Dissolved oxygen control and monitoring implementation in the liquid lead–bismuth eutectic loop: HELIOS

A 12 m tall LBE coolant loop, named as HELIOS, has been developed by thermal-hydraulic scaling of the PEACER-300MWe. Thermo-hydraulic experiment and materials test are the principal purposes of HELIOS operation. In this study, an yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) based oxygen sensor that was hermetically sealed for long-term applications using the electromagnetically swaged metal–ceramic joining method, have been developed for high temperature oxygen control application over a long period of time. The rugged electrode design has been calibrated to absolute metal–oxide equilibrium by using a first principle of detecting pure metal–oxide transition using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). During the materials tests in HELIOS, dissolved oxygen concentration was administered at the intended condition of 10−6 wt% by direct gas bubbling with Ar + 4%H2, Ar + 5%O2 and/or pure Ar while corrosion tests were conducted for up to 1000 h with inspection after each 333 h. During the total 1000 h corrosion test, oxygen concentration was measured by oxygen sensor. The result confirmed that the direct gas bubbling method is a viable and practical option for controlling oxygen concentration in large loops including HELIOS.