Advantages and Applications of High Purity Helium for Nuclear Fuel Preservation

Helium, high-purity helium

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Despite the risk of nuclear pollution caused by the use of nuclear energy, many countries have built nuclear power plants due to the efficiency of nuclear energy. The protection of nuclear fuel is crucial in several key elements of nuclear power plant operation. These nuclear fuels will not have any impact after use, but due to their extremely strong radioactivity, accidental discharge is no different from another form of "atomic bomb" entering the unguarded external world, which will pose more than half of the threat. High purity helium gas helps to obtain nuclear fuel and has many advantages!

Bottled high-purity helium gas used for storing nuclear fuel

Why do scientists use high-purity helium gas to preserve nuclear fuel? The reasons are as follows:

The preservation of high-purity helium gas in nuclear fuel can ensure the integrity of the fuel. High purity helium gas is an inert gas with high stability and non reactivity. Sealed steel cylinders are filled with high-purity helium gas to ensure the long-term integrity of the nuclear fuel jacket used.

2. High purity helium gas protection for nuclear fuel can prevent oxidative corrosion. Sealed steel cylinders need to be vacuum dried before being filled with high-purity helium gas. The water and air in the sealed steel cylinder can be removed to effectively prevent the deterioration of the fuel jacket material due to oxidation and corrosion.

3. The sealed steel cylinder is filled with 99.9% or more high-purity helium gas to atmospheric pressure. After double sealing welding, it can prevent the leakage of high-purity helium gas inside the sealed steel cylinder and prevent external air from entering the sealed steel cylinder.

Application of high-purity helium gas

High purity helium gas is widely used in military high-purity, scientific research, petrochemical, cooling, medical, semiconductor, pipeline leak detection, superconducting experiments, metal manufacturing, deep-sea diving, high-precision welding, optoelectronic product production and other fields.

1. Utilizing the low boiling point mp268.9 ℃ of liquid high-purity helium gas, it can be used for ultra-low temperature cooling. Ultra low temperature cooling technology is widely used in superconducting technology and other fields. Superconducting materials must exhibit superconducting properties at low temperatures (approximately 100K). In most cases, only high-purity helium gas can easily reach such low temperatures. Superconducting technology is widely used in maglev trains in the transportation industry and magnetic resonance imaging equipment in the medical field.

2. Balloon pulse: Due to the much lower density of high-purity helium compared to air (1.29kg/m3 for air and 0.1786kg/m3 for high-purity helium), and its extremely inactive chemical properties, it is safer than hydrogen (which can burn in air and cause explosions), high-purity helium is often used as a filling gas for spacecraft or advertising balloons.

3. Inspection and analysis: The superconducting magnet of the nuclear magnetic resonance analyzer commonly used in instrument analysis must be cooled with high-purity helium gas. In gas chromatography analysis, high-purity helium gas is often used as a carrier gas. Due to its good permeability and non flammability, high-purity helium is also used for vacuum leak detection, such as high-purity helium mass spectrometer leak detectors.

4. Protective gas: High purity helium gas is widely used as a protective gas for welding magnesium, zirconium, aluminum, titanium and other metals due to its inert chemical properties.

5. Other aspects: High purity helium can be used as a high vacuum device, nuclear reactors can be used as pressure gas, and liquid propellants such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen can be transported on rockets and spacecraft. High purity helium is also used as a cleaning agent for nuclear reactors, in mixed gases for respiration in the field of ocean development, and as a filling gas for gas thermometers.