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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

First in-core molten fuel pool experiment. [LMFBR]

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5288159

If during a LMFBR accident a fuel debris bed is not adequately cooled by overlying sodium and dryout occurs, then the fuel would heat up and melt. Molten fuel pools are of concern due to their potential for ablation of the supporting structure and possible penetration of the reactor vessel. The major goal of the molten fuel pool program has been to develop a versatile experiment in which heat flux and structural ablation could be studied using real materials under typical temperature and heating conditions. This has now been accomplished, using the Annular Core Pulse Reactor (ACPR) to fission heat enriched UO/sub 2/. In the first experiment conducted, a small portion of a 0.834 kg UO/sub 2/ sample was melted, and temperature data were recorded to above the melting point of the UO/sub 2/ using ultrasonic thermometry.

Research Organization:
Sandia Labs., Albuquerque, N.Mex. (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
EY-76-C-04-0789
OSTI ID:
5288159
Report Number(s):
SAND-77-1096C; CONF-771109-36
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English