel Tube Air Tube Length Cooling-Ar
(in.) (inJ) (in.) (cm) Type .
IA 0.100 0.200 0.500 100 1
1B 0.150 0.250 0.500 100 1
NA 0.100 0.200 0.500 120 1
1B 0.200 0.300 0.600 120 1
ne 0.100 0.200 0.500 200 1
Iv 0.200 0.300 0.600 200 1
v 0.200 0.300 0.600 d 1
7 0.200 0.300 0.600 200 4
Vil 0.200 0.300 0.600 400 1
Vil 0.200 0.300 0.600 200 3
IX 0.200 0.300 0.600 200 2
%The length given is the value of the quantity S, defined in section on *'Solution of Heat Transfer Equations.’” The
length of the U is about one-half this value.
bSee Fig. 1.
“Mark 11l was inserted to the bottom of the active lattice.
d
Mark V was unsymmetrical; entering the reactor, the length was 60 cm; leaving, it was 140 cm.
system. The air-annulus spacing was not usually
SSD-B-1064
ORNL-LR-DWG-3784 .
I — — T varied but was kept as small as seemed .
- MARK Y1 \ ] .. .
T — ] consistent with ready fabrication. Only a little
N —— MARK ¥ attention has been paid to positioning of the loop
€ S ———————— , ¥, ¥, AND : :
5 ——————— ARk TA ANbTg O L AND X relative to the thermal-neutron flux in a reactor,
¢ C—————— MARK 14 AND 1B since one such study showed that little experi-
3 MARK I .
L o™ mental advantage accrued from a change in po-
x .. . - .
3 3 1 — sition. Table 1 summarizes the dimensions and
u /] AR—VERTFCAL MIDPLANE . . .
z /Y o TR other pertinent data on the 11 configurations
2 - - - -
5 / | 0P OF AGTIVE examined in this report. The locations of the
z / LATTICE . .
2 1 L \ various models with respect to the thermal-
z e o
z [ neutron flux distribution in position C-48 of the
£ o Ll LITR h in Fi
O 2¢ 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 =240 are shown In Flg. 2,
DISTANCE f{cm)
Fig. 2. Location of Miniature Loop Models in
Position C-48 of LITR Compared with Thermal-
Neutron Flux Distribution.
BASIS OF HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATIONS
The calculation scheme detailed in the following
section is based primarily on the principle of the
conservation of energy in a system which is in
a steady (time-independent) thermal state., How-
ever, a number of simplifying assumptions are
required, both to allow derivation of appropriate
differential equations and to permit their useful
solution.
In the derivation of the equations, two important
assumptions are made. First, all heat is assumed
to be removed into the cooling air. Transfer of
heat by radiation from the outer wall of the fuel
tube and by conduction to external parts of the
system is specifically neglected. A correction
could be made for radiative heat transfer, but this
does not seem to be worthwhile in view of the
approximate nature of the entire calculation. The
second important assumption is that all heat flows
radially out of the fuel tube; this assumption is
at least reasonable, since the thermal resistance
radially through the fuel-tube wall is certainly
small compared with the axial thermal resistance.
Furthermore, the radial temperature gradient is
expected to be far greater than the axial one.
These two assumptions result in a somewhat
exaggerated calculation of the fuel temperature
profile and an overestimation of the amount of
cooling air required.
In the course of solving the heat transfer
equations, it is necessary to calculate the heat
transfer coefficients which govern the flow of heat
between fluid and container wall. For this calcu-
lation the customary empirical correlations de-
veloped by engineers for heat exchanger design?—4
have been employed. These relations apply only
to cases where so-called established flow con-
ditions prevail in the fluid. Away from the
entrance to the cooling annulus, these conditions
prevail in the cooling air, but the velocity distri-
bution is changed because of the large rate of heat
transfer.® This will result in somewhat greater
turbulence in the air stream and, perhaps, in larger
2See, for example, W. H. McAdams, Heat Trans-
mission, 2d ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1942.
3M. Jakob, Heat Transfer, Wiley, New York, 1949.
4). G. Knudsen ond D. L. Katz, **Fluid Dynamics and
Heat Transfer,’’ Engr. Res, Inst. Bull. 37, Univ. of
Mich,, Ann Arbor, 1954,
Slbid., p 45 ff.
The situation in the
fuel is more complex, due to the presence of the
large volume heat source. It seems likely that
this will cause a substantial increase in turbu-
lence in the fuel and will probably increase the
heat transfer coefficients between the fuel and
the tube wall.
It has also been assumed that the physical
properties of air and of fuel could be regarded as
being independent of temperature. A detailed
justification of this assumption is presented in
connection with the solution of the equations.
In any case, it is felt that the importance of this
assumption is minor, especially in view of the
large uncertainty (+25%) in the fission power
generated in the fuel,
heat transfer coefficients.
To aid in interpreting the results of the calcu-
lations which were made at ORNL, certain design
criteria were adopted. Conditions which matched
as closely as possible the behavior of an actual
reactor would have been attractive; however, we
thought it more important to design an experiment
sufficiently flexible to allow a real analysis of
the effects of several variables on the interaction
of the fuel and the container. The important state
variables are believed to be the flow velocity of
the fuel, the intensity of the fission heat source,
and the temperature range through which the fuel
moves. These variables are not all independent.
in particular, for a given fuel flow rate, the
fission heat source largely determines the temper-
ature range through which the fuel moves. The
flow rate of the fuel is specified in terms of its
Reynolds number, Ref (see Appendix A), the
intensity of the fission heat source in terms of
P,, the fission power generated per unit volume
of fuel at the maximum thermal-neutron flux (in
terms of the notation in the section entitled *‘Deri-
vation of Heat Transfer Equations’’ P, = BP P max)s
and the temperature range experienced by the fuel
in terms of AT, the difference between the
maximum and minimum values of the fuel temper-
ature., We have attempted to design a loop which
would have the values
Ref Z 3000 ,
Py 2 1000 w/cc ,
AT, 2 100°C ,
and which meets the requirement that all fission specified conditions can indeed be met in a
heat be removed in the loop proper so that no variety of ways, provided an ample supply of
additional heating or cooling of the fuel would be cooling air is available.
necessary in the pump. It was found that the
DERIVATION OF HEAT TRANSFER EQUATIONS
An element of a concentric tube heat exchanger external sink. The purpose is to find the steady-
is shown in Fig. 3. Fission heat is generated in state temperature distribution in the system.
the liquid fuel flowing in the central tube, is trans-
ferred through the wall to the air flowing in the The symbols employed in the calculations are
annular space r, < r < 74, and is removed to an defined below.
Nomenclature
Coordinates and Dimensions
s = loop axial coordinate (the loop is defined by 0 § s S $)
r = loop radial coordinate
7y = inside radius of inner (fuel) tube
Ty = outside radius of inner (fuel) tube
Ty = inside radius of outer (air) tube
Physical Properties =
Cpf = specific heat of fuel at constant pressure
Cha = specific heat of air at constant pressure -
kf = thermal conductivity of fuel
k, = thermal conductivity of air
kl = thermal conductivity of Inconel, averaged over T, 272 T,
By = viscosity of fuel
K, = viscosity of air
Py = density of fuel
p, = density of air
Other Variables
v, = linear velocity of fuel, averaged over g 2
. . . < <
v, = linear velocity of air, averaged over T, =1 214
- 2
W, = fuel current, a7y
. 2 _ 2 .
W, = air current, 7r(r3 1)V, P,
b] = heat transfer coefficient at r = "
b, = heat transfer coefficient at r = ro -
Tf = fuel temperature, averaged over r ,S_ T
Other Variables {continued)
T? fuel temperature at s = 0
1A
T = air temperature, averaged over ) § r