Experimental hydraulic study of a fluidized-bed reactor

This article reports the results of an experimental rig that was developed to study the bed ¯uidization in a ¯uidized-bed nuclear reactor model by measuring bed porosity using gamma absorptiometry. This hydraulic study reveals some problems with the ¯uidized bed control resulting from the original design concept for some reactor components. As a consequence, the limiting screen and control ring will have to be redesigned, making possible the formation of a stable ¯uidization for fuel/moderator aspect ratio between 0.75 and 1.0