Analysis and Research on Sodium Single Droplet Combustion

Abstract

Abstract The sodium-cooled fast reactor is one of the preferred reactor types for the fourth-generation nuclear energy system. The sodium-cooled fast reactor uses metallic sodium as the coolant, which has a lot of advantages such as good thermal conductivity, larger heat capacity and lower neutron absorption rate. However, sodium is relatively active in chemical properties, and is prone to chemical reactions with oxygen and cause fires. The sodium fire caused by the sodium leakage of the sodium-cooled fast reactor seriously affected the safe operation of the reactor. The combustion of a single sodium droplet is the basis of sodium fire calculation and analysis. In this paper, by modeling the combustion of a single sodium droplet, a calculation and analysis program for the combustion of a single sodium droplet is developed, and compared and verified with related experiments. Through this program, the factors affecting the combustion of sodium droplets were analyzed and studied. The study showed that the diameter of sodium droplets, the temperature of sodium droplets, and the oxygen concentration have important effects on the combustion of sodium droplets. This work lays the foundation for the analysis of spray sodium fire accidents and is of great significance to the safety of fast reactors.