Operational aspects of noncommercial reactors

Conference · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)

OSTI ID:6024800

Brehm, W F; Grenard, C E; Schuck, W J

Fission products {sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs are introduced into the sodium coolant following breach of a fuel pin, particularly if the reactor continues operation with a breach large enough to give a delayed neutron signal. Cesium is quite soluble in sodium and does not plate out on the primary piping. Because cesium has a much higher vapor pressure than sodium, it preferentially evaporates from the sodium pool and is carried into the cover gas system. There it condenses on cooler surfaces and creates radiation fields high enough to interfere with convenient access to some equipment cells. A cesium trap has been installed in the primary sodium sampling loop to remove cesium from the reactor sodium by incorporating it into an amorphous carbon material (reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC)) before it can evaporate into the cover gas. Postulated causes of plugging tendency are gas blanketing of the porous metal filter located just downstream from the RVC bed in the cesium trap tank and/or precipitation of a chemical species in the trap or the filter. The work described in this paper investigated the operational dynamics of the cesium trap and the related chemistry in the primary sodium system to identify the root cause of the plugging phenomenon.

• OSTI ID: 6024800
• Report Number(s): CONF-900608--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Journal Volume: 61
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210500* -- Power Reactors
Breeding
ACCIDENTS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALI METALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 134
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CLEANING
COOLANT CLEANUP SYSTEMS
COOLING SYSTEMS
COVER GAS
DECONTAMINATION
DEPOSITION
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EVAPORATION
FAST REACTORS
FFTF REACTOR
FISSION PRODUCTS
FLUIDS
FUEL ELEMENT FAILURE
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL PINS
GASES
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INERT ATMOSPHERE
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
MATERIALS
METALS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OPERATION
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PLUGGING
PRIMARY COOLANT CIRCUITS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTORS
REMOVAL
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
RESEARCH REACTORS
SODIUM
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
SOLUBILITY
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TEST REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES