During normal operation of the nuclear reactor, several corrosion elements (CRUD) can be produced due to the degradation of the reactor structural materials. These impurities must be removed from the reactor coolant system to preserve the performance of the reactor coolant. We are developing a new porous ceramic adsorption material to replace current bead-type polystyrene resins at the ion exchanger. We performed experimental and numerical studies to investigate the feasibility of using Zeolite as a ceramic ion-exchange composite, which is stable at high temperatures and has high adsorption capacity for the constituent elements of CRUD. We are also proposing a new configuration of the ceramic composite, which is a Twisted Honeycomb shape printed by a 3D printer. First, the experimental analysis was performed to find the optimal sintering temperature of Zeolite in terms of removal rate and material strength, and a compressive strength test for a 3D printed ceramic composite was carried out to confirm structural integrity. Then, we conducted a CFD analysis to investigate the effect of flow velocity and pressure drop distribution through the conventional packed bead ion exchange (PB-IEX) resins and the proposed Twisted Honeycomb ion exchanger (TH-IEX). We focused on the pressure force distribution, which is important for ion exchange immobilization and degradation. The flow velocity and retention time through the ion exchanger play an essential role regarding the adsorption rate. A wide range of beads diameter [0.001–1.0 mm] has been analyzed. Larger beads decrease the pressure drop with a reduction of removal rate. The proposed twisted honeycomb shape shows better flow velocity distribution and less pressure drop. Finally, structural analysis was performed using ANSYS FEM to investigate the influence of flow distribution on the integrity of the Twisted Honeycomb ion exchanger, in which the FEM model was validated against the compressive strength experimental data. As a result, we are proposing the prototype of high efficiency ion exchanger.

在核反应堆正常运行过程中，由于反应堆结构材料的降解，会产生多种腐蚀元素（CRUD）。这些杂质必须从反应堆冷却剂系统中去除，以保持反应堆冷却剂的性能。我们正在开发一种新型多孔陶瓷吸附材料，以取代离子交换器中目前的珠状聚苯乙烯树脂。我们进行了实验和数值研究，以研究使用沸石作为陶瓷离子交换复合材料的可行性，该复合材料在高温下稳定，对 CRUD 的组成元素具有高吸附能力。我们还提出了陶瓷复合材料的新配置，即由 3D 打印机打印的扭曲蜂窝形状。第一的，进行实验分析以找出沸石在去除率和材料强度方面的最佳烧结温度，并对 3D 打印陶瓷复合材料进行抗压强度测试以确认结构完整性。然后，我们进行了 CFD 分析，以研究流速和压降分布对传统填充珠离子交换 (PB-IEX) 树脂和拟议的扭曲蜂窝离子交换器 (TH-IEX) 的影响。我们专注于压力分布，这对于离子交换固定和降解很重要。通过离子交换剂的流速和保留时间对吸附速率起着至关重要的作用。已分析了多种珠子直径 [0.001–1.0 mm]。较大的珠粒会随着去除率的降低而降低压降。提出的扭曲蜂窝形状显示出更好的流速分布和更小的压降。最后，使用 ANSYS FEM 进行结构分析，以研究流动分布对 Twisted Honeycomb 离子交换器完整性的影响，其中 FEM 模型根据抗压强度实验数据进行验证。因此，我们提出了高效离子交换器的原型。其中 FEM 模型根据抗压强度实验数据进行了验证。因此，我们提出了高效离子交换器的原型。其中 FEM 模型根据抗压强度实验数据进行了验证。因此，我们提出了高效离子交换器的原型。