Experimental study of the thermal interaction for molten tin dropped into water. [LMFBR]

Technical Report · Sun Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:7188669

Arakeri, V H; Catton, I; Kastenberg, W E; Plesset, M S

Multiflash photography with extremely short exposure duration times has been used to observe the interaction of molten tin dropped into a water bath. Detailed photographic evidence is presented which demonstrates that transition, or nucleate boiling, is a possible triggering mechanism for vapor explosions and fragmentation. It was also found that the thermal constraints required to produce vapor explosions could be relaxed by introducing a stable thermal stratification within the coolant. It is shown that the constraints can be relaxed sufficiently to cause vapor explosions for test conditions for which the calculated interface contact temperatures are lower than the homogeneous nucleation temperature of water. This latter finding shows that achievement of limiting coolant superheats associated with spontaneous nucleation is not the only mechanism by which vapor explosions in liquid-liquid systems are possible.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Los Angeles (USA). School of Engineering and Applied Science
• DOE Contract Number: AT(04-3)-34
• OSTI ID: 7188669
• Report Number(s): UCLA-ENG-7592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ALKALI METALS
BOILING
BREEDER REACTORS
DATA
ELEMENTS
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EXPLOSIONS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FLUIDS
FRAGMENTATION
FUEL-COOLANT INTERACTIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LIQUID METALS
LIQUIDS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
METALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHOTOGRAPHY
REACTORS
SIMULATION
SODIUM
TIN
TRANSITION BOILING
ULTRAHIGH-SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY
WATER