Flow Instability Tests for a Particle Bed Reactor Nuclear Thermal Rocket Fuel Element
Abstract
Recent analyses have focused on the flow stability characteristics of a particle bed reactor (PBR). These laminar flow instabilities may exist in reactors with parallel paths and are caused by the heating of the gas at low Reynolds numbers. This phenomena can be described as follows: several parallel channels are connected at the plenum regions and are stabilized by some inlet temperature and pressure; a perturbation in one channel causes the temperature to rise and increases the gas viscosity and reduces the gas density; the pressure drop is fixed by the plenum regions, therefore the mass flow rate in the channel would decrease; the decrease in flow reduces the ability to remove the energy added and therefore the temperature increases; and finally, this process could continue until the fuel element fails. Several analyses based on different methods have derived similar curves to show that these instabilities may exist at low Reynolds numbers and high phi's ((Tfinal Tinitial)/Tinitial). These analyses need to be experimentally verified.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA268012
Entities
People
- Timothy J. Lawrence
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology