Research on measurement method for the core flow distribution experiment in molten salt reactors based on conductivity fluid tracking technology

Measurement of flow distribution in core is an important engineering validation experiment during the design process of a new-type nuclear reactor. To accurately measure the flow rate in each channel of the molten salt reactor core model, a novel measurement method of flow based on conductivity liquid tracking is proposed in this study. The measurement method is executed by injecting conductivity liquid into the channel with flowing pure water and tracking the fluid cluster of conductivity liquid, then the flow rate of the electrolyte cluster in the channel can be obtained through monitoring the conductivity variation as the electrolyte cluster passes the detector built-in the flow passage. After the calibration of the flow rate from tracking electrolyte cluster with intrinsic relationship previously verified, the flow rate of bulk fluid in the channel can be obtained. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations confirmed that the results obtained from the current measurement method align well with the normative flow rates, with a maximum deviation of 1.26%, which provides the feasibility for the calibration of the measurement method. Extensive promotion of the current method to all kinds of channels enables the measurement of flow distribution of the molten salt reactor core. The ongoing development and research of the method can provide effective tools for future flow distribution experiments of molten salt reactor core.