• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.7
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• pp.1452-1461
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• 2020

A triple bubbler sensor was tested in LiCl-KCl molten salt from 450 to 525 ℃ in a transparent furnace to validate thermal-expansion corrections and provide additional molten salt data sets for calibration and validation of the sensor. In addition to these tests, a model was identified and further developed to accurately determine the density, surface tension, and depth from the measured bubble pressures. A unique feature of the model is that calibration constants can be estimated using independent depth measurements, which allow calibration and validation of the sensor in an electrorefiner where the salt density and surface tension are largely unknown. This model and approach were tested using the current and previous triple bubbler data sets, and results indicate that accuracies are as high as 0.03%, 4.6%, and 0.15% for density, surface tension, and depth, respectively.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.337-346
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• 2020

Two commonly used ceramics in molten salt research are alumina and mullite. The two ceramics were exposed to a combination of rare earth chlorides (YCl₃, SmCl₃, NdCl₃, PrCl₃, and CeCl₃; each rare earth chloride of 1.8 weight percent) in LiCl-KCl at 773 K for approximately 13 days. Scanning electron microscopy with wave dispersion spectra was utilized to investigate a formation layer or deposition of rare earths onto the ceramic. Only the major constituents of the ceramics (Al, Si, and O₂) were observed during the wave dispersion spectra. X-ray fluorescence was used as well to determine concentration changes in the molten salt as a function of ceramic exposure time. This study shows no evidence of ionic exchange or layer formation between the ceramics and molten chloride salt mixture. There are signs of surface tension effects of molten salt moving out of the tantalum crucible into secondary containment.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.481-487
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• 2009

In this of study, effects of input air velocity(0.05~0.22 m/sec) and molten carbonate salt temperature ($870{\sim}970^{\circ}C$) on flow regime transition have been studied by adopting a drift-flux model of air holdup and a stochastic analysis of differential pressure fluctuations in an air-molten sodium carbonate salt two-phase system(molten salt oxidation process). Air holdup where the flow regime transition begins was determined by air holdup-drift flux plot. The air holdup value which the flow regime transition begins was increased with increasing molten carbonate salt temperature due to the decrease of viscosity and surface tension of molten carbonate salt. To characterize the flow regime transition more quantitatively, differential pressure fluctuation signals have been analyzed by adopting the stochastic method such as phase space portraits and Kolmogorov entropy, The Kolmogorov entropy decreased with an increasing of molten carbonate salt temperature but increased gradually with an increase in an air velocity, however, it exhibited different tendency with the flow regime and the air velocity value which flow regime transition begins was same to the results of drift-flux analysis.