FLUID METAL FUELS: UO$sub 2$-NaK SLURRY

Technical Report · Fri Oct 31 04:00:00 EST 1958

OSTI ID:4308338

Abraham, B M; Flotow, H E; Carlson, R D

Investigations of UO/sub 2/-NaK suspensions were initiated as part of a program to develop a fluid fuel suitable for a fast reactor. Most of this work was done with suspensions containing 5 volumne % (40 wt. %) UO/sub 2/ in NaK, a concentration suitable only for thermal reactors, because the necessary basic information can be obtained more readily with dilute slurries. As normally prepared, UO/sub 2/ contains more than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen. It was found that NaK will readily wet UO/sub 2+x/, a nccessary condition to effect suspension, if x is no greater thsn 0.01; if x is greater than 0.01 wetting occurs after the excess oxygen has reacted to produce Na/sub 2/O. The minimum contact angle observed for sessile drops of NaK on UO/sub 2/ plaques was 22 deg . This result implies that the slurries will be flocculated. A slurry of 5 volunne % UO/sub 2/ could be maintained uniform throughout the loop volume at a minimum flow rate of 2 ft./sec (61 cm/sec) at all temperatures up to 500 deg C. Above 500 deg C, the slurry could no longer be maintained uniform at flaw rates of 8 ft/sec (244 cm/sec). As soon as the temperature was reduced to 480 to 490 deg C the slurry became uniform in a matter of seconds. There was no marked-change in the particle size of the UO/sub 2/ after circulating for 100 hours at the high temperatures. Metallographic examination of loop sections and chemical analyses of the slurry components failed to show evidence for corrosion or erosion. Some preliminary work with a 15 volume % slurry (65 weight % UO/sub 2/), which begins to approach the concentration required for a fast reactor, showed that the slurry was sufficiently fluid to be circulated in thc apparatus and it appeared to be uniform. Information obtained to date (in the absence of radiation) on the rheology, the corrosion and the erosion of thc slurries indicates that dilute suspensions of UO/sub 2/ in Nak offer promise as thermal reactor fuels: more information is needed on concentrated slurries before a definite statememt can be made on applicability to fast reactors. (auth)

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., Lemont, Ill.
• NSA Number: NSA-12-014605
• OSTI ID: 4308338
• Report Number(s): A/CONF.15/P/457
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
COAGULATION
CONCENTRATION
CORROSION
DISTRIBUTION
EROSION
FAST NEUTRONS
FLUID FLOW
GRAIN SIZE
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IMPREGNATION
LIQUID METAL FUEL
METALLOGRAPHY
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POTASSIUM ALLOYS
PRECIPITATION
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
QUANTITY RATIO
REACTORS
SLURRIES
SODIUM ALLOYS
SODIUM OXIDES
SURFACE TENSION
SUSPENSIONS
TEMPERATURE
THERMAL NEUTRONS
TUBES
URANIUM DIOXIDE
VELOCITY
VISCOSITY