Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2017
24th ABCM International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL VELOCITY IN FLAT PLATE FUEL ELEMENT FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH REACTOR
Submission Author:
Alfredo José Alvim de Castro , SP
Co-Authors:
Alfredo José Alvim de Castro, Delvonei Andrade
Presenter: Alfredo José Alvim de Castro
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2017.COB17-2742
Abstract
The fuel elements of a MTR type nuclear reactor are mostly composed of aluminum-coated fuel plates containing the core of uranium silica. These plates have a thickness of the order of millimeters and are much longer in relation to their thickness. They are arranged in parallel in the assembly of the fuel element to form channels between them a few millimeters in thickness, through which there is a flow of the coolant. This configuration, combined with the need for a flow at high flow rates to ensure the cooling of the fuel element in operation, may create problems of mechanical failure of fuel plate due to the vibration induced by the flow in the channels. In the case of critical velocity, excessive permanent deflections of the plates can cause blockage of the flow channel in the reactor core and lead to overheating in the plates. For this study an experimental loop capable of high volume flows and a test section that simulates a plate-like fuel element with three cooling channels were developed. The dimensions of the test section were based on the dimensions of the Fuel Element of the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB). The critical velocity was reached with 14.5 m/s leading to the consequent plastic deformation of the flow channel plates.
Keywords
Critical Velocity, Fuel element, Material Testing Reactor, experimental analysis, Research Reactor
