Radiotracer method: A nuclear tool for flowrate measurement in the pipeline

Abstract

Abstract Experimental work has been carried out to demonstrate using the radiotracer method for flowrate measurement of water in a 3 inches diameter of the carbon-steel pipeline. The water was supplied from a water tank of a volume of approximately 5000 liters. The tank was connected to the pipeline through a flexible plastic hose. A ball valve was installed at the far end of the pipeline to adjust water discharge from the pipeline. None flow meters were installed on the pipeline. Iodine-131 (131I) radioisotope with a concentration of 1 mCi.mL−1 has been injected instantaneously through the injection point located at 15 meters from the water tank. Two radiation detectors (notified as D1 and D2) which had been set-up respectively at the distance of 4 m and 7 m from the injection point recorded residence time distribution (RTD) curves of the radiation intensities emitted from the injected radioisotope. During the experiment, the system was assumed time-invariant by keeping the tank was always containing full of water. The transit time calculated based on mean residence time (MRT) was 89.9 s, and the linear velocity of the water flow is 3.33 cm.s−1