Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309

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Progress in Nuclear Energy

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Observations and measurements of boric acid precipitation scenarios

Rodolfo Vaghetto*, Mason Childs, Ernie Kee, Yassin A. Hassan
Texas A&M University, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: During a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in a Light Water Reactor (LWR), the safety injection system
Received 15 December 2015 injects borated water into the core. The continuous vaporization of the water in the core can increase the
Received in revised form concentration of boric acid in the core, to where the boric acid reaches the solubility limit and pre-
24 May 2016
cipitates. This becomes more likely when the liquid water supply is obstructed due to, for example,
Accepted 25 May 2016
debris accumulation. Questions have been raised regarding this and other ways in which boric acid
Available online 2 June 2016
precipitate in the core can affect the coolant flow. A testbed was designed and constructed for observing
the behavior of borated water under the combined effects of the boiling and the boric acid precipitation
Keywords:
Boric acid concentration and precipitation
(BAP) and for measuring boric acid concentration during different scenarios. The facility consisted of a
Core blockage transparent polycarbonate vertical pipe in which 41 heated rods were installed to enable the water to
Hot leg injection reach saturation temperature and to maintain a specified boil-off rate. The layout and geometry of the
experimental apparatus were designed to emulate a simplified core of a Pressurized Water Reactor
(PWR). The test scenarios varied with respect to thermal power, injection location, and test section
configuration. The observations and measurements conducted demonstrated that, even at concentra-
tions above the solubility limit, no appreciable deposition of the solid precipitate was possible, especially
in the regions at higher power density. Precipitate particles were observed to be relatively smaller than
the channels’ size, and no impact on the coolant behavior was observed. The rate of increase of con-
centration of boric acid was possibly slowed down by the loss of boric acid in entrained liquid droplets
through the exhaust. The results obtained provided a better understanding of the flow behavior in the
core in presence of high concentrations of boric acid and may be of immediate use for utilities and the
research community performing evaluations of the long-term core coolability.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction order to sustain the required reactivity margin during normal

The Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) in a Pressurized
Water Reactor (PWR) is designed to provide the required coolant
flow to remove the decay heat from the reactor core during a Loss of
Coolant Accident (LOCA). Three injection phases can be identified
during the accident. During the first phase of the LOCA, often
identified as safety injection phase, the ECCS draws cold borated
water from the Refueling Water Storage Tank (RWST) and injects it
into the reactor vessel through the cold legs. During this phase,
depending on the pressure of the primary system, cold borated
water from the accumulators might also be injected into the pri-
mary system. Boron (in the form of boric acid) is used as a soluble
neutron absorber in the primary coolant. The main functions of
boron are to compensate for fuel burnup and xenon poisoning in
* Corresponding author. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M Uni-
versity, 3133 TAMU, College Station, TX 77801, USA.
E-mail address: r.vaghetto@tamu.edu (R. Vaghetto).
operation, and to maintain the core at sub-critical during refueling
and maintenance (Cho and Lee, 1998). During normal reactor
operation, the specified boron concentration is maintained by the
volume control system. In case of a LOCA, borated water is injected
by the ECCS as previously described. Injection continues into the
same locations (cold legs) during the safety injection phase, and
after the sump switchover (SSO), when water from the contain-
ment sump is recirculated through the primary system after RWST
liquid depletion (cold leg recirculation phase). This phase differs in
that the coolant is now drawn from the containment sump
compartment and recirculated back into the primary system. This
action must be maintained for several days in order to maintain
adequate core cooling and reach a cold shutdown condition. Hot leg
switchover (HLSO) is initiated as a manual action by the operators
at a time determined by plant design to ensure adequate core
flushing and prevent or mitigate the potential effects of precipita-
tion of boron in the core. Generally, this involves simultaneous

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2016.05.011
0149-1970/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309 303

injection through cold and hot legs. Understanding the local

behavior of the borated water under boiling and the possible effects
of the presence of boric acid in the solution is necessary for veri-
fying the manual operation procedures currently in place for LOCA
scenarios of different break sizes and locations. Of particular in-
terest would be scenarios where precipitation of boric acid occurs,
to study the effects of the precipitate on the water cooling capa-
bilities and the overall core coolability during the long-term cooling
phase. Acquiring this understanding could help the resolution of
Generic Safety Issue (GSI) 191, where the combined effect of debris
accumulation and boric acid precipitation can affect core
coolability.

2. Motivation

The industry and the research community have posed questions

on the effect of boric acid on the core and started conducting ex-
periments and analysis on these effects (Umminger et al., 2015;
Tuunanen et al., 1994). Properties of water (particularly viscosity
and density) are expected to change as the concentration of boric
acid increases (Hassan et al., 2015). Were the concentration of boric
acid to reach the solubility limit, it would then precipitate in the
core. The major concern during the long-term cooling phase of a
LOCA scenario is that solid precipitate remaining in the core can
deposit or accumulate in different regions and affect the coolant
flow and the core coolability. Coolant flow can also be obstructed by
the presence of debris that has penetrated through the sump
strainers, leading to an increase in the cladding temperature. Under
hypothetical debris-generated core blockage at the bottom of the
core, the coolant can reach the core only from alternative flow
paths (usually from the top of the core (Vaghetto and Hassan, 2013)
or lower elevations through the pressure relief holes (Crook et al.,
2014)). Change (increase) in density can also change the natural
circulation patterns in the core and create a stratification where
denser borated water tends to collect at the bottom of the core, thus
preventing colder water coming from the alternative flow path to
reach the bottom of the core.
A very simple boil-off experiment using DI-water with boric acid
was conducted to qualitatively observe the behavior of boiling
water in the presence of high concentrations of boric acid and the
possible effects of precipitation on coolant flow patterns. The
experimental setup consisted of a glass beaker in which a solution
of water and boric acid was left boiling. No liquid water was added
during the test to compensate for the water boil-off. This produced
a continuous decrease of the liquid volume and subsequent in-
crease of the boric acid concentration, until boric acid saturation
was reached. The test was conducted (as shown in Fig. 1) with the
aid of
Fig. 1. Experimental setupdbeaker.
of boric acid in water at 100
C found in Crapse and Kyser (2011).
The heater was turned on, and the solution was continuously
stirred using a stainless steel stirring rod, allowing the dissolution
of the boric acid as the temperature increased to the water satu-
ration temperature. This phase of the experiment was recoded with
a camera placed in front of the experimental setup. Video and
pictures were taken throughout the entire experiment from
different angles.
The mixture was observed boiling as the liquid level decreased
to the point where the boric acid solubility limit was expected to be
reached. The first visible effect observed at this point was the for-
mation of a very thin layer of precipitate at the free surface of the
liquid, as a result of the precipitation of the boric acid near the
vaporization surface. As the quantity of evaporated liquid
increased, small white particles of precipitate became visible and
easily distinguishable from the vapor bubbles (Fig. 2). These par-
ticles were fluctuating in the beaker but mostly entrained by the
rising bubbles toward the top section of the boiling liquid. At this
time, water still appeared clear through the glass beaker.
As the evaporation continued, the formation of precipitate at the
surface and the entrainment of other precipitate toward the top of
the liquid contributed to the formation of a growing layer of boric

▪ A 2-liter glass beaker

▪ A small water heater (max power 1 kW)

Temperature was continuously monitored during the experi-

ment using a class 1 k-type thermocouple connected to a Fluke®
52II thermocouple reader (0.3
C accuracy) and periodically
checked with an immerged thermometer.
The test solution was prepared by mixing in the beaker 275 g of
boric acid (Optibor® Orthoboric Acid, H3BO3) in 2 l of DI-water at
room temperature. This initial concentration (C0 ¼ 137.5 g/l) was
imposed in order to reach the saturation limit Cs ¼ 275 g/l when
approximately 1 l of water had evaporated.1 Cs is the solubility limit

1
Due to the boric acid carryover in the vapor, the estimation of the volume of
water to be evaporated to reach the desired concentration Cs is approximate. Fig. 2. Early stagedformation of precipitate.
304 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309

acid on the liquid surface (Fig. 3a). The presence of a larger amount
of precipitate in the liquid water increased the opacity of the water,
as can be readily seen in Fig. 3b. As the process continued, larger
pieces of boric acid were observed to be released from the growing
layer, further affecting the water opacity (Fig. 3c). In a later phase, as
the liquid level drastically decreased, the precipitate entrainment
developed the following cyclic behavior:
▪ As the precipitate particles entrained by rising bubbles moved
toward the liquid top level, the water became clearer, and the
top layer started growing (Fig. 4a).
▪ Water reached its maximum clarity, and larger pieces of pre-
cipitate (approximately 0.5 cm in diameter) appeared. The top
layer appeared detached from the liquid level, perhaps due to
the increased pressure under the layer (Fig. 4b).
▪ The top layer reached a maximum thickness and collapsed
suddenly, releasing a large amount of boric acid into the liquid
water and rendering it opaque (Fig. 4c).
2) The mechanisms of deposition of the precipitate (the large open
space in the beaker might not allow precipitate to settle due to
bubble formation at the base of the beaker, in contrast to the
regions between vertical adjacent rods, where deposition might
occur).
These basic considerations motivated the design and con-
struction of the experimental facility discussed in the next sec-
tion. While other experimental facilities have been used to study
the effects of the crystallization of boric acid on the core cool-
ability (Umminger et al., 2015; Tuunanen et al., 1994), the main
scope of the proposed experimental facility is to combine the
concentration measurements with a “real time” visualization of
the behavior of the boric acid solution and the precipitate
particles.
3. The precipitation and stratification test apparatus (PASTA)

The Precipitation and Stratification Test Apparatus (PASTA) is

This was observed even at low quantity of liquid (approx.
designed for observing a boiling solution of water and boric acid
300 ml). The experiment was terminated after a few cycles were
and measuring boric acid concentrations in a test environment that
recorded.
replicates the key geometric properties of a typical PWR core.
The behavior of the water can be summarized as follows:
A detailed view of the facility, the test section, and the other
components is shown in Fig. 5a. The test facility consists of a
▪ When approaching its solubility limit, the boric acid was
polycarbonate pipe (which is analogous to the core barrel of a
observed to precipitate at the liquid free surface.
typical PWR design). Two polycarbonate flanges were welded
▪ Small precipitate particles were released and/or formed in the
to the cylindrical section to create the facility test section (Fig. 5a,
liquid water. The amount of the boric acid in the liquid phase
b, and c). Two stainless steel plates were fabricated that
could be judged by the water opacity. The increasing amount of
would allow the heated rods to be mounted in a given pattern
precipitate as the liquid level decreased did not seem to
(bottom plate) and would keep the rods parallel during the ex-
appreciably affect the overall liquid behavior in the beaker, even
periments (top plate). The top plate was also equipped with
during the later phase of the experiment.
venting holes to allow flow through the top region (Fig. 5c). It did
▪ At very high concentrations, a thick layer of precipitate formed
not seem necessary for the design of these plates to precisely
at the top of the liquid. This layer detached from the liquid
reflect that of the upper and lower plates of a PWR core. Forty-
volume as a consequence of the vapor overpressure at the bot-
five threaded holes were machined on the bottom plate to
tom of the layer, and its collapse released a large amount of boric
allow the placement of heater rods (Fig. 5e). The four corner
acid into the liquid. This cyclic behavior was observed until the
holes were used for instrumentation (two k-type thermocouples
end of the experiment.
placed to monitor the temperature inside the test section at two
▪ Large pieces of precipitate were observed to float during the
locations) and water sampling (two sampling ports shown in
later phase of the experiment, but no appreciable deposition of
Fig. 5d to collect samples of boric acid solutions for concentration
particles was observed at the bottom of the beaker, due to the
measurements). The thermocouples were connected to a Fluke®
turbulent motion of the rising bubbles.
52II thermocouple reader (Fig. 5a). One of the two sampling
ports was used as an injection port during bottom-injection
These observations prompted questions regarding the
experiments.
following:
The test section was connected at the top end to a polycarbonate
cylindrical extension where four ports equipped with valves were
1) The behavior of the solution under a different geometry and/or
installed (Fig. 5a). These ports were mainly used for injection of
heat configuration (heat from the bottom horizontal plate might
borated solution during the top injection experiment, simulating
induce different boiling/recirculation patterns and transport the
injection from the top of a PWR core. The heated rods (41 in total)
precipitate in ways different from heated vertical rod bundles in
were connected at the bottom section of the test facility. This
a typical LWR).
number of rods was selected also to allow a more uniform mixing in

Fig. 3. Middle stagedgrowing layer and reduced transparency.

 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309 305

Fig. 4. Late stagedcycling pattern.

the core expected in larger bundles (Tuunanen et al., 1994). The
flow added to the test section through the injection ports (top or
bottom) was controlled by a metering pump (MityFlex 913) located
under the test section (Fig. 5a). The suction pipe of the pump was
immerged into a metered glass beaker (reservoir) containing the
boric acid solution to be added during the experiment. The use of a
glass beaker allowed the injection rate to be estimated during the
experiment, to compensate for the evaporation rate and maintain
the liquid inventory in the test section approximately constant. The
solution in the beaker was maintained at an approximately con-
stant temperature using a heater (mentioned in section 2). An
immerged thermocouple connected to a secondary thermocouple
reader was used to monitor the temperature of the solution in the
reservoir.
The top of the extension section was closed by a polycarbonate
lid connected to the top flange. During the experiments, steam was
discharged through a 100 hose exhaust connected to the top lid and
diverted upward toward a filtration system.
The heated rods were connected to power supplies that could
be powered independently, in anticipation of future work that
might test the effect of different radial power distributions. Each
power supply was equipped with a gauge to monitor its power
output. The experiments used a uniform power configuration
where the total electric power was uniformly distributed among
the heater rods.
3.1. Scaling, facility dimensions, and other characteristics
The facility dimensions and other important features were
defined and calculated based on simple scaling requirements. The
size of the test section enclosure (polycarbonate pipe) was driven
by the core aspect ratio (the ratio between the diameter and height
of the core, Dcore/Hcore). For a typical PWR core, this ratio was
assumed equal to 0.78, which was reflected in the design of the test
section. Other engineering considerations (including polycarbonate
pipe and flange availability and total electric power to be installed)
led to a test section inner diameter of ID ¼ 15.24 cm (600 ID standard
polycarbonate pipe). The active height of the test section was then
defined to preserve the aspect ratio:
Hcore
Htest ¼ Dtest ¼ 19:38 cm: (1)
DCore
The diameter of the electrically heated rods was selected to
reproduce that of a typical PWR fuel pin. The diameter of the rods
installed in the facility was Drod ¼ 0.95 cm. The free volume of the
test section (volume occupied by the coolant) was
Vtest ¼ 2.97103 m3 (2.97 l). The total heat transfer area was
Atot ¼ 0.24 m2.
The total power to be installed in the experimental facility was
estimated based on the following:

Fig. 5. PASTA facility: a. Overview; b. Test section; c Top view of the test section; Sampling port; e. Electric rod.
306 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309
1) The reactor power is the decay power at the time of the sump
switchover for a Double-Ended Guillotine break for a typical
PWR system. The sump switchover time can be assumed to be
approximately 30 min from the break event. The decay power at
the time of switchover was estimated to be 75 MW.
2) Two scaling parameters were considered: reactor power density
Pd (W/m3), defined as the ratio of the reactor power to the total
core free volume (volume occupied by the coolant); and the heat
flux q” (W/m2), defined as the reactor power per unit of core
heat transfer surface area. The reactor reference values used for
this evaluation were Pd ¼ 3.7 MW/m3 and q” ¼ 11.5 kW/m2, both
estimated assuming a reactor power equal to decay power
described above.
The reference power to be installed in the facility was fixed at
the greater of the following: the power required to preserve the
heat flux and that required to preserve the power density:
Ref
Ptest ¼ maxðq00 Atest ; Pd Vtest Þ ¼ 11 kW:
Based on the characteristics of the electrically heated rods
readily available, rods of 500 W nominal power were selected. This
Inst ¼ 20:5 kW, enabling the test
provided a total installed power Ptest
section to support higher power if required by future experiments.
The dimensions of the test facility and other key parameters are
summarized on Table 1.
Although the test rod diameter was representative of a typical
PWR pin, the rod bundle pitch/diameter ratio, and consequently
the center-to-center pin distance, differed from the reference value
(1.33 for a typical PWR fuel assembly), due to the shape and size of
the rod heads (1.27 cm threaded head, Fig. 5e) and its mounting
configuration at the bottom plate.
4. Boric acid concentration measurementsdcalibration and
error estimation
The following methodology determined the concentration of
the boric acid in solution inside the experimental facility. Drying
trays were prepared with absorbent paper sheets and then
weighed. The experiment was then run, after which the liquid
sample containing boric acid was collected in the tray and dried
until only boric acid remained. The mass of the boric acid was
determined by weighing the tray after drying and subtracting the
predetermined weight of the tray with the paper sheets.
To perform the calibration, five solutions of known boric acid
concentrations were prepared. A solution of 100 g/l boric acid in DI
water was prepared at 100
C. From this calibration solution, a
16 ml sample was collected and immediately transferred to a dry-
ing tray. The tray was placed on a surface to dry at a constant
temperature of 50
C. This process was repeated to produce 10
samples for error estimation. The same procedure was applied for
calibration solutions of 250 g/l, 275 g/l, 280 g/l, and 300 g/l of boric
acid in DI water at 100
C. Control samples were also prepared
Table 1
Main features of the experimental facility.
Parameter Value
Test section inner diameter 15.24
Test section height 19.38
Test section diameter/height ratio 0.785
Test section free volume 2.97
Rod diameter 0.95
Rod bundle pitch/diameter ratio 1.75
Power installed 20.5
using DI water to verify the validity of the calibration method, by
confirming that the original mass was recovered after the drying
procedure, and to estimate the drying time.
After the samples were let dry, the trays for each calibration
solution were again weighed using the Acculab® VI-350 (0.01 g
accuracy) scale. The average mass of boric acid from the 10 samples
was calculated for each calibration solution, along with the stan-
dard deviation, and is recorded in Table 2.
Samples from the calibration solution were collected and dried
to provide concentration measurements. Uncertainty was calcu-
lated as 2s for the 10 samples of each calibration solution.
In Fig. 6, the mean dried mass for each calibration solution is
plotted against the expected mass for a 16 ml sample (no loss, solid
line).
From the dry mass of the samples, it was determined that
approximately 15.2% of the boric acid in solution was lost from each
sample during the drying process. The losses were found to follow a
linear relationship. The linear relationship results in a multiplica-
(2) tion coefficient of 1.18 as a fraction of grams in solution to meas-
ureable grams after drying, which was used to determine the
concentration of boric acid in DI water of samples taken from the
PASTA facility during experimentation.
5. Experimental procedure
Each test was conducted according to written procedures which
were developed and refined during the facility shakedown.
The facility was initially loaded with a solution prepared with
660 g of boric acid (Optibor® Orthoboric Acid, H3BO3) in 2 l of warm
DI-water (approximately 50
C). This initial solution was poured
into the test section from the top. An additional quantity (0.5 l) of
DI-water at the same temperature was used to clean the boric acid
accumulated at the top flange. When the test was initiated, the final
solution in the test section contained 660 g of boric acid in 2.5 l of
DI-water (C0 ¼ 264 g/l). This concentration was chosen to be
slightly below the solubility limit of boric acid in water at 100
C
(Cs ¼ 275 g/l), so that the saturation could be reached shortly after
the water started boiling and evaporating from the test section. The
total initial volume corresponded to a liquid level right above the
top plate. The temperature of 50
C for the initial solution allowed
the dissolution of most of the boric acid, limiting thermal stresses
to the test facility (which was usually slowly pre-heated). The
heated rods were turned on when the solution in the test section
was quiescent (Fig. 7), with the excess of boric acid deposited at the
bottom of the test section.
The injection solution was prepared using similar techniques
described above, with a concentration of Ca ¼ 60 g/l. This concen-
tration is not prototypical for any plant conditions and was selected
arbitrarily based on solubility of boric acid at the preparation
temperature. Additional prepared solution was added to the
reservoir beaker when the remaining solution reached the 300 ml
mark. The addition of each batch was recorded during the
experiment.
Periodically throughout the experiment, 16 mL samples were
collected from the port at the bottom of the facility test section,
Table 2
Unit Expected mass, mean dried mass, and uncertainty of calibration solutions samples.
cm
Concentration (g/L) Target mass per 16 mL (g) Mean dried mass (g)
cm
e 100 1.60 1.49 ± 0.06
l 250 4.00 3.41 ± 0.10
cm 275 4.40 3.70 ± 0.13
e 280 4.48 3.72 ± 0.12
kWe 300 4.80 4.11 ± 0.17
 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309
5 to induce greater mixing in the test section solution, which would
No Loss
4 Mean dried mass (g)
Dried weighed mass (g)
Linear (Mean dried mass (g))
3 thought to cause splashes of solution out of the facility which could
y(x) = 0.848x
2
1
0 The rate of change of mass of the boric acid in solution can be
0 1 2 3 4 5
Target Sample Mass (g)
Fig. 6. Boric acid dry mass against expected mass.
while recording the time of collection. Each sample collected was
dried in the same manner as described above. From the samples’
dried mass, the concentration of the solution in the test section
facility was determined with associated uncertainty. Concentration
of the solution in the test section was plotted as a function of
elapsed time since the initial injection from the reservoir. Test
repeatability was confirmed during the facility shakedown by
repeating the test several times under the same test conditions,
while samples were collected.
6. Test matrix and conditions
To determine differences in the operation of the experiment,
various features were altered for full experiments and compared
with one another. Features that were altered included the sealing of
the top lid and injection location (from either the top or bottom of
the facility). Other operational parameters were maintained unal-
tered during the experiments, including the total power applied,
radial power distribution, concentration of injected solution, and
initial concentration of facility solution. Table 3 summarizes the
conditions of the experiments.
Test 1 was used as a baseline, as it presented the easiest setup
and operation of the facility. Injection from the top of the facility
was hypothesized to create a gradient of boric acid concentration in
which the bottom of the test section near the sampling port would
be lower than near the top. Injection from the bottom was thought
Fig. 7. Test preparationdinjection of the initial solution (660 g of H3BO3 þ 2.5 l of DI-water).
307
create a more uniform concentration throughout the facility.
Opening the facility lid for the duration of an experiment was
hypothesized to decrease the overall concentration of the solution
in the facility, due to additional losses in liquid droplet entrainment
through exhaust. The rapid boiling of the facility solution was also
also entrain boric acid out of the facility. Each of the hypotheses was
tested.
7. Analytical solution
analytically calculated by solving the mass conservation equation
expressed in Eq. (3).
dMB
¼ m_ in  m_ out ; (3)
dt
In Equation (3), the injection mass rate, m_ in (g/s), can be deter-
mined by the concentration, Ca (g/l), and constant volumetric flow
rate, Qin (l/s), of the solution that was injected into the facility as
m_ in ¼ Q in Ca : (4)
The boric acid loss rate, m_ out (g/s), was calculated from the
calibration data to determine the loss of boric acid due to evapo-
ration, El (g/L). The fractional loss was calculated for each concen-
tration of boric acid per the sample collected. Solution volume in
the test section was held constant, which permitted the assumption
that the volume of solution injected was equal to the volume of
solution evaporated, Qout ¼ Qin. These assumptions allowed for a
mass loss rate to be determined as
m_ out ¼ Q in El : (5)
If the loss of boric acid due to evaporation is neglected, the rate
of change of boric acid can be approximated as
dMB
¼ m_ in ; (6)
dt
Equations (3) and (6) were divided by the test section volume,
Vtest to express the rate of change in boric acid concentration. The
analytical solution of (3) and (6) was compared to the concentra-
tion of the test section as determined from the samples collected.
308 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309
Table 3
Operational parameters of experiments.
Test number C0 (g/L) Ca (g/L) Total power (kW)
1 264 60.0 4 kW
2 264 60.0 4 kW
3 264 60.0 4 kW
8. Results
After the electric heaters were turned on, the temperature was
found to increase until reaching the boiling point. The temperature
achieved and the high turbulence in the test section due to the
bubble formation and migration to the top produced a very rapid
dissolution of the entire quantity of boric acid previously deposited
at the bottom of the test section. When complete dissolution was
achieved, no visible traces of boric acid between rods or in the
region between the outer rods and the test enclosure were
observed. At this point, the metering pump was turned on and set
to the rate needed to compensate for the boil-off from the test
section for the selected power. The setting of the metering pump
was defined during previous shakedown testing and manually fine-
tuned during the experiment. The observations conducted showed
the following main features:
▪ Water remained clear during the early stage of the experiment,
even after the solubility limit was expected to be achieved
(Fig. 8a).
▪ Small visible particles started appearing in the solution but
mainly entrained or maintained in suspension by violent bub-
bles departing from the surface of the rods, preventing any
deposition at this time.
▪ As the mass of boric acid in the liquid increased, the turbidity of
the water visibly increased while a layer of boric acid on top of
the mixture level was observed to form and grow (Fig. 8b).
At very high concentrations, bigger particles (approximately
0.5 mm in diameter based on observation of the particles at the test
section wall visible in Figs. 8b and 9) were observed while solid
precipitate started accumulating at the following regions inside the
test section:
▪ The rod bundle periphery, between the outer rods and the en-
closure’s wall
▪ The test section walls.
Each collected sample was dried, and the measured mass of
boric acid was used to determine the concentration of the solution
Fig. 8. Experimental results (a. early stage; b. middle stage).
Power profile shape Lid status Injection orientation
Flat Closed Top
Flat Open Top
Flat Closed Bottom
in the facility. The determined concentration of the solution was
plotted as a function of time after the injection was initiated for
each experiment. Equations (3) and (6) were used to calculate the
theoretical concentration in the facility and were plotted as a
function of time according to the injection rate during experi-
mentation. The analytical approximations of facility concentration
along with the experimental data from various experiment runs are
plotted in Fig. 10.
Experimental data indicate a linear trend for the facility solution
concentration, which is between the bounds of the analytical so-
lution (Eqs. (3) and (6)). The lower rate of change of the boric acid
concentration in the test section compared to Eq. (6) is an indica-
tion of a loss of boric acid from the test section. These losses are
hypothesized to be due to entrainment of liquid droplets out the
exhaust vent. The losses appear less significant than what was
expected from the drying method. Boric acid, however, is certainly
lost from the facility, as the collected data are well below the
lossless approximation (Eq. (6)). The vapor was not collected or
analyzed for boric acid content to determine concentration. No
appreciable difference can be deduced from the comparison of the
three tests conducted, indicating that the injection location and the
presence of the test section lid did not affect the rate of change of
the concentration. The concentration of the solution in the test
section was found to be greater than the concentration of satura-
tion, Cs, for the majority of the experiment. The high concentration
of boric acid in the facility did not have a visible effect on the flow
characteristics of the boiling, even when particles of boric acid were
visible throughout the test section.
9. Discussion
An experimental apparatus was constructed to conduct exper-
iments with water and boric acid, to observe and study the flow
behavior, and measure the boric acid concentration in boiling wa-
ter. The following phenomena were observed during the
experiments:
 High concentrations of boric acid and the presence of solid
precipitate did not appreciably affect the flow behavior in the
test section, which was mostly driven by the vapor bubbles.
 R. Vaghetto et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 91 (2016) 302e309 309

 The injection location and the presence of the lid during ex-
periments did not seem to affect the overall concentration in-
crease in the test section of the facility.
 The comparison with the analytical solution confirmed that a
fraction of the boric acid was lost from the test facility. This loss
was essentially related to the liquid droplets entrained in the
vapor phase (Bo €hlke et al., 2008). The fraction released
contributed toward reducing the rate of increase of boric acid
concentration in the solution.
 The fraction of boric acid lost from the test section was found to
be lower than that estimated during the calibration procedure.
This might be essentially due to condensation in the upper
plenum and through the test exhaust and the subsequent reflux
of the liquid into the test section.

Although crystallization of boric acid and deposition of boric

acid was clearly visible during the experiments, no impact on the
Fig. 9. Experimental results (end of the test).
flow in the test section was observed. In particular, the boric acid
precipitation did not produce any blockage of the flow channels. As
 Violent bubble generation, departure, and migration to the top the blockage occurrence is affected by different parameters
of the test section prevented deposition of precipitation be- (Tuunanen et al., 1994), conditions for blockage were not achieved
tween the rods and along the heated test section. In particular, in the experiments conducted.
no appreciable deposition of solid precipitate was observed
between the rods inside the bundle or on the rods’ surface. Nomenclature
 Change in water properties caused by increased concentration
did not caused stratification. Instead uniform flow mixing was A Surface Area
observed, allowed by the boiling in the test section. BAP Boric Acid Precipitation
 Deposition of the precipitate occurred in regions of lower power C0 Initial Concentration
density (the rod bundle periphery) or at “colder” surfaces (the Ca Concentration of Added Solution
test section walls). Cs Concentration at Saturation (Solubility Limit)
D Diameter
DI De-Ionized
10. Conclusions ECCS Emergency Core Cooling System
El Loss due to Evaporation
The conclusions related to the measurements of the boric acid H Height
concentration can be summarized as follow: HLSO Hot Leg Switchover
LOCA Loss Of Coolant Accident
 Concentrations of boric acid were found to increase linearly LWR Light Water Reactor
with time reaching the saturation limit very early in the ex- PWR Pressurized Water Reactor
periments, when no major effect on the flow was observed. Qin Experimental Volumetric Flow Rate
 Due to the uniform mixing in the test section, no appreciable RWST Refueling Water Storage Tank
difference in the concentration trend was observed between the SSO Sump Switchover
two injection locations selected (top and bottom injection). V Volume
Uniform distribution of the precipitate particles when visible
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