AN EXPERIMENTAL CONTINUOUS-INDICATION PLUGGING METER FOR IMPURITY MONITORING IN LIQUID ALKALI METALS

摘要

Plugging meters, although non-specific, are useful for detecting changes in the gross impurity level of liquid alkali metals. For the coolant circuits of a fast reactor, automatic as opposed to manual measurement of the plugging temperature is required. The Report describes the development of an experimental automatic instrument, designed to have a fast response and display a continuous record of plugging temperatures.nThe liquid metal supply to the instrument flows from zero differential pressure sampling points on the external system and circulation is maintained by using a separate pump. With this design, the flow emerging from the cooler has two alternative routes, one through the orifice and one by¬passing it. The by-pass flow is guided near the orifice and aids rapid unplugging.