Development of Molten Corium Using An Exothermic Chemical Reaction for the Molten- Fuel Moderator-Interaction Studies at Chalk River Laboratories
- Chalk River Laboratories, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River, Ontario, K0J 1J0 (Canada)
- Argonne National Laboratory, 9700, S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) has partnered with Argonne National Laboratory to develop a corium thermite prototypical of Candu material and test the concept of ejecting {approx}25 kg of the molten material from a pressure tube with a driving pressure of 10 MPa. This development program has been completed and the technology transferred to AECL. Preparation for the molten-fuel moderator-interaction tests at AECL's Chalk River Laboratories is well underway. A mixture of 0.582 U/0.077 U{sub 3}O{sub 8}/0.151 Zr/0.19 CrO{sub 3} (wt%) as reactant chemicals has been demonstrated to produce a corium consisting of 0.73 UO{sub 2}/0.11 Zr/0.06 ZrO{sub 2}/0.10 Cr (wt%) at {approx}2400 deg. C. This is comparable to the target Candu specific corium of 0.9 UO{sub 2}/0.1 Zr (wt%), with limited oxidation. The peak melt temperature was confirmed from small-scale thermitic reaction tests. Several small-scale tests were completed to qualify the thermite to ensure operational safety and a quantifiable experimental outcome. The proposed molten-fuel moderator-interaction experiments at Chalk River Laboratories will consist of heating the thermite mixture inside a 1.14-m long insulated pressure tube. Once the molten material has reached the desired temperature of {approx}2400 deg. C, the pressure inside the tube will be raised to about 10 MPa, and the pressure tube will fail at a pre-machined flaw, ejecting the molten material into the surrounding tank of water. The test apparatus, instrumentation, data acquisition and control systems have been assembled, and a series of successful commissioning tests have been completed. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21160769
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICAPP'04: 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 13-17 Jun 2004; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants - ICAPP'04, 2338 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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