Metal fuel relocation experiments with pressure injection

Kim, Taeil; Harbaruk, Dzmitry; Lisowski, Darius; Bremer, Nathan; Farmer, Mitchell; Grandy, Christopher; Chang, Yoon Il

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.111915

Metal fuel relocation experiments with pressure injection

Journal Article · Sat Aug 06 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Nuclear Engineering and Design

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.111915· OSTI ID:1909599

Kim, Taeil ^[1]; Harbaruk, Dzmitry ^[1]; Lisowski, Darius ^[1]; Bremer, Nathan ^[1]; Farmer, Mitchell ^[1]; Grandy, Christopher ^[1]; Chang, Yoon Il ^[1]

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

A pool-type sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) using metal fuels has a number of inherent safety features that can support benign consequences for design basis accidents (DBAs). Even in postulated severe accident conditions, the core is designed to remain under sub-critical condition in a passive coolable geometry. In case of the postulated severe accidents in SFRs, fuel relocation in the core region along the coolant channel is an important negative reactivity feedback factor that lowers the reactor power level and consequently eliminates the possibility of recriticality. Therefore, understanding the relocation behavior of fuels and the coolability of the relocated fuels in the postulated severe accident is one of the most important factors in the safety assessment of SFRs. In the present study, the relocation behavior of the metal fuel in a pin bundle geometry was investigated by injecting the metal fuels into the coolant channels with pressure. The first metal fuel relocation with pressure injection (RPI-1) experiment showed that many of the metal fuels levitated to upper plenum. In case of RPI-2 experiment, the Real Time X-ray Video System (RTXVS) was constructed and used to obtain a real time X-ray video of the experiment. This real time X-ray video clearly showed the relocation behavior of the pressure injected metallic uranium in the sodium coolant channel. Through this video, it was confirmed that part of the fuel was dispersed downward and part of the fuel was dispersed upward, and the relocation behavior of the injected fuel proceeded simultaneously in the downward and upward directions. So, it can be concluded that in case of pressure injection of the metallic fuel, there is a possibility that the metallic fuel can be quickly removed from the core region, resulting in a negative reactivity feedback effect.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1909599

Journal Information:: Nuclear Engineering and Design, Journal Name: Nuclear Engineering and Design Vol. 397; ISSN 0029-5493

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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