Incipient Boiling of Sodium in Presence of Magnetic Field

A three-dimensional nuclear and thermo-hydrodynamic kinetics calculation code IBIS has been developed, envisaging the treatment of asymmetrical reactivity changes in a large fast breeder reactor. An example of calculation with this code is described, which reveals a difference of void propagation behavior, following a local disturbance, between homogeneous and heterogeneous cores, ascribable to the presence, in the latter case, of inner blanket layers, which act as barrier against void propagation. Of the two parameters of power-to-flow ratio and space-time variation in thermal power, the latter is the more influential on void propagation, and this makes it essential to perform three-dimensional space-dependent kinetic analysis for adequately simulating local perturbations in a heterogeneous core.