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Measurements of subassembly and core temperature distributions in an LMFBR

Conference · · AIChE Symp. Ser.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6439238
In the analyses of temperature distributions in the core of a liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) under both normal and abnormal operating conditions, it is generally assumed that there is little, if any, thermal interaction between adjacent subassemblies. Since intersubassembly heat transfer tends to reduce the radial temperature gradient in a reactor, thereby ameliorating the effects of local overheating, this assumption is conservative. In order to assess the importance of this effect as well as that of flow redistribution in a reactor core, a series of in-core and subassembly outlet measurements were made in EBR-II over a wide range of operating power and flow conditions, encompassing both forced and natural convection. The results of this study indicate that radial heat transfer and flow redistribution are important mechanisms which should be taken into account in the thermal-hydraulic analyses of LMFBR cores, especially under low flow rate conditions.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL
OSTI ID:
6439238
Report Number(s):
CONF-760816-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: AIChE Symp. Ser.; (United States) Journal Volume: 73:164
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English