Upgrade and experimental tests in the HLM facility nacie-up with a prototypical thermal flow meter

The present report is focused on the design and test of a prototypical thermal flow meter for liquid metals that will be installed into the NACIE-UP (NAtural CIrculation Experiment-UPgrade) facility located at the ENEA Brasimone Research Center (Italy). The measurement techniques available in the market can measure the flow rate in heavy liquid metal but with the drawback of a relevant pressure drop. For relatively low flow rates (0-10 kg/s) and natural circulation loops is important to reduce the pressure drop in natural circulation conditions. Moreover the repeatability of the measure is often very relevant in the experiments. Therefore a new type of prototypical flow meter based on ‘thermal’ principle was developed at the ENEA Brasimone Research centre in collaboration with Thermocoax, who manufactured the device. A prototype was designed by ENEA, manufactured by Thermocoax and then tested at ENEA both in water and in HLM.