Acquisition and reduction of data obtained from Tank 101-SY in-situ ball rheometer

摘要

Development of the ball rheometer to measure rheological properties and density of the waste in Hanford Tank 241-SY-101 will be completed around September 1994. Since the ball rheometer project began, a mixer pump has been installed in this tank, and by all accounts this pump has been very successful at mitigating the flammable gas problem associated with Tank 101-SY. Present plans now call for the use of mixer pumps in several other tanks. The ball rheometer will serve as a diagnostic tool for judging the effectiveness of mixing in Tank 101-SY and others and will be one of few in-situ probes available for diagnostic measurements. The in-situ data collection strategy and the methods of data analysis and reduction are presented in this final report concerning this instrument. It is believed that a generalized Bingham fluid model (Herschel-Bulkley fluid model) may be useful for describing at least some of the waste contained in Tank 101-SY, and data obtained in the tank will initially be reduced using this fluid model. The single largest uncertainty in the determination of the drag force on the ball is the drag force which will be experienced by the cable attached to the ball. This drag can be a substantial fraction of the total drag when the ball is deep within the tank. Careful accounting of the cable drag will be important in the reduction of the data. The data collection strategy allows the determination of the waste fluid rheology both in the undisturbed state and after it has been disturbed by the ball. Fluid density will be measured at regular intervals.