In case of light-water reactor containment leakage or failure due to over-pressurization after severe accident, huge amount of radioactive gases and aerosol particles can be released into the environment. This type of release into the environment can have serious radiological consequences. To mitigate the radiological consequences of such releases, an emergency response spray system can be deployed outside the reactor containment. The purpose of this research is to examine the use of spray technology to capture the radioactivity released into the environment during the course of severe accident. In our initial investigations, lab-scale experiments were performed to evaluate aerosol particles removal efficiency by water and foam based-sprays. For this purpose, micron sized non-radioactive TiO_2 particles were used in the experiments. The effects of aerosol carrier gas release rates (30, 45 and 50 liter/min) and aerosol particle sizes (0.02, 0.15 and 5 μm) on spray removal efficiencies were investigated as part of study. The captured aerosol particles by water and foam spray materials were measured by UV-Visible spectroscopy technique. Experimental results showed that foam-based sprays were more efficient as compared to water-based sprays. The aerosol removal efficiency was decreased by increasing the aerosol carrier gas release rates. Moreover, spray removal efficiency of large sized particles was higher as compared to small sized particles.
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