Use of laser flow visualization techniques in reactor component thermal-hydraulic studies

To properly design reactor components, an understanding of the various thermal hydraulic phenomena, i.e., thermal stratification flow channeling, recirculation regions, shear layers, etc., is necessary. In the liquid metal breeder reactor program, water is commonly used to replace sodium in experimental testing to facilitate the investigations, (i.e., reduce cost and allow fluid velocity measurement or flow pattern study). After water testing, limited sodium tests can be conducted to validate the extrapolation of the water results to sodium. This paper describes a novel laser flow visualization technique being utilized at ANL together with various examples of its use and plans for further development. A 3-watt argon-ion laser, in conjunction with a cylindrical opticallens, has been used to create a thin (approx. 1-mm) intense plane of laser light for the illuminiation of various flow tracers in precisely defined regions of interest within a test article having windows. Both fluorescing dyes tuned to the wavelength of the laser light (to maximize brightness and sharpness of flow image) and small (< 0.038-mm, 0.0015-in. dia.) opaque, nearly neutrally buoyant polystyrene spheres (to ensure that the particles trace out the fluid motion) have been used as flow tracers

Nonlinear elasticity of stiff biopolymers connected by flexible linkers

Networks of the biopolymer actin, cross-linked by the compliant protein filamin, form soft gels. They can, however, withstand large shear stresses due to their pronounced nonlinear elastic behavior. The nonlinear elasticity can be controlled by varying the number of cross-links per actin filament. We propose and test a model of rigid filaments decorated by multiple flexible linkers that is in quantitative agreement with experiment. This allows us to estimate loads on individual cross-links, which we find to be less than 10 pN. © 2009 The American Physical Society

Microscale Flow Visualization of Nucleate Boiling in Small Channels: Mechanisms Influencing Heat Transfer

This paper describes the use of a new test apparatus employing flow visualization via ultra-high-speed video and microscope optics to study microscale nucleate boiling in a small, rectangular, heated channel. The results presented are for water. Because of confinement effects produced by the channel cross section being of the same nominal size as the individual vapor bubbles nucleating at discrete wall sites, flow regimes and heat transfer mechanisms that occur in small channels are shown to be considerably different than those in large channels. Flow visualization data are presented depicting discrete bubble/bubble and bubble/wall interactions for moderate and high heat flux. Quantitative data are also presented on nucleate bubble growth behavior for a single nucleation site in the form of growth rates, bubble sizes, and frequency of generation in the presence and absence of a thin wall liquid layer. Mechanistic boiling behavior and trends are observed which support the use of this type of research as a powerful means to gain fundamental insights into why, under some conditions, nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficients are considerably larger in small channels than in large channels

Microscale flow visualization of nucleate boiling in small channels: Mechanisms influencing heat transfer

This paper describes the use of a new test apparatus employing flow visualization via ultra-high-speed video and microscope optics to study microscale nucleate boiling in a small, rectangular, heated channel. The results presented are for water. Because of confinement effects produced by the channel cross section being of the same nominal size as the individual vapor bubbles nucleating at discrete wall sites, flow regimes and heat transfer mechanisms that occur in small channels are shown to be considerably different than those in large channels. Flow visualization data are presented depicting discrete bubble/bubble and bubble/wall interactions for moderate and high heat flux. Quantitative data are also presented on nucleate bubble growth behavior for a single nucleation site in the form of growth rates, bubble sizes, and frequency of generation in the presence and absence of a thin wall liquid layer. Mechanistic boiling behavior and trends are observed which support the use of this type of research as a powerful means to gain fundamental insights into why, under some conditions, nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficients are considerably larger in small channels than in large channels

Measurement of velocity profiles in a stratified pipe flow recirculatory shear zone using laser flow visualization

Argonne National Laboratory is studying pipe-flow/plenum thermal-plume interactions induced by a pipe-to-plenum temperature difference. Under these conditions a pipe-flow-generated thermal plume is produced in the plenum and a stratified recirculation zone is produced in the pipe resulting in cold fluid being drawn out of the plenum into the bottom of the horizontal pipe conveying hot fluid into the plenum. These phenomena produce plenum wall and pipe nozzle thermal distributions conductive to detrimental structural thermal stresses. In order to study these phenomena studies are being conducted in the ANL Buoyancy Effects Tank (BET), a 3.41-m/sup 3/ plenum containing cold water which is interfaced with a horizontal transparent pipe conveying hot water into the plenum

Visualizing the strain field in semiflexible polymer networks: strain fluctuations and nonlinear rheology of F-actin gels

We image semi-flexible polymer networks under shear at the micrometer scale. By tracking embedded probe particles, we determine the local strain field, and directly measure its uniformity, or degree of affineness, on scales of 2-100 micron. The degree of nonaffine strain depends on polymer length and crosslink density, consistent with theoretical predictions. We also find a direct correspondence between the uniformity of the microscale strain and the nonlinear elasticity of the networks in the bulk.Comment: 9 pages (double-spaced) of text, 4 figures + 1 supplementary figur

Glioma Expansion in Collagen I Matrices: Analyzing Collagen Concentration-Dependent Growth and Motility Patterns

Kaufman, L. J., C. P. Brangwynne, K. E. Kasza, E. Filippidi, V. D. Gordon, T. S. Deisboeck, and D. A. Weitz. “Glioma Expansion in Collagen I Matrices: Analyzing Collagen Concentration-Dependent Growth and Motility Patterns.” Biophysical Journal 89, no. 1 (July 2005): 635–50. doi:10.1529/biophysj.105.061994. -- C. P. Brangwynne, K. E. Kasza, and E. Filippidi, are with the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts -- L. J. Kaufman, V. D. Gordon (currently with UT Austin), and D. A.Weitz are with the Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts -- T. S. Deisboeck is with the Molecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts and {Complex Biosystems Modeling Laboratory, Harvard-MIT (HST) Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts -- L. J. Kaufman is with the Center for Imaging and Mesoscale Structures, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; andWe study the growth and invasion of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in three-dimensional collagen I matrices of varying collagen concentration. Phase-contrast microscopy studies of the entire GBM system show that invasiveness at early times is limited by available collagen fibers. At early times, high collagen concentration correlates with more effective invasion. Conversely, high collagen concentration correlates with inhibition in the growth of the central portion of GBM, the multicellular tumor spheroid. Analysis of confocal reflectance images of the collagen matrices quantifies how the collagen matrices differ as a function of concentration. Studying invasion on the length scale of individual invading cells with a combination of confocal and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy reveals that the invasive GBM cells rely heavily on cell-matrix interactions during invasion and remodeling.Chemistr

Nuclear power plant Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL). Appendix B

The purpose of this generic aging lessons learned (GALL) review is to provide a systematic review of plant aging information in order to assess materials and component aging issues related to continued operation and license renewal of operating reactors. Literature on mechanical, structural, and thermal-hydraulic components and systems reviewed consisted of 97 Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) reports, 23 NRC Generic Letters, 154 Information Notices, 29 Licensee Event Reports (LERs), 4 Bulletins, and 9 Nuclear Management and Resources Council Industry Reports (NUMARC IRs) and literature on electrical components and systems reviewed consisted of 66 NPAR reports, 8 NRC Generic Letters, 111 Information Notices, 53 LERs, 1 Bulletin, and 1 NUMARC IR. More than 550 documents were reviewed. The results of these reviews were systematized using a standardized GALL tabular format and standardized definitions of aging-related degradation mechanisms and effects. The tables are included in volume s 1 and 2 of this report. A computerized data base has also been developed for all review tables and can be used to expedite the search for desired information on structures, components, and relevant aging effects. A survey of the GALL tables reveals that all ongoing significant component aging issues are currently being addressed by the regulatory process. However, the aging of what are termed passive components has been highlighted for continued scrutiny. This report consists of Volume 2, which consists of the GALL literature review tables for the NUMARC Industry Reports reviewed for the report