The particulate nature of the crud source term in light water reactors.

Knowledge of the mechanism of crud deposition in light water reactors is key to modeling its growth and effects. Empirical and mechanistic models of crud exist throughout the literature, yet the argument persists whether the crud source term originates more from soluble or particulate species. Here it is shown that the crud source term must be principally particulate in nature, as soluble deposition mechanisms cannot account for crud thicknesses observed in reactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]