Particle resuspension from a multi-layer deposit by turbulent flow

The aim of this work was to contribute to the understanding and quantification of particle resuspension from a bed exposed to a turbulent flow. The PARESS experiment has been set up and conducted. Multi-layer deposits of particles were created by allowing aerosols to settle on steel plates under conditions typical of a nuclear reactor containment following a severe accident. These were then exposed to a controlled turbulent airflow (U∞=5-25 m/s) in a wind tunnel and the evolution of the resuspension flux as a function of time was measured. The resuspension flux Fr decreased with exposure time to the airflow t, according to a power law Fr = a.t-b [kg/m2.s]. The parameters a and b depend on the flow velocity and the nature of the deposit. A new semi-empirical model, based on the comparison between the distributions of adhesive forces holding the particles on the deposit and aerodynamic forces tending to remove them, has been developed to simulate the stochastic nature of particle resuspension. This model is able to predict the experimentally observed decrease of the resuspension flux as a function of time and its dependence on flow velocity. Based on the results of the PARESS experiment, an empirical global relationship, which ignores the fine effects due to the nature of the different deposits, has been proposed. It appears that the resuspension flux is approximately proportinal to the cube of the flow velocity, and that a pseudo threshold velocity exists below which virtually no resuspension occurs. (author) 57 figs., 1 tab., 79 refs