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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

ISBN Print: 0-89116-130-9

International Heat Transfer Conference 6
August, 7-11, 1978, Toronto, Canada

FRAGMENTATION OF UO2 AND UC DROPS ENTERING A SODIUM POOL

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC6.3620
pages 149-154

Resumo

In this paper attention is focussed on whether coarse premixing of fuel and coolant is possible according to the jet penetration hypothesis, with applications to a hypothetical accident in a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor. For UO2 or UC fuel drops entering a sodium pool, the rapid bubble growth and collapse phenomenon, followed by crust breakup due to jet penetration, is analyzed as a function of the system pressure and coolant temperature. It appears that the UO2-Na system fragments rapidly upon contact, for coolant temperatures above 300°C, while the corresponding temperature for the carbide fuel is around 600°C, at atmospheric pressures. For UO2 but not for UC, there is a cut off pressure in the 0.1 - 3 MPa range, above which the crust does not break up for a particular coolant temperature between 400 and 800°C. Higher sodium temperatures aid the break up for both fuels. One concludes that coarse premixing for UO2, but not necessarily for UC, is difficult to attain.