A high temperature sodium test facility for development of passive safety devices in FBRs

In a large fast breeder reactor (FBR), passive safety devices are able to i ntroduce a negative reactivity effect passively to prevent a core disruptiv e accident during an anticipated transient without scram. A high temperatur e sodium test facility was det eloped to investigate and develop the passiv e safety devices. This facility can be used for liquid sodium tests at a ma ximum pressure of 1 MPa and 700 degrees C or for sodium boiling tests up to 1,000 degrees C. Preliminary tests using a gas expansion module unit were carried out with the core conditions of a large FBR. Experimental results w ere obtained as follows. (1) The gas expanding process is similar to an iso thermal one. (2) The gas expansion speed increases gradually due to sodium flow resistance and inertia. (3) Since forced convection by the gas expansi on promotes heat transfer, the heat transfer increases rapidly at the start of expansion. (4) The above experimental results are used to propose an em pirical correlation.