Existence of steady-state fuel-coolant thermal detonation waves

Conference · Tue Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7365645

Bankoff, S G; Jo, J H

The possibility of a steady-state Chapman-Jouguet thermal detonation wave propagating through an initially coarse mixture of molten fuel and coolant in the course of a nuclear reactor accident is examined. The postulated mechanism is the breakup of single drops of heavy, hot liquid immersed in a vaporizable cold liquid (tin-water, or UO/sub 2/-sodium) due to passage of a shock wave, with rapid mixing and heat transfer which sustains the shock. A calculation at the required peak pressures, taking account of the interaction between the phases in a swarm of hot drops suspended initially in a comparable volume of liquid/vapor, indicates that the minimum pressures are so large as to make the probability of a steady-state thermal detonation wave due to droplet breakup and heat transfer appear to be very small in a water-cooled reactor accident, and essentially zero in an LMFBR accident.

• Research Organization: Northwestern Univ., Evanston, Ill. (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
• OSTI ID: 7365645
• Report Number(s): NU-2512-6; CONF-760328-3; TRN: 76-013132
• 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
BWR TYPE REACTORS
FUEL-COOLANT INTERACTIONS
SHOCK WAVES
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
DETONATIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PRESSURE GRADIENTS
PROBABILITY
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR SAFETY
ACCIDENTS
BREEDER REACTORS
ENERGY TRANSFER
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
REACTORS
SAFETY
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
210500 - Power Reactors
Breeding
210100 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled
210200 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled