Experimental studies on the upward fuel discharge for elimination of severe recriticality during core-disruptive accidents in sodium-cooled fast reactors

Kamiyama, Kenji  ; Konishi, Kensuke ; Sato, Ikken ; Toyooka, Junichi  ; Matsuba, Kenichi  ; Zuyev, V. A.*; Pakhnits, A. V.*; Vityuk, V. A.*; Vurim, A. D.*; Gaidaichuk, V. A.*; Kolodeshnikov, A. A.*; Vassiliev, Y. S.*

Recently, a design option which leads molten fuel to upward discharge has been considered to minimize technical difficulties for practical application to JSFR. In the present study, a series of experiments which consisted of three out-of-pile tests and one in-pile test were conducted to investigate effectiveness of the upward discharge option on eliminating energetics potential. Experimental data which showed a sequence of upward fuel-discharge and effects of initial pressure conditions on upward-discharge were obtained through the out-of-pile and in-pile test. Preliminary extrapolation of the present results to the supposed condition in early phase of the CDA in the JSFR design, suggested that sufficient upward flow rate of molten-fuel was expected to prevent the core-melting from progressing beyond the fuel subassembly scale and that the upward discharge option would be effective in eliminating the energetic potential.