Suppression of vapor explosions by dilute aqueous polymers solutions
- Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta (United States)
The nuclear industry is a potential setting for steam explosion accidents; in this context, they are commonly referred to as fuel/coolant interactions (FCIs). Loss-of-coolant accidents that could lead to FCIs are considered to be unlikely. Nevertheless, FCIs are regarded as a potential hazard that contributes to the overall risk. One possibility for reducing FCI risk is to identify suitable additives for the emergency coolant water that prevent steam explosions or make them less violent. Results are presented from laboratory experiments that examined the ability of dilute aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), a soluble drag-reducing polymer, to suppress spontaneous vapor explosions of molten tin. Experiments with pure water were carried out to provide a reference of comparison for the polymer solutions. The peak pressures measured in the most dilute PEO solutions spanned a much wider range than those for water, and pressure many times larger than any recorded in pure water were recorded-up to 240kPa. When the solution viscosity ratio was 1.25 or larger, however, spontaneous explosions were markedly suppressed; above [eta][sub r] = 2.00, they were entirely eliminated.
- OSTI ID:
- 6538345
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Science and Engineering; (United States), Journal Name: Nuclear Science and Engineering; (United States) Vol. 113:4; ISSN NSENAO; ISSN 0029-5639
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
The Effect of the UO{sub 2}/ZrO{sub 2} Composition on Fuel/Coolant Interaction
Suppression of steam explosions by increasing the viscosity of the coolant
Related Subjects
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ADDITIVES
ALCOHOLS
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COOLANTS
DATA
DISPERSIONS
ECCS
ELEMENTS
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
EVALUATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPLOSIONS
FUEL-COOLANT INTERACTIONS
GLYCOLS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INHIBITION
MELTING
METALS
MIXTURES
MOLTEN METAL-WATER REACTIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
POLYETHYLENE GLYCOLS
POLYMERS
REACTOR PROTECTION SYSTEMS
REACTOR SAFETY
SAFETY
SOLUTIONS
TIN
VISCOSITY
WATER