Manipulation System for Measuring Heat Flux in Radioactive Melt

This article is focused on introducing of the manipulation system, which is used to insert equipment or measuring probes into the chamber of a cold crucible during experimental induction skull melting. The measuring probe could be, e.g., calorimeter for measuring heat flux from a melt, which is created in the cold crucible by electromagnetic induction. The first part describes the technical parameters of the manipulator and the possibilities of manipulator controlling. The manipulation system is controlled by the algorithm implemented in the programmable logic controller CompactRIO or by mechanical controller called manual pulse generator, which is independent of the programmable logic controller. Different control methods increase the safety of the system. The next part contents basic information about the control algorithm based on LabVIEW software and the user interface of the touch screen. The article also deals with testing the manipulator, which was used in an experiment simulating corium behavior under conditions of the severe accident of a nuclear power plant. The last part describes simulations of electromagnetic field and temperature field in the chamber of the cold crucible, which were confirmed with real measuring. The goal of the simulations was to determine the effect on the manipulation system and calculation of Joule's losses in the calorimeter before immersion into the melt. The most significant heat transfer to the calorimeter was the radiation from a melt, which was also calculated.