HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS OF 19-ROD FUEL ELEMENT IN HANDLING CASK

Technical Report · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1956

OSTI ID:4265777

Sletten, H L

An analysis is made of the surface temperature of the irradiated 19-rod fuel element, which is considered for the SGR type power reactors, in the helium atmosphere of a handling cask. The heat generation rate in the element at the time of reactor shutdown is too high to permit the element to be drawn immediately from the sodium coolant into the cask where the heat is transferred by radiation and natural convection. The fuel element must remain in the sodium for several hours before removal, adding to the total shutdown time for fuel exchange and decreasing the over-all power plant tactor, A fuel element decay time on the order of 8 hours after reactor shutdown is required to reduce the heat generation sufficiently to prevent an excessive element temperature in the handling cask, This time is based on a 19-rod element irradiated in a reference SGR, but the time is dependent on several factors, Two strongly dependent factors are the emissivity of the fuel element surface in the cask, and the average load factor (ratio of average operating power to rated power of the reactor), Steady- state energy balancs equations for the radiation and convection heat transfer from rods of the element and the cask wall were derived, A simplified model of the fuel element was used to abtain a representation of the raiation interchange between the rods of the element. Solutions of the four simultaneous nonlinear algebraic equations for various values of heat generation and emissivity were obtained by means of the IBM-701 computer, (auth)

• Research Organization: Atomics Internal Div., North American Aviation, Inc., Canoga Park, Calif.
• NSA Number: NSA-13-011502
• OSTI ID: 4265777
• Report Number(s): NAA-SR-Memo-1745
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

COMPUTERS
CONVECTION
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
EQUATIONS
FUEL ELEMENTS
GAS COOLANT
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
HELIUM
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IBM 701
IRRADIATION
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LIQUID METAL COOLANT
POWER PLANTS
RADIATIONS
REACTOR FUELING
REACTORS
REMOTE HANDLING
RODS
SGR
SHUTDOWN
SODIUM
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE
THERMODYNAMICS