The proposed work is dedicated to the technological challenges associated with the highly innovative Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) family of nuclear reactors.
In a loop type MSR, the fuel salt carries with it delayed neutrons precursors, which generate fissions outside the core. Under these conditions, to facilitate reactor control, the volume of out-of-core fuel salt must be minimized. This constraint imposes an exchanged power density greater than the core power density at the intermediate heat exchangers, which extract power from the core.
The ISAC project is developing a fast-neutron MSR with a core power density of 250 MW/m3. This power density, combined with the specific characteristics of the fuel salt, represents an ambitious target for conventional heat exchanger technologies. One of the solutions proposed to maximize the power density of the intermediate exchanger is to adopt new exchange patterns. TPMS geometries, assembled to form 3D exchange channels, are interesting candidates. The construction of such exchangers is made possible by additive manufacturing processes.
The subject of this thesis is the experimental validation of heat exchange and friction coefficient correlations specific to TPMS geometries. CFD calculations will be used to develop the experimental program. The development of simulating fluid tests will be based on Reynolds number and Prandtl number equivalence. The main challenges of the proposed research relate to the 3D nature of the channels and understanding the influence of roughness in additive manufacturing channels. Finally, the experimental results obtained will be used to develop the CFD models.
The compactness of heat exchangers is a recurring issue in the development of any energy conversion system. The correlations validated during the course of this PhD will be used to dimension other TPMS exchangers for various applications. Morever, the work on offer opens up career prospects, particularly in research centers, industrial R&D departments and innovative systems design units.
Un stage de master 2 est proposé par l’équipe en complément de la thèse.