Clarification of sodium-water chemical reaction using laser diagnostics

Deguchi, Yoshihiro*; Tamura, Kenta*; Muranaka, Ryota*; Kusano, Koji*; Takata, Takashi*; 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. 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 in a steam generator. Therefore the study on sodium-water chemical reactions is of paramount importance for safety reasons. This study aims to clarify the sodium-water reaction mechanisms using laser diagnostics. The sodium-water, sodium-oxygen and sodium-hydrogen counter-flow reactions were measured using laser diagnostics such as Raman, absorption and photo-fragmentation spectroscopies. The measurement results show that the main product of the sodium-water reaction is NaOH. The sodium-water reaction rate is slower than that of the sodium-oxygen reaction and hydrogen does not react noticeably with sodium.