| Abstract Scope |
Molten salts are used in advanced nuclear reactors and pyroprocessing, but high temperatures, corrosive chemistry, and limited instrumentation testing under flow remain open problems. At Idaho National Laboratory, a natural circulation molten salt loop was built to study thermal-hydraulics, instrumentation, and corrosion together. Operating with LiCl–KCl eutectic salt under controlled thermal gradients, the loop produces buoyancy-driven flow relevant to chloride-salt fuel-cycle systems and serves as a surrogate testbed for reactor-relevant corrosion behavior. The loop includes inert cover gas, multi-zone thermocouples, and modular ports for sensors and specimens. Bubbler-based sensors measure fluid level, density, and pressure, and electrochemical techniques monitor salt chemistry during operation. Corrosion of wrought and additively manufactured (LPBF) SS316H is compared under flowing versus static conditions, with post-test analysis by ICP and SEM/EDS. CFD modeling supports interpretation of flow and temperature data. This work provides a platform for testing molten salt instrumentation and materials under flowing conditions. |