Generation of concentration density maxima of small dispersive coal dust particles in horizontal iodine air filter at air-dust aerosol blow

TL;DR

This study investigates how small dispersive coal dust particles distribute and accumulate in horizontal iodine air filters, revealing that horizontal orientation results in lower resistance and different dust accumulation patterns compared to vertical filters.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the spatial distribution and accumulation of coal dust in horizontal iodine air filters, highlighting differences from vertical designs and implications for filter performance.

Findings

Concentration maxima of dust appear in the granular medium during operation.

Horizontal filters have significantly lower aerodynamic resistance than vertical ones.

Dust accumulates at the bottom of the horizontal filter due to orthogonal air flow and gravity.

Abstract

The spatial distributions of the small dispersive coal dust particles with the nano and micro sizes in the granular filtering medium with the cylindrical coal granules in the absorber in the horizontal iodine air filter during its long term operation at the nuclear power plant are researched. It is shown that the concentration density maxima of the small dispersive coal dust particles appear in the granular filtering medium with the cylindrical coal absorbent granules in the horizontal iodine air filter at an action by the air dust aerosol blow. The comparison of the measured aerodynamic resistances of the horizontal and vertical iodine air filters is conducted. The main conclusion is that the magnitude of the aerodynamic resistance of the horizontal iodine air filters is much smaller in comparison with the magnitude of the aerodynamic resistance of the vertical iodine air filters at the same loads of the air dust aerosol volumes. It is explained that the direction of the air dust aerosol blow and the direction of the gravitation force in the horizontal iodine air filter are orthogonal, hence the effective accumulation of the small dispersive coal dust particles takes place at the bottom of absorber in the horizontal iodine air filter. It is found that the air dust aerosol stream flow in the horizontal iodine air filter is not limited by the appearing structures, made of the precipitated small dispersive coal dust particles, in distinction from the vertical iodine air filter, in the process of long term operation of the iodine air filters at the nuclear power plant.