Highlights
• The LBE-helium experimental loop of ADS (LELA) is introduced.
• The ε-NTU correlation of LBE-helium heat exchanger is verified experimentally.
• The effectiveness of LBE-helium heat exchanger is 0.8–0.88 at Rc = 0.45–0.77.
• Pressure drops and heat transfer characteristics are investigated experimentally.
Abstract
Accelerator driven sub-critical system (ADS) has been universally regarded as the most promising approach to dispose the long-lived nuclear wastes. Lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) is the suitable coolant and spallation target material for ADS. But some theoretical models and empirical correlations of LBE are different from that of the existing conventional fluid. The performances of intermediate heat exchanger and heat transfer characteristics of LBE-helium two-loop cooling system are still not fully understood. The experimental investigation of the LBE-helium heat exchanger is performed in the present research. The effectiveness-NTU correlation of LBE-helium heat exchanger is verified experimentally in the LBE-helium experimental loop of ADS. The experimental results indicate that the effectiveness of LBE-helium heat exchanger is 0.8–0.88 at Rc = 0.45–0.77. The Moody correlation of friction factor is in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The overall heat transfer coefficient and actual heat transfer rate increase with increasing LBE inlet temperature, and decrease with increasing helium inlet temperature. As helium inlet flowrate increases, overall heat transfer coefficient and actual heat transfer rate increase remarkably.