Team 1813: High Range Radiation Monitor Cable Study Team: Peter - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Team 1813: High Range Radiation Monitor Cable Study Team: Peter Nidever(EE), Richard Ross(EE), Alex Cannan(ENGPHYS), Kelsey Bushkoff(ME), Charlotte Veitner(ME) Advisor: Yang Cao(ECE), Wilson Chiu(ME) Sponsor: Shane Williams (Zachry Nuclear)

Outline ● Background ● Previous Studies ● Project Statement ● Experiment Process ● Design Approach ● Project Milestones ● Budget

Background ● HRRM - High Range Radiation Monitor ● TIC - Thermally Induced Current ● LOCA - Loss of Coolant Accident ● MSLB - Main Steam Line Break ● Temperature changes during certain events MSLB causing misleading instrument readings ● Inconsistent readings adds unnecessary LOCA confusion

Previous Studies ● EPRI - Electric Power Research Institute ● Dr. Cao ● Mostly involving heat transfer in 1D Wire Centered in Conduit Wire in Contact with Conduit Wire

Project Statement Main Deliverables ● Design an experimental rig to measure TICs for various coaxial cables-in-conduit configurations ● Transient 2D CFD model of one cable-in-conduit configuration used in testing ● Suggestions for improving HRRM systems to eliminate the problem of false alarms

Experimental Process

Time to Sink or Swim, Alex. ~Love Peter and Rick

Designing the Experimental Rig

Rig Design Approach ● We need a way to provide a relatively quick temperature gradient to the outside of a steel conduit, simulating a LOCA ○ Hot and cold liquid baths ● We will also need to measure the current, as well as temperature at certain points along the cable, while keeping the conduit watertight ○ Drilled holes along conduit for thermocouples, epoxy to seal holes and ends ● With an ammeter and an interface for the thermocouples, we can route all of this data into LabView for accurate data acquisition

Current Reading ● The TICs interfere with the keep-alive current running through the HRRM ● The keep-alive current is in the order of 10 pA ● Therefore, we require a picoammeter to accurately measure the TIC effects

Temperature Reading ● Thermistor - Low cost, good accuracy ● Thermocouple - Medium cost, great accuracy ● Resistance Temperature Detectors - High cost, best accuracy Thermistor Thermocouple RTD

Sensor Design

Conduit Encapsulation ● To make the conduit watertight, we need to seal: ○ Conduit ends ○ Thermocouple holes ● We plan on using a two-step epoxy for the thermocouple holes ● We are exploring epoxy solutions for the conduit ends

Simulated Keep-Alive Circuit

Project Milestones ● Design and build experimental rig ● Create transient thermal 2D CFD model ● Compare the average surface temperatures of cable from experimental data to CFD model ● Use thermal 2D CFD model to calculate TIC effect ● Compare modeled TIC effects to experimental data

Timeline

Budget Budget Total of $1000.00 Product Item Number Quantity Price Description Thermocouples SA1XL-K-120 1 (Pack of 5) $131.00 5 Pack of self-adhesive thermocouples. 3 meter length. -73C to 315C temp range. 1 lb of two-step epoxy. Thermally conductive, water resistant. May be used to seal Epoxy OB-100-16 1 (1 lb) $46.00 off thermocouple holes as well possibly the conduit ends. Conduit Electric Metallic Tube Conduit Testing Cables Instrumentation Wire for HRRM Trough Burners Free (Stealing them) From Chem, PHYS, or IMS lab

References [1] S. Boggs and Y. Cao. High Range Radiation Monitor Cable Study: Phase I. 1998 [2] S. Boggs and Y. Cao. High Range Radiation Monitor Cable Study: Phase II 2000 [3] S. H. Weiss. Environmental Qualification Deficiency for Cables and Containment Penetration Pigtails 1997

Info About Personnel and Collaborators Peter Nidever Shane Williams Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Program Sponsor Peter.Nidever@uconn.edu WilliamsSA1@zachrynuclear.com Alex Cannan Yang Cao Undergraduate Engineering Physics EE Faculty Advisor Alex.Cannan@uconn.edu Yang.Cao@uconn.edu Richard Ross Wilson Chiu Undergraduate Electrical Engineering ME Faculty Advisor Richard.Ross@uconn.edu Wilson.Chiu@uconn.edu Kelsey Bushkoff Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Kelsey.Bushkoff@uconn.edu Charlotte Veitner Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering University of Connecticut Charlotte.Veitner@uconn.edu Storrs, CT 06269

Questions?