Experimental investigation of gas lift pump in a lead-bismuth eutectic loop

The gas lift pump has been used in the development of an Accelerator Driven System (ADS) nuclear reactor instead of mechanical pumps due to its simple mechanical structure. The two phase flow of Lead Bismuth eutectic (LBE)-inert gas in rising pipe could remarkably increase natural circulation capacity. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the gas lift pump and to conduct the relevant parametric study. As a result, the Natural Circulation Capability Loop (NCCL) test facility was designed and constructed. The height of the experimental loop is 4.5 m and the rising height is 3.5 m. The maximum temperature of the loop is 500 °C. The experiments about the gas lift pump in LBE were performed with risers of three different heights. The results showed that the LBE mass flow rate increases rapidly with an increase of argon flow rate when it is less than 300 NL/h. When the argon flow rate is larger than 300 NL/h, the growth of the LBE mass flow rate is reduced. The LBE mass flow rate increased process is accompanied by the transformation of the flow pattern. The variation trend of the LBE flow rate is consistent with the trend of the void friction in the riser. Under the same amount of argon gas injection, the LBE circulation ability increases as the height of the riser increased. Based on the experimental data and drift-flow model of Zuber and Findlay, a new correlation of the void fraction is obtained and the relative error between the calculated and the experimental value is within 30%. The purpose of this study is to reveal the enhancement mechanism of the natural circulation capacity of gas lift pump and to provide experimental data and model support for the design of ADS in China.