Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Development, validation and implementation of multiple radioactive particle tracking technique

  • Mehul S. Vesvikar (BIOMATH, Dept of Applied Mathematics, Biometrics and Process Control, Ghent University) ;
  • Thaar M. Aljuwaya (Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T)) ;
  • Mahmoud M. Taha (College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East) ;
  • Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan (Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T))
  • Received : 2022.11.09
  • Accepted : 2023.07.31
  • Published : 2023.11.25
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Abstract

Computer Automated Radioactive Particle Tracking (CARPT) technique has been successfully utilized to measure the velocity profiles and mixing parameters in different multiphase flow systems where a single radioactive tracer is used to track the tagged phase. However, many industrial processes use a wide range of particles with different physical properties where solid particles could vary in size, shape and density. For application in such systems, the capability of current single tracer CARPT can be advanced to track more than one particle simultaneously. Tracking multiple particles will thus enable to track the motion of particles of different size shape and density, determine segregation of particles and probing particle interactions. In this work, a newly developed Multiple Radioactive Particle Tracking technique (M-RPT) used to track two different radioactive tracers is demonstrated. The M-RPT electronics was developed that can differentiate between gamma counts obtained from the different radioactive tracers on the basis of their gamma energy peak. The M-RPT technique was validated by tracking two stationary and moving particles (Sc-46 and Co-60) simultaneously. Finally, M-RPT was successfully implemented to track two phases, solid and liquid, simultaneously in three phase slurry bubble column reactors.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the United States Department of Energy for sponsoring the research project (Identification Number: DE-FC36-01GO11054), and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory group for their support.

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