Analysis of reactor material experiments investigating oxide fuel crust stability and heat transfer in jet impingement flow

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5624090

Sienicki, J J; Spencer, B W

An analysis is presented of the crust stability and heat transfer behavior in the CSTI-1, CSTI-3, and CWTI-11 reactor material experiments in which a jet of molten oxide fuel at approx. 160/sup 0/K above its freezing temperature was impinged normally upon stainless steel plates initially at 300 and 385 K. The major issue is the existence of nonexistence of a stable solidified layer of fuel, or crust, interstitial to the flowing hot fuel and the steel substrate, tending to insulate the steel from the hot molten fuel. A computer model was developed to predict the heatup of thermocouples imbedded immediately beneath the surface of the plate for both of the cases in which a stable crust is assumed to be either present or absent during the impingement phase. Comparison of the model calculations with the measured thermocouple temperatures indicates that a protective crust was present over nearly all of the plate surface area throughout the impingement process precluding major melting of the plate steel. However, the experiments also show evidence for very localized and isolated steel melting as revealed by localized and isolated pitting of the steel surface and the response of thermocouples located within the pitted region.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5624090
• Report Number(s): CONF-850410-50; ON: DE85012097
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ACCIDENTS
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ALLOYS
BREEDER REACTORS
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MIXED OXIDE FUELS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR CORE DISRUPTION
REACTORS
SOLID FUELS
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
THERMOCOUPLES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
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