Moving Magnet Pump for Transportation of Liquid Sodium

A renewed interest in fast neutron reactors has opened a need for better understanding of pump design with hazardous fluids, such as liquid sodium. When these fluids are used as coolants in the reactors, moving magnet induction pumps have shown to be beneficial with their simplicity in design and repair, as well as their potential to perform at a higher efficiency than other electromagnetic (EM) pumps. The use of strong permanent magnets to produce a traveling magnetic field eliminates the need of windings in standard EM 3-phase induction pumps. A moving magnet pump has been designed, constructed and will be tested to move liquid sodium at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Assessing efficiency of the Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) and Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnets in the pump will be based upon measurements of pressure-flowrate characteristics while varying the type and amount of magnets, motor speed, and fluid flow through a test loop.