서브메뉴
검색
Developing Experimental and Modeling Capabilities to Advance Molten Salt Reactor Technology for Molten Salt Pumps and Heat Exchangers
Developing Experimental and Modeling Capabilities to Advance Molten Salt Reactor Technology for Molten Salt Pumps and Heat Exchangers
상세정보
- 자료유형
- 학위논문 서양
- 최종처리일시
- 20260202105219
- ISBN
- 9798291566039
- DDC
- 539.76
- 저자명
- Che, Shuai.
- 서명/저자
- Developing Experimental and Modeling Capabilities to Advance Molten Salt Reactor Technology for Molten Salt Pumps and Heat Exchangers
- 발행사항
- [Sl] : University of Michigan, 2025
- 발행사항
- Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2025
- 형태사항
- 337 p
- 주기사항
- Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 87-03, Section: B.
- 주기사항
- Advisor: Burak, Adam;Sun, Xiaodong.
- 학위논문주기
- Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Michigan, 2025.
- 초록/해제
- 요약The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is a Generation-IV nuclear energy system with the potential to significantly improve the economics, safety, and proliferation resistance. To increase the maturity of MSR technology, two critical components, high-temperature molten salt pumps and heat exchangers (HXs), need to be further developed. This study aims to develop experimental and modeling capabilities to support the development of molten salt pumps and compact HXs, i.e., Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers (PCHEs).For molten salt pumps, shaft seals represent a key design challenge. They serve two critical functions: avoiding molten salt leakage and subsequent solidification, and preventing release of hazardous gases or radionuclides. To support the development of shaft seal technologies, this study investigated two promising candidates: labyrinth seals and circumferential bushing seals. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed to parametrically investigate cover gas leakage flows through a labyrinth seal. Pressure ratio, shaft speed, radial clearance, number of teeth, and tooth angle were considered. The pressure ratio and radial clearance were identified as the dominant factors. Increasing the number of teeth reduced the leakage flow rates, but diminishing returns were observed. The shaft speed and tooth angle had negligible effects under the conditions examined.For circumferential bushing seals, a high-temperature molten salt Shaft Seal Test Facility (SSTF) was designed and constructed to evaluate their performance. In SSTF, test seals were exposed to FLiNaK salt vapor and cover gas mixtures at temperatures and pressures up to 650 ◦C and 0.5 MPa, respectively, with varying shaft rotation speeds. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the static and dynamic performance of the bushing seal under MSR operating conditions. A 10-day transition phase was observed, during which graphite bushing wear influenced the pressure field. At steady state, both shaft speed and temperature exhibited negligible impacts on seal performance. Experiments using three different cover gases, i.e., nitrogen, helium, and argon, indicated argon was preferred as it maintained higher pressure at the same flow rate and lower cost. Transient experiments showed that shaft ramping speed and profile had negligible impacts.The thermal-hydraulic performance of a PCHE designed for FLiNaK salt and supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) with semi-circular zigzag channels was experimentally investigated using a surrogate fluid, and the acquired data were used to validate a CFD model. The simulation results showed that the curvature at zigzag bends reduced pressure drops, with more pronounced effects at higher Reynolds numbers. Two existing correlations accurately predicted friction factors for semi-circular zigzag channels across Reynolds numbers from 100 to 10,000. However, two heat transfer correlations, originally developed for helium, failed to predict the Nusselt number for FLiNaK salt, highlighting a need of new correlations for high-Prandtl-number fluids. A thermal-mechanical analysis was also conducted to evaluate the structural integrity of the PCHE under its design condition. High equivalent stresses and plastic deformation were observed near the rounded corners of semi-circular channels on the cold side. Increasing the curvature radius of the corners could significantly reduce the maximum equivalent stress.In summary, this study presents original contributions to the development of molten salt pumps and compact HXs. The SSTF serves as a test platform for evaluating shaft seals under MSR conditions, with the experimental data to improve shaft seal designs. Additionally, the developed PCHE numerical models facilitate the design optimization of semi-circular zigzag channel PCHEs for molten salt applications.
- 일반주제명
- Nuclear engineering
- 일반주제명
- Nuclear physics
- 일반주제명
- Fluid mechanics
- 일반주제명
- Mechanical engineering
- 기타저자
- University of Michigan Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences
- 기본자료저록
- Dissertations Abstracts International. 87-03B.
- 전자적 위치 및 접속
- 로그인 후 원문을 볼 수 있습니다.
MARC
008260126s2025 us c eng d■001000017359820
■00520260202105219
■006m o d
■007cr#unu||||||||
■020 ▼a9798291566039
■035 ▼a(MiAaPQ)AAI32271792
■035 ▼a(MiAaPQ)umichrackham006471
■040 ▼aMiAaPQ▼cMiAaPQ
■0820 ▼a539.76
■1001 ▼aChe, Shuai.
■24510▼aDeveloping Experimental and Modeling Capabilities to Advance Molten Salt Reactor Technology for Molten Salt Pumps and Heat Exchangers
■260 ▼a[Sl]▼bUniversity of Michigan▼c2025
■260 1▼aAnn Arbor▼bProQuest Dissertations & Theses▼c2025
■300 ▼a337 p
■500 ▼aSource: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 87-03, Section: B.
■500 ▼aAdvisor: Burak, Adam;Sun, Xiaodong.
■5021 ▼aThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Michigan, 2025.
■520 ▼aThe Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is a Generation-IV nuclear energy system with the potential to significantly improve the economics, safety, and proliferation resistance. To increase the maturity of MSR technology, two critical components, high-temperature molten salt pumps and heat exchangers (HXs), need to be further developed. This study aims to develop experimental and modeling capabilities to support the development of molten salt pumps and compact HXs, i.e., Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers (PCHEs).For molten salt pumps, shaft seals represent a key design challenge. They serve two critical functions: avoiding molten salt leakage and subsequent solidification, and preventing release of hazardous gases or radionuclides. To support the development of shaft seal technologies, this study investigated two promising candidates: labyrinth seals and circumferential bushing seals. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed to parametrically investigate cover gas leakage flows through a labyrinth seal. Pressure ratio, shaft speed, radial clearance, number of teeth, and tooth angle were considered. The pressure ratio and radial clearance were identified as the dominant factors. Increasing the number of teeth reduced the leakage flow rates, but diminishing returns were observed. The shaft speed and tooth angle had negligible effects under the conditions examined.For circumferential bushing seals, a high-temperature molten salt Shaft Seal Test Facility (SSTF) was designed and constructed to evaluate their performance. In SSTF, test seals were exposed to FLiNaK salt vapor and cover gas mixtures at temperatures and pressures up to 650 ◦C and 0.5 MPa, respectively, with varying shaft rotation speeds. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the static and dynamic performance of the bushing seal under MSR operating conditions. A 10-day transition phase was observed, during which graphite bushing wear influenced the pressure field. At steady state, both shaft speed and temperature exhibited negligible impacts on seal performance. Experiments using three different cover gases, i.e., nitrogen, helium, and argon, indicated argon was preferred as it maintained higher pressure at the same flow rate and lower cost. Transient experiments showed that shaft ramping speed and profile had negligible impacts.The thermal-hydraulic performance of a PCHE designed for FLiNaK salt and supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) with semi-circular zigzag channels was experimentally investigated using a surrogate fluid, and the acquired data were used to validate a CFD model. The simulation results showed that the curvature at zigzag bends reduced pressure drops, with more pronounced effects at higher Reynolds numbers. Two existing correlations accurately predicted friction factors for semi-circular zigzag channels across Reynolds numbers from 100 to 10,000. However, two heat transfer correlations, originally developed for helium, failed to predict the Nusselt number for FLiNaK salt, highlighting a need of new correlations for high-Prandtl-number fluids. A thermal-mechanical analysis was also conducted to evaluate the structural integrity of the PCHE under its design condition. High equivalent stresses and plastic deformation were observed near the rounded corners of semi-circular channels on the cold side. Increasing the curvature radius of the corners could significantly reduce the maximum equivalent stress.In summary, this study presents original contributions to the development of molten salt pumps and compact HXs. The SSTF serves as a test platform for evaluating shaft seals under MSR conditions, with the experimental data to improve shaft seal designs. Additionally, the developed PCHE numerical models facilitate the design optimization of semi-circular zigzag channel PCHEs for molten salt applications.
■590 ▼aSchool code: 0127.
■650 4▼aNuclear engineering
■650 4▼aNuclear physics
■650 4▼aFluid mechanics
■650 4▼aMechanical engineering
■653 ▼aMolten Salt Reactor
■653 ▼aMolten salt pump shaft seal
■653 ▼aHigh-temperature molten salt experiments
■653 ▼aComputational Fluid Dynamics
■653 ▼aPrinted Circuit Heat Exchangers
■690 ▼a0552
■690 ▼a0756
■690 ▼a0548
■690 ▼a0204
■71020▼aUniversity of Michigan▼bNuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences.
■7730 ▼tDissertations Abstracts International▼g87-03B.
■790 ▼a0127
■791 ▼aPh.D.
■792 ▼a2025
■793 ▼aEnglish
■85640▼uhttp://www.riss.kr/pdu/ddodLink.do?id=T17359820▼nKERIS▼z이 자료의 원문은 한국교육학술정보원에서 제공합니다.


