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The correlation method for measuring of the coolant fl rate is used in the operation of nuclear power plants and is widespread in research practice including study of turbulent fl hydrodynamics. However the question of its applicability and possibilities in studies using the matrix conductometry method remains open. Earlier the algorithm for determining of the correlation fl rate using a conductometric measuring system was highlighted and the error of the results obtained was estimated and the dependence of the influence of noise and the time of data collection on the reliability of results was investigated. These works were carried out using two independent mesh sensors and the issue of the resolution of local velocity components was not covered. The purpose of this work was to test the correlation method for measuring velocity with temporal and spatial sampling using two-layer mesh conductometric sensors.As the result velocity cartograms were obtained over the cross-section of the experimental model with quasi-stationary mixing and the value of the average flow rate is in good agreement with the values obtained from the standard flow meters of the stand. Also measurements were carried out at a non-stationary setting of the experiment and realizations of the flow rate and velocity components of the flow at the measuring points were obtained.Analysis of the obtained values allows to conclude about the optimal data collection time for correlation measurements, as well as the reliability of results.

One of the important tasks in carrying out a computational justification of the reliability and safety of equipment that is part of the projected nuclear power plants today is the modeling of the bubbly regime of the coolant flow. In this regard the aim of this work is the use of extended methods of using matrix conductometric systems which are widespread in research practice for study of gas-liquid flows.The work uses a method of primary processing of experimental data aimed at eliminating of excess conductivity in the cells of the developed wire mesh sensor which makes it possible to obtain the values of the true volumetric gas content in the investigated area.Subsequent analysis of the possibilities to estimate the volumes of registered gas bubbles by the gradient method as well as the size of the interface in the sensor cells which plays a key role in modeling the interfacial heat and mass transfer.Comparison of readings values with the control instruments cues showed a good agreement. The presented work is an adaptation of the use of a conductometric measuring system for the study of multicomponent flows with the aim of further application for the study of two-component flows in the channels of the core simulator using wire mesh sensors.

The correlation method of the coolant flow measuring is widely used in research practice including for studying of turbulent coolant flows in scale models of elements of nuclear power plants. The aim of this work was to develop a technique for assessing the effect of noise recorded by a measuring system on the flow rate readings obtained using the correlation method.A technique to assess the effect of noise as well as the relative position and acquisition period of sensors is presented. An insignificant concentration of a salt solution (NaCl or Na2SO4 ) is used as a passive impurity which creates a conductivity gradient of the medium recorded by a conductometric system. Turbulent pulsations at the interface between two concurrent isokinetic flows in a channel with a square cross section are used as the signal source for the correlational algorithm.Paper presents the values of the turbulence′s transport time between spatial conductometers, the results of estimating the spectral power density and band of the recorded signal and also the signalto-noise ratios of the measuring system obtained on their basis which are subsequently used to estimate the confidence interval of the transport time.As a result of measurements the relationship between the confidence interval value and the signal length were obtained. The measurements which were carried out at different relative positions of conductometers make it possible to make a conclusion about an increase in the spectral width of the signal and, as a consequence, a decrease in the length of the confidence interval with increasing of distance between sensors.The presented work is an approbation of this approach for its application as part of an experimental model of a nuclear reactor in order to determine per-channel flow rates in the channels of the core simulator using mesh conductometric sensors taking into account the effect of noise.

Structure vibration under the influence of unsteady hydrodynamic forces caused by the flow around their surfaces can adversely affect durability and rupture life. Reducing the adverse effects of hydrodynamic forces is currently possible with the help of linked CFD and vibration calculations. However, for an adequate description of the associated processes one should use calculation models and approaches specific to the hydro-vibration problem. To justify and validate such approaches, an experimental model was developed and a series of structure excitation tests in water flow was carried out.The model comprises two cylinders installed sequentially in water crossflow. Vibration levels, pressure and velocity fluctuations were measured in the tests as a functions of the flow velocity. The application of different non-intrusive measurement techniques was possible due to relatively simple test model construction which may be used for cross-validation and experimental uncertainty quantification.Flow-structure interaction, caused by synchronization effect of the flow separation frequency (or it’s spectral components) and eigenfrequency of cylinder, was analyzed based on simultaneously measured data. The tests performed gave the information about dynamical characteristics of the flow and vibration parameters of cantilevered cylinders. The experimental results are used for identification of required accuracy of hydrodynamic forces calculation by CFD and validation of oneand two-way linked methods for flow excitation frequency calculation.

Provding a high level of durability of heat exchange equipment of water-cooled reactors under local stochastic temperature pulsations is an important scientific and technical problem for the nuclear power industry. Temperature pulsations produced by mixing non-isothermal coolant flows with high temperature gradient are most dangerous. This work is an experimental study of temperature and stress-strain state of a tube sample under local stochastic temperature pulsations caused by mixing of coolant flows.To solve the problems posed, a Y-junction with «counter injection» was built, which was included in the thermal-hydraulic research facility. The design of the Y-junction allows study of the thermal-hydraulic characteristics and durability of tube samples made of austenitic steel of 60 × 5 мм. Some tube samples had developed for measuring the temperature, stress-strain state of tube material and temperature field of coolant flow in mixing zone of single-phase coolants with different temperatures. Measuring tube samples were equipped with micro thermocouples and strain gauges.The experimental data of temperature pulsations, time-averaged temperature field in the coolant flow and on the outer surface of the sample were obtained, and statistical and spectral correlation characteristics of temperature pulsations were analyzed. According to results of measuring the relative strain, values of stresses were calculated.Devices and research techniques are developed. The combination of coolant flows parameters that provide thermal load of the metal surface at the highest level of stress intensity amplitude was obtained. The study results are used to verify the method for evaluating fatigue of reactor installations materials under stochastic temperature pulsations.

The well-known method of spatial conductometry is widely used for hydrodynamical investigations in the frame of validation benchmarks. The aim of the work was to develop the method of representativeness substantiation for use of the conductometric sensors in single-phase applications.The paper presents aspects of wire-mesh sensors (WMS) applications in non-uniform conductivity fields. The equivalent electrical circuits for the measurement cell and WMS are proposed and investigated. The methods of translation from measured conductance to conductivity of the water are discussed. Decomposition of the uncertainty sources and their propagation through measurements are investigated.To obtain the «cross-talk» effect of the measurements the fi model of WMS fl domain was created. The results of calculations showed the dependence of the measurement results on the conductivity contrast in the cells as well as on the size of the contrast domain. The proposed method of the measurement uncertainty estimate was applied to the real WMS and it’s measurement system. The obtained results are topical for validation tests with the use of tracer methods and WMS.

The last decades development of applied calculation methods of nuclear reactor thermal and hydraulic processes are marked by the rapid growth of the High Performance Computing (HPC), which contribute to the active introduction of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The use of such programs to justify technical and economic parameters and especially the safety of nuclear reactors requires comprehensive verification of mathematical models and CFD programs. The aim of the work was the development and adaptation of a measuring system having the characteristics necessary for its application in the verification test (experimental) facility. It’s main objective is to study the processes of coolant flow mixing with different physical properties (for example, the concentration of dissolved impurities) inside a large-scale reactor model. The basic method used for registration of the spatial concentration field in the mixing area is the method of spatial conductometry. In the course of the work, a measurement complex, including spatial conductometric sensors, a system of secondary converters and software, was created. Methods of calibration and normalization of measurement results are developed. Averaged concentration fields, nonstationary realizations of the measured local conductivity were obtained during the first experimental series, spectral and statistical analysis of the realizations were carried out.The acquired data are compared with pretest CFD-calculations performed in the ANSYS CFX program. A joint analysis of the obtained results made it possible to identify the main regularities of the process under study, and to demonstrate the capabilities of the designed measuring system to receive the experimental data of the «CFD-quality» required for verification.The carried out adaptation of spatial sensors allows to conduct a more extensive program of experimental tests, on the basis of which a databank and necessary generalizations will be created. The received information allows to answer a number of questions related to scaling up the results of CFD calculations at the fullscale parameters of pressurized nuclear reactors.

Coolant flow mixing processes with different temperatures and concentrations of diluted additives widely known in nuclear power units operation. In some cases these processes make essential impact on the resource and behavior of the nuclear unit during transient and emergency situations. The aim of the study was creation of measurement system and test facility to carry out basic tests and to embed spatial conductometry method in investigation practice of turbulent coolant flows. In the course of investigation measurement system with sensors and experimental facility was designed, several first tests were carried out. A special attention was dedicated to calibration and clarification of conductometry sensor application methodologies in studies of turbulent flow characteristics. Investigations involved method of electrically contrast tracer jet with concurrent flow in closed channel of round crosssection. The measurements include both averaged and unsteady realizations of measurement signal. Experimental data processing shows good agreement with other tests acquired from another measurement systems based on different physical principles. Calibration functions were acquired, methodical basis of spatial conductometry measurement system application was created. Gathered experience of spatial sensor application made it possible to formulate the principles of further investigation that involve large-scale models of nuclear unit equipment. Spatial wire-mesh sensors proved to be a perspective type of eddy resolving measurement devices.

Development of heat and mass transfer intensifiers is a major engineering task in the design of new and modernization of existing fuel assemblies. These devices create lateral mass flow of coolant. Design of intensifiers affects both the coolant mixing and the hydraulic resistance. The aim of this work is to develop a methodology of measuring coolant local velocity in the fuel assembly models with different mixing grids. To solve the problems was manufactured and calibrated multihole pressure probe. The air flow velocity measuring method with multihole pressure probe was used in the experimental studies on the coolant local hydrodynamics in fuel assemblies with mixing grids. Analysis of the coolant lateral velocity vector fields allowed to study the formation of the secondary vortex flows behind the mixing grids, and to determine the basic laws of coolant flow in experimental models. Quantitative data on the coolant flow velocity distribution obtained with a multihole pressure probe make possible to determine the magnitude of the flow lateral velocities in fuel rod gaps, as well as to determine the distance at which damping occurs during mixing.