Based on the temperature correlation principle, the use of a magnetic obstacle to generate pulsations in the flow measurement of a liquid metal coolant

A promising method for determining the flow rate of a liquid metal coolant is the temperature correlation method (TCM) since it does not require calibration. However, being indirect, it has a number of limitations to be carefully studied. A magnetic obstacle is used as a temperature pulsation generator. The paper presents the results of a numerical study on the influence of the size of a magnetic obstacle and its activity ratio, as well as effect of the temperature difference between the liquid metal and the environment, on the performance and accuracy of the TCM. The main criteria influencing the operation of the method are identified, namely the extent and spatial position of the vorticity and mixing zones.