Education and Training Series #48: Development of Multiple-Particle Positron Emission Particle Tracking for Flow Measurement

These webinars, organised by the GIF Education and Training Working Group are streamed live monthly. The recordings and slide decks are accessible after the webinar on this website. These webinars cover a very broad range of technical and policy related topics. At the end of 2023 they have been viewed by more than 15000 people (approximately half of the views during the live streams and the other half views being of the archives on the public GIF website). In total, the GIF webinars have reached Generation IV enthusiasts, scientists, and engineers in more than 80 countries.

These webinars are organised and hosted by the GIF Education and Training Working Group (ETWG). 

Flows in opaque systems can present a significant challenge to experimental investigators. Understanding flow phenomena in reactor components often relies on the use of simulation, as well as experiments using surrogate materials and fluids to allow optical access. Positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) is a radiotracer-based technique that uses the same technology as the medical imaging platform PET (positron emission tomography). As such, PEPT can be used to directly study flows in opaque systems. The research focus has been on the development and deployment of new PEPT reconstruction algorithms that allow the simultaneous tracking of multiple tracers, increasing data collection efficiency and enabling new measurements. Herein Dr. Wiggins will discuss the basics of PEPT, as well as its utility for measurements in pipes, heat exchangers, and pebble beds, among other systems. The data gleaned from such experiments can be used for both fundamental understanding of flow phenomena and validation of the computational fluid dynamics models being used for next generation reactor design.