Publikationsrepositorium - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Measuring the flow velocity of liquid metals is a challenging task due to their high temperatures, their opacity and in many cases their chemical reactivity. There are several inductive methods to measure the flow velocity of liquid metals such as contactless inductive flow tomography (CIFT) [1], the magnetic distortion probe [2], Lorentz force velocimetry [3], the phase shift sensor [4] and eddy current flow meters (ECFM)[5]. ECFMs are often used in liquid metal fast breeder reactors due to their reliability and simple design. A disadvantage of the ECFM is that its output signal is influenced not only by changes in the flow velocity, but also by the electrical conductivity of the liquid metal, which depends on its temperature. Therefore, the ECFM must be calibrated according to the expected range of flow velocities and temperatures of a particular application, while simultaneously determining the temperature to distinguish between velocity and temperature changes. To solve this problem, we propose a new measurement method [6] that allows the simultaneous measurement of flow velocity and electrical conductivity by creating a so-called look-up table (LuT).