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Title: Bubble-induced mixing of two horizontal liquid layers with non-uniform gas injection at the bottom. [LMFBR]

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6391495

During a postulated severe core meltdown accident in an LMFBR, a large amount of sodium coolant may spill into the reactor concrete cavity. A layer of liquid products may form as a result of the sodium-concrete reactions. The liquid product layer, which is highly viscous and much heavier than sodium, separates the concrete from the sodium pool. In general, the downward transport of sodium through the liquid product layer to the unreacted concrete surface, which controls the rate of chemical erosion of the concrete, depends strongly on the agitation induced by gas evolution from the heated concrete. In this study, experiments were conducted to explore the effect of non-uniform gas injection on mixing of two horizontal mutually soluble liquid layers. The liquid in the lower layer was chosen to be more viscous and heavier than the liquid in the upper layer. To simulate the reactor accident situation, gas was injected at the bottom of the liquid-liquid system through a circular hole that covered only the center portion of the bottom surface of the lower liquid layer. The bubble-induced mixing motions were observed and the rate of mixing was measured for different hole sizes and for various gas flow rates.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA); Cincinnati Univ., OH (USA). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
DOE Contract Number:
W-31-109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6391495
Report Number(s):
CONF-841174-5; ON: DE85000097
Resource Relation:
Conference: 5. information exchange meeting on debris coolability, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 7 Nov 1984; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English