Computational and experimental prediction of dust production in pebble bed reactors, Part II

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and design 2013-10, Vol.263, p.509-514
• Main Authors: Hiruta, Mie, Johnson, Gannon, Rostamian, Maziar, Potirniche, Gabriel P., Ougouag, Abderrafi M., Bertino, Massimo, Franzel, Louis, Tokuhiro, Akira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dust; dust production; GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS; Helium; Nuclear reactor components; Nuclear reactors; Pebble bed; Pebble bed reactors; Wear; Wear tests
• ISSN: 0029-5493; 1872-759X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2013.04.032

•Custom-built high temperature, high pressure tribometer is designed.•Two different wear phenomena at high temperatures are observed.•Experimental wear results for graphite are presented.•The graphite wear dust production in a typical Pebble Bed Reactor is predicted. This paper is the continuation of Part I, which describes the high temperature and high pressure helium environment wear tests of graphite–graphite in frictional contact. In the present work, it has been attempted to simulate a Pebble Bed Reactor core environment as compared to Part I. The experimental apparatus, which is a custom-designed tribometer, is capable of performing wear tests at PBR relevant higher temperatures and pressures under a helium environment. This environment facilitates prediction of wear mass loss of graphite as dust particulates from the pebble bed. The experimental results of high temperature helium environment are used to anticipate the amount of wear mass produced in a pebble bed nuclear reactor.