Thermal-Hydraulics measurement and sensing techniques for Nuclear Applications

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The emerging generation of nuclear reactors, small and advanced modular reactors (SMR/AMR), promise a flexible and cost-efficient option for propelling a significant portion of future carbon-free energy production in the UK. New instrumentation and data capture will be essential in new nuclear builds but also in the systems required to examine SMR/AMR bespoke operating regimes and Thermal-Hydraulics (T/H) operational modes relying on natural convection, steam generation and condensation processes, which need to be well understood and validated before deployment. The PhD project will develop instrumentation for experiments and supporting process measurement to be applied in the water loops being built or planned for THOR, as well as potentially in adjoining projects in the field of automotive applications. Suitable T/H measurement techniques will be explored in design simulations and validation experiments that will demonstrate their applicability in different measurement scenarios. Since each technique comes with its own benefits and drawbacks, a few different sensing techniques need to be explored. As a primary reference measurement technique, the project will develop high-resolution multi-wire sensing experimental tools for T/H applications to characterise flow through a plane in time. These are suitable for producing a detailed image of flow through the central plane of an experiment, or the inlet and outlet flow of the test section, e.g. to accurately determine void fractions and detailed bubble structures. Capability to explore new, still unresearched flow geometries will result, since the sensors can be constructed in-house for bespoke geometries, which can cover applications ranging from classic fuel-like geometries to bespoke SMR safety validation related rigs for integral testing. The limitation with wire sensors relates to the flow and bubble distortion caused by the necessary physical presence of wires. A less distortive sensor type that the project will apply are optical fibre needle probe sensors. Novel avenues will be probed through configurations where traditional wire and fibre sensor techniques will be used for a combined measurement approach. Yet another new application area that will be targeted is the design and use of novel optical fibre based wire sensors for flow characterisation. NFI plans to develop Particle Imaging Velocimetry and X-ray radiography measurement configurations for deployment in various experiments, to which the techniques elaborated will be complementary. The proposed PhD research project is part of a comprehensive effort to develop new and enhanced T/H measurement techniques for application in T/H facilities developed by NFI or collaborators in the UK and internationally to support novel reactor concepts.