The Indirect Coupling Design of the DEMO fusion reactor decouples the helium-loop of the Breeding Blanket Primary Heat Transfer System (BB PHTS) and the Rankine turbine cycle of the Power Conversion System by integrating a molten salt (HITEC) loop as an Intermediate Heat Transfer System (IHTS). The transfer of the heat between BB PHTS and IHTS shall be realized by means of a He-molten salt-heat-exchanger. The different physical parameters and material properties of both heat transfer media lead to considerable sizes of conventional liquid-gas-shell-and-tube-heat-exchangers. By using structured heat exchanger interfaces, convective heat transfer can be increased, which reduces the heat transfer area and enables the realization of more compact designs.

The master thesis deals with the experimental determination of heat transfer coefficients and pressure losses in structured circular tubes, as they could be applied in compact He-molten salt-heat-exchangers within the ICD concept of DEMO.  The objective of the work is the thermal-hydraulic design and calculation of a heated molten salt test section for the experimental determination of heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in structured circular tubes. The test section is intended for use in a scaled model circuit of IHTS, which is being set up at KIT as part of the HELOKA-US project.

The master thesis includes the following tasks:

The master thesis includes the following tasks:

Conceptual design of the test section

Development, design and simulation of the test section heating system

Instrumentation and measurement concept

CAD model generation for design and numerical simulation

Thermal-hydraulic CFD calculation of the mock-up at different test conditions

Duration: 6 Month

Starting Date:  immediately

Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology (INR)
Group: Facility Design, System Dynamics and Safety

Contact and Supervisor: Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Ruck (sebastian.ruck@kit.edu) und Dr. Sara Perez-Martin (sara.martin@kit.edu)

References:

S. Perez-Martin, E. Bubelis, W. Hering, L. Barucca.  R&D Needs for the Design of the EU-DEMO HCPB ICD Balance of Plant in FP9. Journal of Nuclear Engineering  2022 3(4), 435-445 https://doi.org/10.3390/jne3040029

X. Gaus-Liu, E. Bubelis, S. Perez-Martin, B. E. Ghidersa, W. Hering.  Design Features and Simulation of the New-Build HELOKA-US Facility for the Validation of the DEMO Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed Intermediate Heat Transport and Storage System. Journal of Nuclear Engineering  2022 3(4), 461-472 https://doi.org/10.3390/jne3040032