Abstract
To better understand the corrosion and corrosion products behavior in the primary circuit of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) coolant reactor, the concentration distribution of soluble impurities and the transport of solid particles are investigated through the finite-element method. An axisymmetric model of the primary circuit of an LBE reactor was constructed to accelerate the calculation of the thermal hydraulic filed of the circuit. The saturation concentration of solute Fe, Cr and Ni in LBE coolant are identified through the equilibrium of their oxides and PbO, and the very different saturation concentrations of Fe/Cr/Ni in LBE will lead to significant element-selective corrosion. The migration of solid oxide particles in the primary circuit is also investigated by the Euler–Lagrange tracing model. The simulation shows that driving force for the movement of particles >100 μm is buoyancy, which lets particles float on a free surface, while particles <10 μm tend to suspend in coolant. However, the behavior of particles also depends on the formation position, the particles formed above the core have a high possibility of re-entering in the core.
Highlights
Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) alloy is the main candidate coolant for advanced fast reactor and candidate spallation target of high-energy neutron source because of its excellent thermal conductivity, chemical inertness and good neutronic characteristics [1]
In a non-isothermal circuit, the LBE will corrode the material in the high-temperature zone, and the impurities will precipitate in the low-temperature zone due to the reduced solubility of the impurities, forming corrosion products (CPs) [3,4,5]
The continuous precipitation of CPs in the cold zone and the growth of existed oxides particles can lead to severe blockages in the heat exchangers (HX) and fuel assemblies (FA), which may reduce flow and cooling efficiency [7]
Summary
Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) alloy is the main candidate coolant for advanced fast reactor and candidate spallation target of high-energy neutron source because of its excellent thermal conductivity, chemical inertness and good neutronic characteristics [1]. In the high-temperature environment, the LBE coolant has a strong corrosive effect on the structure materials since main steel elements are soluble in LBE [2]. In a non-isothermal circuit, the LBE will corrode the material in the high-temperature zone, and the impurities will precipitate in the low-temperature zone due to the reduced solubility of the impurities, forming corrosion products (CPs) [3,4,5]. The experiments result directly showed the corrosion mechanism and the formation of a 15–20 μm spinel layer on steel in flowing oxygen containing an LBE environment (velocity of LBE is 2 m/s, co is about 1.6 × 10−6 wt.%, corrosion time is 503 h and temperature is 550 ◦C) [12]. In this In this article,abratiscelde,obnasaendoormn aal nLoBrEmfaalstLrBeEacftaosrtdreesaicgtno,rthdeesgiglonb,atlhceorgrloosbiaolncionrrthoseisotnruicn- the structure ture was invewstaisgaintevde,sttihgeatceodn, ctehnetcroanticoenntdriasttiroinbudtiisotnribouftiimonpoufriitmypwuaristymwoadselmedodaenledd, fain- d, the nally, the migmraitgiorantiboenhbavehioarvoiofrcoofrrcoosriroonsipornopdruocdtsuwctsaswparsedpricetdeidc.ted
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