Application of laser diagnostics to sodium-water chemical reaction field

Deguchi, Yoshihiro*; Tamura, Kenta*; Muranaka, Ryota*; Kusano, Koji*; Kikuchi, Shin  ; Kurihara, Akikazu 

In a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), liquid sodium is used as a heat transfer fluid because of its excellent heat transport capability. On the other hand, it has strong chemical reactivity with water vapor. One of the design basis accidents of the SFR is the water leakage into the liquid sodium flow by a breach of heat transfer tubes. Therefore the study on sodium-water chemical reactions is of paramount importance for security reasons. This study aims to clarify the sodium-water reaction mechanisms using laser diagnostics. The measurement results show that the sodium-water reaction proceeds mainly by the reaction Na + HO = NaOH + H and the main product is NaOH from this reaction.