Breakup and quench of molten metal fuel in sodium

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:7164361

Gabor, J D; Purviance, R T; Aeschlimann, R W; Spencer, B W

Tests have been conducted in which the breakup behavior of kilogram quantities of molten uranium, uranium-zirconium alloy, and uranium-iron alloy pour streams in 600C sodium was studied. A sodium depth of less than 0.3 m was required for hydrodynamic breakup and freezing of 25-mm pour streams of uranium and uranium-zirconium alloy with up to 400C melt superheat. The breakup material was primarily in the form of filaments and sheets with a settled bed voidage on the order of 0.9. The uranium-iron alloy with 800C melt superheat exhibited similar behavior except a sodium depth somewhat greater than 0.3 m was required for breakup and freezing of the particles.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31-109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 7164361
• Report Number(s): CONF-880506-20; ON: DE88011970
• Resource Relation: Conference: Safety of next generation power reactors, Seattle, WA, USA, 1 May 1988; Other Information: Paper copy only, copy does not permit microfiche production
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
IRON ALLOYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
LIQUID METAL FUELS
REACTOR SAFETY EXPERIMENTS
SODIUM
URANIUM
URANIUM ALLOYS
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS
QUENCHING
SOLIDIFICATION
SUPERHEATING
VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE
ACTINIDE ALLOYS
ACTINIDES
ALKALI METALS
ALLOYS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
HEATING
LIQUID FUELS
MATERIALS
METALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
REACTOR MATERIALS
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
210500 - Power Reactors
Breeding