Thesis
Ultrasonic monitoring of particle motion in slurry transfer piping to detect sediment formation and determine critical velocity
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
05/2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102599
Abstract
The future delivery of Hanford double-shell tank waste to the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) will be governed by specific waste acceptance criteria identified in ICD 19 - Interface Control Document for Waste Feed. A batch of tank waste must meet these criteria and be certified as acceptable before it can be accepted by the WTP. One key waste acceptance parameter that must be accurately characterized is the critical velocity, which is the superficial fluid transfer velocity at which solid particulate deposition occurs at the bottom of horizontal slurry piping. This slurry property can only be reliably characterized while the slurry is in full-scale piping under flowing conditions. Therefore, a non-invasive method to detect incipient solid particulate deposition during flow is required for determining critical velocity with high accuracy. The Ultrasonic PulseEcho (UPE) instrument was developed to perform localized, non-invasive measurements to detect solid particulate deposition at discrete locations along the bottom of a mixing vessel or slurry pipe. The measurement method uses an ultrasonic transducer to send ultrasonic pulses through the container wall and into the slurry, where they interact with the fluid and particles and result in ultrasonic backscatter signals received by the same transducer. The instrument's signal analysis program uses a variance algorithm to determine if the ultrasonic backscatter signals are modulated (changing) or stable (not changing) as a function of distance from the ultrasonic transducer. Signal modulation indicates moving particles while stable signals indicate stationary particles. The near real-time feedback from the instrument is used to determine if slurry solid particulate at the bottom of a slurry pipe is moving, undergoing transient settling or forming a stationary layer of settled particulate. The UPE instrument was evaluated with over 50 different simulated nuclear waste slurries that were designed to represent a broad range of physical and rheological slurry properties that are likely to be encountered during the waste feed transfer operations between the Hanford tank farms and the WTP. Testing conducted across three test campaigns demonstrated the UPE instrument's ability to detect settled particles and determine critical velocity with good accuracy.
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Details
- Title
- Ultrasonic monitoring of particle motion in slurry transfer piping to detect sediment formation and determine critical velocity
- Creators
- Kayte Mae Denslow
- Contributors
- William D. Samuels (Co-Chair)Kirk Arnold Peterson (Co-Chair) - Washington State University, Chemistry, Department ofSamuel Allan Bryan (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Chemistry, Department ofPradeep Ramuhalli (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Chemistry, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Number of pages
- 165
- Identifiers
- 99900525184501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis