Discussion about sodium-concrete reaction in presence of internal heater

Kawaguchi, Munemichi   ; Miyahara, Shinya  ; Uno, Masayoshi*

Sodium-concrete reaction (SCR) is one of the important phenomena during severe accidents in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) owing to the presence of large sources of hydrogen and aerosols in the containment vessel. In this study, SCR experiments with an internal heater (800C) were performed to investigate the chemical reaction under the internal heater. Furthermore, the effects of the internal heater on the self-termination mechanism were discussed. Because the internal heater hindered the transport of Na, the moisture in the concrete, and reaction products, Na could permeate and react with the surface concrete at the periphery of the internal heater. As the SCR proceeded, the reaction products accumulated under the internal heater and disturbed the Na diffusion. Therefore, the Na concentration under the internal heater decreased relatively lower, and the concrete ablation depth under the internal heater decreased compared to that under the periphery of the internal heater. However, the Na concentration around the reaction front was about 30 wt.% despite the position of the internal heater. The Na concentration was similar to that of NaSiO, which was almost same as that in our past study. It was found that the Na concentration condition was one of the dominant parameters for the self-termination of SCR, even in the presence of the internal heater.