Theoretical and experimental performance analysis for cold trap design

Cold trap is a purification unit used in sodium system of FBR's for maintaining the oxygen/hydrogen level in sodium within acceptable limits. It works on the principle of crystallization and precipitation of oxides/hydrides of sodium in a wire mesh, when the temperature of sodium is reduced below the saturation temperature. The cold traps presently used have lower effectiveness and get plugged prematurely. The plugged cold traps are cleaned and then put back into service. Frequent cleaning of cold trap results in the long down time of the sodium system. New design of cold trap has been conceived to overcome the above problems. The mathematical modeling for the new design was carried out and validated with experimentally tested results for its effectiveness. This paper shares the experience gained on the new design of cold trap for FBR's.