Sodium-Bench Testing of a Cold-Trap Model

Abstract

Experimental data on the precipitation of an impurity (sodium oxide) in sodium coolant in a model of a cold trap of a fast reactor are obtained using a specially developed technique. The working model included the zones of filtration, spontaneous cooling, and cooled settling tank, which were intended for collecting the settling impurities. The working cavity was cooled by sodium-potassium alloy melt outside its housing. It is shown that there are two local maxima in the distribution of the sodium oxide deposits along the height of the model; these peaks correspond to the initial and final sections of the cooling zone. The model constants of impurity mass transfer in the model of a cold trap are refined experimentally. The calculations performed with the refined model of mass transfer for the standard variant of a cold trap built into the reactor tank showed that the model constants are optimal.