Research on magnetostrictive liquid level gauge for water level measurement of steam generator

The accurate measurement of the water level on the secondary side of the steam generator (SG) plays a crucial role in the safe and stable operation of the primary and secondary circuits of the nuclear power plant. In order to study the feasibility of applying the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge to the water level measurement of SG, the measurement results of the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge under the steady and transient conditions were obtained and compared with the traditional differential pressure liquid level gauge. The results indicated that the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge had good measurement accuracy under the cold-steady condition, thermal-steady condition and transient pressurization condition. The design parameters of float and operating parameters were necessary to correct the measurement results of magnetostrictive water level gauge. The measurement results under the transient depressurization condition were affected by the fluid movement in the container, resulting in a decrease in measurement accuracy. The results indicated that the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge had the potential to be used for water level measurement of SG in nuclear power plant.