Experimental study of aerosol release following liquid leaks of fission products concentrates simulants
Résumé
This article presents an experimental study that encompasses a need for nuclear safety on the consequences of a leakage of fission products (FP) concentrates in a failed vessel during spent fuel reprocessing operations. Particulate airborne release fractions (ARFs), as the result of liquid FP simulants impacting a rigid surface, were assessed for two circular leakage geometries of 1 and 2 mm diameter. The detailed analysis of these ARFs which are between 2.7 × 10−5 and 5.2 × 10−5 for the different experimental configurations revealed their dependence on the surface tension and the viscosity of the solutions, as well as on the impacting jet diameter. The study also makes it possible to develop an empirical correlation that links the ARFs with the dimensionless Ohnesorge and Weber numbers in the considered surface tension and viscosity range.