Development of flow and settling correlations for the transport of nuclear slurries in partially-filled pipes

This project will primarily be based at: The University of Liverpool

Summary

Achieving a fundamental understanding of the flow of slurries is crucial to the safe and efficient clean-out and decommissioning of pipelines within nuclear facilities, which is a major challenge for the UK’s nuclear industry. Although maximising the solids loading of slurries lowers waste production (reducing long-term storage requirements and minimising associated costs and environmental consequences) it also increases the risk of sedimentation leading to pipe blockages. It is therefore necessary to design pipeline processes that optimise solids loading, whilst maintaining the safety and reliability of the transport operation. The proposed CDT PhD project has been conceived and developed to meet this pressing need of the nuclear industry.

We plan to conduct a diverse and comprehensive range of investigations into partially-filled pipe flow of complex (slurry-like) fluids, utilising advanced measurements techniques (in the lab at University of Liverpool) and full-scale non-active tests (at NNL, Workington), alongside extensive rheological characterisation of all test materials. Our main focus will be to improve the understanding of complex fluids flowing in partially-filled pipes and the development of transport correlations to characterise the flow and settling characteristics of slurry flows. The work will directly inform critical operations at nuclear facilities in the UK, enabling them to be completed safely and efficiently, reducing risk and minimising negative environmental and economic impacts.

About GREEN

The GREEN Centre for Doctoral Training (GREEN CDT) is a a consortium of five universities: The University of Manchester, Lancaster University, The University of Leeds, The University of Liverpool and The University of Sheffield, which aims to train the next generation of expert nuclear scientists and engineers.

Students within the GREEN CDT are invited to undertake a four-year PhD programme. Students will attend taught courses (Year 1) in various subject of nuclear technology followed by subject specific training (Year 1) leading to research activities (Year 2-Year 4).