Role of energetic mixed-oxide-fuel-sodium thermal interactions in liquid metal fast breeder reactor safety

Conference · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7355695

Fauske, H K

Based upon analysis, numerous experiments and examination of all known occurrences of large-mass vapor explosions, the following general behavior principle has emerged: Mixing of large quantities of a hot and cold liquid, a necessary condition for developing sustained pressures and large damage potential from thermal interaction, requires spontaneous nucleation upon contact. Since the contact temperature for the mixed-oxide-fuel-sodium system is well below the spontaneous-nucleation temperature for liquid sodium, the current interesting controversy regarding spontaneous nucleation and its role in the vapor-explosion mechanism itself is largely irrelevant for this system. Therefore, current practice is to use the pressure-volume curve determined by the expanding fuel vapor following a postulated hydrodynamic disassembly (which generally results from considering a number of unrealistic physical processes to occur) for safety evaluation. It follows that for reactors like FFTF and CRBR, the extremely unlikely event of a core meltdown is predicted to occur safely, with essentially no energetics involved.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., Ill. (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31-109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 7355695
• Report Number(s): CONF-760328-1; TRN: 76-013125
• Resource Relation: Conference: 3. specialists' meeting on sodium fuel interaction, Tokyo, Japan, Mar 1976
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
FUEL-COOLANT INTERACTIONS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MELTDOWN
EXPLOSIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MIXING
PLUTONIUM DIOXIDE
REACTOR SAFETY
SODIUM
URANIUM DIOXIDE
ACCIDENTS
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ALKALI METALS
BREEDER REACTORS
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY TRANSFER
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
METALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTORS
SAFETY
TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM OXIDES
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
210500 - Power Reactors
Breeding