Experimental study of insoluble aerosol wash-down by condensate on quasi-horizontal plate

Abstract

The washing behavior of radioactive aerosol caused by condensation on floor is of great significance for evaluating radioactive migration in case of an accident in nuclear power plant. Compared to the inclined or vertical wall, on a nearly horizontal floor the aerosol particles may have a characteristic transport progress, considering the slower speed of the condensate flow and weaker erosion ability to wash-down aerosol due to insufficient shear stress. An experiment in the steam environment is conducted on this study, focusing on condensation and wash-down of deposited insoluble aerosol particles on a 0.4° quasi-horizontal plate. An exponential trend of removed aerosol mass is obtained based on the experimental aerosol transport process on the quasi-horizontal surface. This paper evaluated the effects of particle load and condensation rate on transport process and removed mass. Furthermore, based on the experimental results, a fitting empirical correlation between dimensionless aerosols' removal mass and dimensionless mass of condensate are obtained by modifying the conditions of different condensation rates and aerosol loads.