Dakota Nickerson, Kyle Pflueger, Adam Leschber, Andrew Dahlke M.E. Undergrad 1

 Provide Insights found for Initial BWTL  Provide Insights found for Proposed BWTL  Verify Deliverable for this Project  Verify Component Selection 2

 BWTL- Boiling Water Test Loop  A closed steam loop system that simulates the conditions seen in a Boiling Water Reactor for the purpose of testing nuclear fuel rods in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). 3

Condenser or quench tank Demineralizer Booster Pump Condensate Pump Circulating Water Pressure Control Valve Flow Elements Isolation Valve Line heater Heater Element TE PI Temp – 530F Press – 1050 psig Temp – 100F Press – 2 psig Temp – 110F Press – 160 psig PI Line heater Feedwater pump Temp – 400F Press – 1050 psig Temp – 120F Press – 600 psig Temp – 545F Press – 1020 psig 4

The purpose of this project is to design and build a scaled boiling water test loop that can be used to verify the boiling regime while controlling inlet and outlet steam qualities. 5

Line heater Heater Element Temp – 295 ± 5 F Press – 60 psig Pressure Relief Valve Heat Exchanger PETE Pump Temp – 295 ± 5 F Press – 60 psig PETE Temp –290 ± 5 F Press – 60 psig Temp 290 ± 5 F Press – 60 psig TE ASME Expansion Tank

 1 st Pass Prototype that will provide insight into critical design aspects associated with a Boiling Water Test Loop. 7

A Chromalox cartridge heater has been chosen to simulate the 18” nuclear fuel rod. Dimensions are: 18” length,.500” diameter. The manufacturer has told us we can expect 5.6 kW/ft. 8

Option 1: Transparent High Temp Plastic Tube  Poly-Sulfone  Rated to 300 F  ID of 0.75 in, and OD of 1.00 in.  Cost is approximately $100. 9

Option 2: Sight Glass Tube  Glass Pressure vessel.  Can be threaded or flanged directly to pipe.  Rated to 500F and 500 psi  Cost: $600  Recommended Design 10

 Circular Flow Heater  Will Provide 15 kW of energy into system.  Accompanied with Control panel that will provide inlet and outlet temperature. 11

Recommended Pump: ManufacturerModelNominal Capacity at Maximum Speed Maximum Differential Pressure Maximum Temperature Cost GPMPSI˚F$ Viking PumpHeavy duty series- FH C

 Cross flow, shell and tube heat exchanger  Capacity in excess of 20 kW 13

14  ASME pressure vessel  Will allow room for water to turn to vapor

 Linear Heat Rate From The Chromalox Heater: 5.65 kW/ft  Required exit quality: 14.6%  Assuming inlet quality: 7.5%  Expected Scaled Loop Flow Rate: 0.89 gallons per minute 15

 Critical Heat Flux is 1944 kW/m 2  Our heat flux is 464 kW/m 2  Therefore our critical linear heat rate is 23.6 kW/ft – well below heater output 16

 Line heater  Outlet steam management  Pump life  Control system  Safety  Costs 17

 Cartridge Heater: $200  Sight Glass/Test tube: $600  Heater: $1000  Heater Control: N/A  Pump: $350  Pump Motor and Speed Control: N/A  Heat Exchanger: $1100  Expansion Tank: $800  Stainless Steel Tubing 30 ft: $150  Fittings: $450  Mounting System: $350  Tubing Insulation: $100  Sensors: N/A  Total≈ $ sensors, pump motor, and sensors/control 18

 Detailed design package completed by January 29  All parts ordered by February 5.  Apparatus built by April 9.  Trouble shooting and Testing April 16 – May 7 19

DescriptionFunctionSpecification 1Test Section HeaterSimulates nuclear fuel rod.220 V and 300 W/in 2 2 Transparent Test SectionAllows a person to see the boiling regime on the heater Polysulfone plastic, operates at 295 ± 5 F and vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 F. 3.Line HeaterAdds energy to the water so that the quality of the water at the test section inlet can be adjusted. Operates at vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 F, and has a 15 kW capacity. 4PumpPressurizes test section and circulates water Operates at the vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 ˚F and can support the head seen in the system while maintaining the satisfying a flow rate varying from gpm. 5 Heat ExchangerTakes energy out of the circulating water Operates at vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 F and removes up to 20 kW energy from water. 6Expansion TankAllows for expansion of the water in the loop when vapor occurs Operates at vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 F and supplies excess volume in loop for steam expansion. Temp. ElementsMeasures the temperature at different places in the loop. Operates at vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 F sends an electrical signal which can be input to a data acquisition system. Likely a J type thermo couple. Pressure ElementsMeasures the pressure at different places in the loop. Operates at vapor pressure of water at 295 ± 5 F and sends an electrical signal which can be input to a data acquisition system. 20