Effect of evaporation on the representativity of solutions samples taken by airlift

At nuclear fuels reprocessing plants, the solutions containing nuclear materials are sampled by means of airlifts. Airlifts may however deliver samples which are not perfectly representative of the solution from which they are taken, due to the partial evaporation of water. The magnitude of this effect depends on the operating conditions of the airlift. This paper presents an analysis of the concentration changes on the airlift due to evaporation. In the analysis, various parameters have been varied in a very wide range. Calculations formulas are provided, together with graphs and tables of the results.