Metal Cooling

Cooling by a liquid metal, such as sodium, has been universally adopted for fast breeder reactors. The main reason is that so many potential coolants are unsuitable because of the need to minimize moderation of the fast neutron spectrum in the core. Water (light or heavy) and organic coolants are therefore eliminated. Consideration has been given to the use of steam or helium as fast reactor coolants, but the heat transfer characteristics of a liquid metal are so much more favorable, particularly for a reactor of high power density, that neither steam nor gas cooling has been adopted for current fast breeder designs. 

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One was a water-moderated and water-cooled pressurized reactor the other was a Hquid-metal-cooled iatermediate neutron energy reactor. A land-based prototype submafine power plant called Mark I was built and tested at the National Reactor Testing Station. Argonne National Laboratory provided scientific data and Bettis Laboratory of Westinghouse Electric Corp. suppHed engineering expertise. 

Properties. Most of the alloys developed to date were intended for service as fuel cladding and other stmctural components in hquid-metal-cooled fast-breeder reactors. AHoy selection was based primarily on the following criteria corrosion resistance in Hquid metals, including lithium, sodium, and NaK, and a mixture of sodium and potassium strength ductihty, including fabricabihty and neutron considerations, including low absorption of fast neutrons as well as irradiation embrittlement and dimensional-variation effects. Alloys of greatest interest include V 80, Cr 15, Ti 5... 

General description. Porosity refers to cavities formed within the weld metal during the solidification process. Such cavities may form due to decreased solubility of a gas as the molten weld metal cools or due to gas-producing chemical reactions within the weld metal itself. At times, cavities can form a continuous channel through the weld metal (worm holes, piping), resulting in leaks (Case History 15.3). 

Figure 1. A, Dewar flask B, sintered glass filter C, metal cooling coil D, water inlet E, water outlet F, reaction vessel < , quartz immersion well /f, pyrex filter /, lamp ...

Ga metal (cooled to solid phase using liquid nitrogen) Powders... 

Because polymers have a very low thermal conductivity, compared with metals, cooling from the melt proceeds unevenly, the surface cooling more... 

Heat Load from Molten Metal Cooling... 

At first it was thought that the spheres burst because their relief valves were too small. But later it was realized that the metal in the upper portions of tlie spheres was softened by the heat and lost its strength. Below the liquid level, the boiling liquid kept the metal cool. Incidents such as this one in which a vessel bursts because the metal gets too hot are known as Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions or BLEVEs. 

A tank burst when exposed to fire for 90 minutes. During this time the Fire Department had, on advice of the refinery staff, used the available water for cooling surrounding tanks to prevent the fire spreading. The relief valve, it was believed, would prevent the tank bursting. They failed to realize that the tank could burst because the metal could get too hot and lose its strength. Below the liquid level the boiling liquid kept the metal cool, but above the liquid level the metal softened and burst at a pressure below that at which the relief valve would operate. 

Nickel-manganese-palladium brazes are resistant to attack by molten alkali metals and And applications in sodium-cooled turbine constructions. Their freedom from silver and other elements of high thermal neutron-capture cross-section allows them to be used in liquid-metal-cooled nuclear reactors. 

Other samples examined to date have included mass-transfer inclur s from liquid metal cooling systems, titanium alloy phases, and interm c... 

Many of the techniques available to purify alkali metals were initially developed to use with liquid sodium as a consequence of its large-scale application in liquid-metal-cooled fast-breeder reactors. These techniques can be summarized as filtration or cold trapping distillation or chemical (gettering). 

Sodium superheat experiments were performed in a forced-convection facility employing system parameters in the range of interest for application to loop- and pot-type liquid metal-cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs). The test section was... 

It should be mentioned that boiling within a liquid metal-cooled reactor (such as a sodium-cooled reactor) is an accident condition and may give rise to rapid fuel failure. In designing a reactor core, on the other hand, sodium boiling should... 

Liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs), 24 758 Liquid-metal fast-breeder reactor... 

It therefore requires 12.78 kilocalories of energy to heat this particular piece of aluminum. Conversely, if a kilogram of the same metal cooled from 70° to 10°, 12.78 kcal of heat will be released into the environment. 

I0.6.8.I Cladding failure in oxide fuel pins of nuclear reactors. The long-term operational performance of nuclear fuel pins is critically governed by the reactions that occur in the gap between the fuel and its cladding. Ball et al. (1989) examined this for the cases of (1) Zircaloy-clad pellets of U02+, in a pressurised water reactor (PWR) and (2) stainless-steel-clad pellets of (U, P)02+, in a liquid-metal-cooled fast-breeder reactor (LMFBR). In particular they were interested in the influence of O potential on Cs, I, Te and Mo and the effects of irradiation on the gaseous species within the fuel-clad gaps. 

LDH LEU LIBD LAW LET LILW LIP LLNL LLW LMA LMFBR LOI LREE L/S LTA LWR Layered double hydroxide Low enriched uranium Laser-induced breakdown detection Low-activity waste Linear energy transfer Low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste Lead-iron phosphate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Low-level nuclear waste Law of mass action Liquid-metal-cooled fast-breeder reactor Loss on ignition Light rare earth elements (La-Sm) Liquid-to-solid ratio (leachates) Low-temperature ashing Light water reactor... 

Another application concerning the liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBR) was studied as development of advanced control rod materials for FBR (22). Fabrication tests and out-of-pile measurements were made of B4C/Cu cermet to obtain high-performance neutron absorber materials for LMFBR. A coating layer of Cu was formed on the surface of B4C/Cu powder, and then the coated B4C... 

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