In the operation of sodium-cooled fast reactor, accident caused by the leakage and combustion of liquid sodium is common, and it is a pivotal and difficult problem in research, construction and operation of sodium-cooled fast reactor internationally. In actual operation of sodium-cooled fast reactor, liquid sodium in sodium fire accident is difficult to form fog but mainly in columnar flow form due to low operation pressure and thermal insulation material wrapping the pipe, so experimental research about columnar fire is of much more practical significance.
This paper focuses on combustion property on sodium column fire in the sodium-cooled fast reactor. Liquid sodium with high temperature will be poured into the combustion room via pouring high pressure nitrogen into sodium storage tank when solid sodium has been heated to enactment temperature; liquid sodium with high temperature will burn at combustion room with air forming sodium column fire. Initial temperature of sodium jet is about 200°C in experiment and spurt pressure is 0.2MPa, spurt flow is about 0.4–0.6m3 each hour. Temperature fields in combustion tank space and the catch plate in the bottom are measured through dozens of thermocouple distributed in combustion tank. No atomization phenomenon would exist in the pure sodium columnar fire in the space, the atomized fire triggered by splashed sodium from sodium stream striking the admittance plat and generate more than the high temperature of 900°C.
Advanced sodium fast reactor accident source terms :