Potential results of spray and pool fires

The studies on sodium pool inflammation have been conducted in a 3161 vessel, and those on sodium pool fires in three facilities: 4, 22 and 400 m³. The influence of the following parameters has been studied: sodium temperature, combustion area, humidity in the atmosphere and oxygen concentration. The experimental results have been used to validate the FEUNA code. The experimental studies on sodium spray fires have been conducted in a 3.7 m³ vessel. The experimental results have been used to validate a sodium spray fire computer code: PULSAR.     

钠冷快增殖堆钠雾火分析计算

在钠冷快增殖堆假想事故中 ,由于管道破裂 ,钠喷出到有氧的房间引起钠雾火 ,导致房间内温度及压力的上升。在NACOM单个液滴燃烧模型的基础上 ,考虑燃烧钠液滴的运动以及由于钠液滴与气体的热平衡关系 ,并忽略由于液滴间的相互作用影响 ,编制程序SPCOM。对钠雾火过程中涉及的液滴运动、液滴燃烧、喷雾燃烧以及质量热量传递问题进行了模拟。计算了钠雾火引起的房间的温度及压力瞬变 ,并与实验进行了比较 ,符合良好     

钠冷快堆中喷雾钠火的计算分析

根据钠冷快堆中喷雾钠火的特点建立了理论模型，编制了SSPRAY程序。该程序模拟钠喷雾燃料过程中钠滴的运动、钠和氧气的燃烧反应、热量传递和质量传递等瞬态过程。用该程序计算了气体和墙壁温度、气体压力、氧气摩尔份额、喷雾流燃烧速率和热量热递速率等主要参数。利用AI实验数据和美国SPRAY－3A的计算结果对程序进行了验证，结果符合较好。     

钠雾火试验结果及与雾火程序计算的比较分析

钠雾火试验在一个体积为2.4 m~3的封闭容器内进行,用于分析雾状钠火的热动力学后果。250℃的液态钠在电磁泵的驱动下经过直径为2.4mm的喷头呈液滴喷出形成雾状钠火,喷头与容器底部的距离为1.35m,钠喷射流量约14.85g/s,喷射持续78s,试验测得容器内的气体在78s时达到最高压力41kPa,113s时达到最高温度190℃。将试验数据和利用基于雾状钠火计算程序(NACOM)编制的计算程序计算得到的数据进行了对比和分析。结果表明:当将钠喷射的流量修正为3.83g/s、容器壁的总传热系数修正为9.6 W/(m~2·K)时,钠喷射期间,计算压力大于试验压力,钠喷射结束后,计算的压力变化曲线和试验所得的压力变化曲线吻合较好;而计算所得的温度曲线和试验测得的温度曲线有较大差异,理论上容器内的温度在第78s时达到最大值303℃,分析认为是因为热电偶测量的温度存在滞后现象。     

Air-hydrogen deflagration tests at the University of Pisa

In severe accidents, large amounts of hydrogen may be released in the safety containment of a nuclear plant and the gas mixture may become explosive. The University of Pisa and ENEA have undertaken an experimental program to study the physics of flame propagation in a containment model under accident conditions. Up to now 41 deflagration tests have been performed at the HYDRO-SC facility at ambient pressure and temperature. Concentrations, water spray conditions, ignition source and gas turbulence levels were varied. The vessel volume was 0.5 m³, the ignition sources were an electrical spark discharge and an electrically heated surface (glow-plug), the hydrogen molar fractions were in the range 4–16%, the turbulence was generated by fan or spray and two different spray nozzles were utilized. The experimental data indicate that the peak pressures nearly fit the adiabatic isochoric values at the highest hydrogen concentrations and gas turbulences. Weak pressure waves were observed for H₂ molar fractions greater than 10%. A careful examination of the pressure and temperature transients gave information on the flame path and on the heat transfer process during and after combustion. Scale effects on the peak pressures were not observed by comparison of the HYDRO-SC results with data obtained in other laboratories. The glow plug igniter has proved to be a reliable tool for use in deliberate ignition schemes for hydrogen control in nuclear plants.     

钠滴氧化燃烧特性的实验研究

液态钠泄漏和燃烧是钠冷快堆在运行中一多发的常见事故。本文主要针对液态钠滴在不同初始温度(140~370℃)和氧浓度(4%~21%)条件下的氧化燃烧行为进行实验研究。实验通过1套钠滴燃烧装置和高速摄像机使钠滴的氧化燃烧行为可视化。实验结果表明:钠滴的初始温度和氧浓度越低,钠滴表面产生的柱状氧化物越长;在相同氧浓度条件下,钠滴初始温度越高,越易着火燃烧;钠滴初始温度在200℃以下时很难点燃,当有扰动破坏了表面的氧化层结构时,钠滴也会逐渐燃烧;钠滴初始温度在140~370℃的条件下,氧浓度≥12%时,钠滴能燃烧充分,最高温度基本可升至600~800℃;氧浓度12%时,燃烧并不充分,燃烧的最高温度均在600℃以下。这些结果对柱状流及雾状钠火的研究有重要的指导意义。     

Numerical investigation of multi-dimensional characteristics in sodium combustion

Multi-dimensional sodium combustion behavior has been numerically investigated in the present paper. A new computer code AQUA-SF has been developed for this purpose. The code includes two sodium combustion models (so called ‘spray combustion’ and ‘pool combustion’), a mass and heat transfer model considering a six-flux gas radiation and a coagulation and sedimentation model of sodium oxide and hydroxide aerosols. The sodium spray combustion rate is evaluated by a summation of the combustion rate of each sodium droplet with an individual diameter. A flame sheet model is applied to situations where sodium spreads out on the floor and a pool combustion takes place. The model assumes an infinitely thin flame above the pool surface and is based on a mass and energy balance in the flame. As the results of numerical analyses of a sodium spray combustion test, a location of high-temperature core region and a maximum temperature agrees with the experiment. Good agreements of an overall transient behavior are obtained in a large-scale sodium combustion test analysis. The numerical analyses also demonstrate that the distributions of temperature and chemical species concentration vary with sodium combustion modes. If sodium scatters and the spray combustion is dominant, the distributions vary in space. When a large amount of sodium exists on a floor and the pool area is enlarged, the distributions are more uniform in space.     

雾状钠火钠滴燃烧比率的模拟及应用

将雾状钠火中钠滴的燃烧分成预燃阶段和燃烧阶段,利用雾状钠火程序计算得到钠滴燃烧比率和时间的关系曲线,分别用幂函数、指数函数和线性函数对曲线进行拟合,拟合效果较好。拟合函数中包含钠滴下落时间和钠滴最大燃烧比率等参数,这些参数可通过钠滴下落燃烧试验或雾状钠火程序计算得到。通过推导得到了雾状钠火燃烧和单个钠滴燃烧的关系,钠滴燃烧比率的拟合函数被用来模拟雾状钠火燃烧的过程,包括用于计算已燃烧的钠质量、空气中未燃烧的钠质量、进入钠池的钠质量和雾状钠火的燃烧速率。当雾状钠火燃烧过程中钠泄漏流量恒定不变时,空气中未燃烧的钠质量和钠泄漏流量呈正比,雾状钠火的燃烧速率和钠泄漏流量呈正比。雾状钠火的燃烧速率和钠火造成的事故工艺间内的温度与压力变化直接相关。雾状钠火的燃烧速率被用来求解钠气溶胶的生成速率、钠燃烧火焰层和空气之间的传热、钠燃烧火焰层和墙壁之间的传热。总之,使用简单的函数模拟钠滴的燃烧比率曲线,将雾状钠火燃烧当成事故工艺间的热源和钠气溶胶源作为输入,便可模拟雾状钠火的整个燃烧过程,计算得到工艺间温度、压力和钠气溶胶浓度的变化。钠滴的燃烧比率曲线、雾状钠火的燃烧速率曲线还可与试验数据进行对比验证后作为雾状钠火模拟的输入,这种模拟方法可用于钠火事故安全分析中雾状钠火的模拟。     

基于FDS的钠火三维数值模拟研究

根据FDS火灾动力学分析软件的计算特点,结合钠火的燃烧模式,采用化学动力学建立了钠火燃烧的数值计算模型,将其与FDS软件相结合,使该软件具有模拟钠火燃烧的功能。使用两个钠火试验数据对程序计算得到的房间温度、压力、托盘内壁温度、氧气摩尔份额进行了验证。结果表明,房间温度、托盘内壁温度、氧气摩尔份额的计算结果与试验结果较为吻合,且计算结果也符合钠火实际燃烧的情况,但压力的计算结果与试验结果差异较大。     

钠滴燃烧仿真模型研究

对钠冷快堆喷雾钠火计算中使用的传统球状钠滴模型进行了改进,采用表面带有锥状突起的钠滴新模型,使模拟更接近于燃烧实际现象。根据钠滴燃烧过程中表面氧化、预燃和燃烧3个阶段的不同规律,分别建立了数学模型,通过引入单位时间内参与氧化反应与发生气化的钠的质量比γ,模拟计算了钠滴在不同初始温度(200～500 ℃)和不同氧气浓度(4%～20%)下的燃烧温度特性。仿真结果与实验数据吻合较好,并分析了γ的变化规律。     

Numerical prediction of fire extinguishment characteristics of sodium leak collection tray in a fast breeder reactor

Sodium leak collection tray (LCT) is an efficient passive device used for the extinguishment of liquid sodium fire in case of an accidental leakage from the secondary circuit of a fast breeder reactor. The LCT essentially isolates the leaking sodium into closed containers where the resulting fire is extinguished due to limited availability of oxygen. The current work aims to highlight the combustion extinguishment characteristics of LCT through a lumped formulation by conserving the mass and energy of liquid sodium and constituent gases in various parts of the LCT. Here, the complex hydrodynamics of liquid sodium is emulated through a semi-analytical draining/sloshing model and its burning rates are predicted through a three-dimensional open pool combustion model for the tray region and a closed pool combustion model for the holdup vessel. These simulations evaluate the burning rates at discrete levels of liquid sodium which are subsequently interpolated to establish correlations involving instantaneous liquid levels and oxygen concentration. Using the correlations obtained from the draining and combustion models, the overall lumped formulation directly predicts the un-burnt sodium recoverable after the extinguishment of fire in the LCT. The predicted results of this model compare well with the available experimental data.     

Experimental study on combustion characteristics of sodium fire in a columnar flow

In the operation of the sodium-cooled fast reactor, the accident caused by the leakage and combustion of liquid sodium is common and frequent in sodium-related facilities. This paper is based on an experimental study of sodium fire in a columnar flow, which was carried out to focus on the burning characteristics by analyzing the temperature fields in the burner. The injection of 200 °C liquid sodium with the flux of 0.5 m³/h was poured into a 7.9 m³ volume stainless steel cylindrical burner to shape a sodium fire, and the data of temperature fields in the burner have been collected by dozens of thermocouples which are laid in the combustion space and sodium collection plate. These results show that the sodium fire in a columnar flow is composed of the foregoing centered columnar fire, the subsequent spray fire caused by atomization and the pool fire on the collection plate. The temperature close to the burning sodium flow maximally reaches up to 950 °C. The radial temperatures apart from the sodium flow are relatively low and generally about 200 °C, and maximally just 300 °C even when close to the sodium collection plate. The maximum temperature of the burning sodium dropping on the collection plate rises in the center of plate, about 528 °C. This study is helpful to evaluate the combustion characteristics, formation process and composing forms of the sodium fire in the sodium-related facilities.     

Experimental investigation of weir instability in main vessel cooling system of 1/4 FBR model

The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is under construction at Kalpakkam, India. The main vessel of this pool type reactor acts as the primary containment in the reactor assembly. In order to keep the main vessel temperature below creep range and to reduce high temperature embrittlement and also to ensure its healthiness for 40 years of reactor life, a small fraction of core flow (0.5 m³/s) is sent through an annular space formed between the main vessel and a cylindrical baffle (primary thermal baffle) to cool the vessel. The sodium after cooling the main vessel overflows the primary baffle (weir shell) and falls into another concentric pool of sodium separated from the cold pool by the secondary thermal baffle and then returned to cold pool. The weir shell, where the overflow of liquid sodium takes place, is a thin shell prone to flow induced vibrations due to instability caused by sloshing and fluid-structure interaction. A similar vibration phenomenon was first observed during the commissioning of Super-Phenix reactor. In order to understand the phenomenon and provide necessary experimental back up to validate the analytical models, weir instability experiments were conducted in a 1:4 scale stainless steel (SS) model installed in a water loop. The experiments were conducted with flow rate and fall height as the varying parameters. The experimental results showed that the instability of the weir shell was caused due to fluid structure interaction. This paper discusses the details of the model, the modeling laws, similitude criteria adopted, analytical prediction, the experimental results and conclusion.     

Experimental study on characteristics of sodium fire in a columnar flow with discontinuous injections

In the operation of the sodium-cooled fast reactor, the accident caused by the leakage and combustion of liquid sodium is common and frequent in sodium-related facilities. In this paper, an experiment Harbin Engineering University-Sodium Columnar Fire 4 (HEU-SCF4) is carried out to focus on the combustion characteristics in a discontinuous columnar flow. Liquid sodium (250°C) with the flux of about 1.0 m³/h was injected into a 7.9 m³ stainless steel cylindrical test chamber twice to shape the sodium fire in a columnar flow with discontinuous injections. The temperature, pressure data, and heat release rate in the test chamber were acquired and analyzed. It is found that each injection would cause a peak of space temperature, and it takes much shorter time to reach temperature peak in the second injection than the first injection. The peaks of pressure and heat release rate caused by the second injection are much higher than those caused by the first injection. This study is promising to evaluate the combustion characteristics of sodium fire in a columnar flow with different injection forms in the sodium-related facilities.     

钠冷快堆钠雾火事故三维数值模拟

针对钠冷快堆可能发生的钠雾火事故,开发和研制了一套用于钠火事故分析,能求解发生钠雾火事故后,事故空间3维的气体温度分布和化学成份分布的程序。本文详细介绍了分析求解钠雾火的燃烧模型和热传输模型,以及计算空间流场采用的计算方法和步骤,并将计算结果与试验值进行了比较：结果表明,二者符合较好。     

Experiments on sodium fires and their aerosols

A number of new sodium fire and aerosol experiments were undertaken to provide data for LMFBR safety analyses: (1) Experiments on the burning of single drops of liquid sodium falling in air have been performed to aid in model development for sodium spray fire codes. (2) The leakage of sodium oxide aerosols through a straight smooth capillary tube, representative of the maximum size of a hypothetical gas leak in the wall of the secondary containment of an LMFBR, has been studied. Even in those cases in which the capillary did not plug, <11% of the entering mass was of a respirable size as it emerged from the capillary. In addition, there were a number of conditions under which the capillary plugged. (3) Experiments on the behavior of high temperature, high concentration aerosols have shown a rapid depletion of the aerosol concentration in the first 6 sec following injection of 800 g/m³ aerosols at 1000°C into a closed vessel. This depletion has been correlated with the early formation of 100 to 200 μm agglomerates which fall out promptly.     

钠冷快堆中池式钠火的计算分析

文章论述了根据池式钠火的特点建立了理论模型 ,编制了SPOOL程序。该程序模拟钠燃烧过程中钠和氧气的化学反应 ,钠燃烧热在各种介质中不同方式的传递 ,钠气溶胶的产生、沉积 ,以及在各种通风条件下多种介质的质量和能量交换等瞬态过程 ,描述了钠燃烧过程中各种特征参数随时间的变化。其主要的计算参数包括房间内气体的压力和温度、房间建筑结构的温度、钠气溶胶质量浓度等等。用俄罗斯别洛雅尔斯克核电站实验和法国卡桑德拉 3号实验的数据 ,对SPOOL程序进行验证的结果表明 ,该程序的计算结果可信。该程序为国内钠冷快堆中池式钠火事故的安全分析提供了分析方法     

Experimental study on combustion and suppression characteristics of sodium fire in a columnar flow using extinguishing powder

In the operation of the sodium-cooled fast reactor, the leakage and fire accident of liquid sodium is common and it is frequent in sodium-related facilities. This study focuses on the combustion and suppression characteristics of sodium fire in a columnar flow. Liquid sodium (250 °C) is injected into a 7.9 m³ cylindrical chamber at a flow rate of about 1.0 m³/h to create a columnar sodium fire, and 18.4 kg class D extinguishing powder is sprayed after the liquid sodium injection. The temperature in the chamber space and sodium collection plate and the heat release rate from sodium fire are measured and analyzed. Based on the temperature data the sodium fire under suppression could be divided into four phases of dropping sharply, continuously remaining lower, rising and declining mildly, and depressing. The sodium fire in the space could be suppressed and cooled down if the extinguishing agent could spray in the early period of the liquid sodium injection. The extinguishing agent could suppress the combustion and spreading of liquid sodium dropping on the collection plate, limit the pool combustion area and postpone the commencement of sodium pool burning in spite of its later re-ignition happening. This study promises to evaluate the combustion and suppression characteristics of sodium fire in the sodium-related facilities.     

Combustion of stratified hydrogen-air mixtures in the 10.7 m combustion test facility cylinder

This paper presents preliminary results from hydrogen concentration gradient combustion experiments in a 10.7 m³ cylinder. These gradients, also referred to as stratified mixtures, were formed from dry mixtures of hydrogen and air at atmospheric temperature. Combustion pressures, burn fractions and flame speeds in concentration gradients were compared with combustion of well-mixed gases containing equivalent amounts of hydrogen. The studied variables included the quantity of hydrogen in the vessel, the steepness of the concentration gradient, the igniter location, and the initial concentration of hydrogen at the bottom of the vessel.Gradients of hydrogen and air with average concentrations of hydrogen below the downward propagation limit produced significantly greater combustion pressures when ignited at the top of the vessel than well-mixed gases with the same quantity of hydrogen. This was the result of considerably higher burn fractions in the gradients than in the well-mixed gas tests. Above the downward propagation limit, gradients of hydrogen ignited at the top of the vessel produced nearly the same combustion pressures as under well-mixed conditions; both gradients and well-mixed gases had high burn fractions. Much higher flame speeds were observed in the gradients than the well-mixed gases.Gradients and well-mixed gases containing up to 14% hydrogen ignited at the bottom of the vessel produced nearly the same combustion pressures. Above 14%, hydrogen, gradients produced lower combustion pressures than well-mixed gases having the same quantity of hydrogen. This can be attributed to lower burn fractions of fuel from the gradients compared with well-mixed gases with similar quantities of hydrogen. When ignited at the bottom of the vessel, 90%, of a gradient's gases remained unburned until several seconds after ignition. The remaining gases were then consumed at a very fast rate.     

Transport and Deposition of Metals in Sodium-Stainless Steel Systems, (IV)

With the object of gaining information on the behavior of radioactive corrosion products such as ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁵Zn and ¹²⁴Sb in relation with oxygen concentration in liquid sodium-stainless steel systems, deposition experiments were undertaken with use made of stainless steel capsules, each containing 20 g of sodium and a trace amount of one of these radioisotopes.

Each capsule was set vertically and subjected to a steep temperature gradient, descending toward the bottom, for 700 hr of run to let the sodium oxide diffuse through the liquid sodium and settle on the bottom. The oxygen concentration in the sodium was controlled by varying the bottom temperature. The concentrations of the radioisotope at different radial positions on various cross sections along the capsule axis were determined on sodium samples dissected from the capsule after quick solidification of the sodium by chilling.

The values of the activation energy of deposition were determined for each radioisotope from partition coefficients, defined as the ratio of specific radioactivity between that of the stainless steel surfaces and that in the liquid sodium. Manganese deposition involves precipitation in the lower temperature region, and adsorption—associated loosely with oxygen in the sodium—in the higher temperatures. Zinc adsorption was observed on the wall surface only when it had been previously treated with sodium before dissolution of the radioisotope in the sodium. Antimony deposition is attributable to coprecipitation with sodium oxide.