Study of the Flow Temperature and Ring Design Influence on the Response of a New Reduced-Size Calorimetric Cell for Nuclear Heating Quantification

Abstract

This paper concerns experimental studies of different designs of a new compact calorimetric cell under laboratory conditions. This kind of cell is used for the measurement of the nuclear heating rate inside Material Testing Reactors thanks to differential calorimetry. The results, obtained by applying an operating protocol corresponding to a preliminary out-of-pile calibration step, are presented for three designs. The influence of the horizontal-fin design is shown on the calibration curve and the sensor sensitivity. The influence of the external fluid flow temperature is given for the quarter design. The different responses of the calorimetric cell are explained by taken into account a 1D analytical thermal model coupling thermal conductive and radiative transfers.

Keywords

• Calorimetry
• New design
• Calibration curve
• Energy deposition rate
• Nuclear fission