Simulation of chemical kinetics in sodium-concrete interactions

Sodium-concrete interaction is a key safety-related issue in safety analysis of liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs). The chemical kinetics model is a key component of the sodium-concrete interaction model. Conservation equations integrated in sodium-concrete interaction model cannot be solved without a set of relationships that couple the equations together, and this may be done by the chemical kinetics model. Simultaneously, simulation of chemical kinetics is difficult due to complexity of the mechanism of chemical reactions between sodium and concrete. This paper describes the chemical kinetics simulation under some hypotheses. The chemical kinetics model was integrated with the conservation equations to form a computer code. Penetration depth, penetration rate, hydrogen flux, reaction heat, etc. can be provided by this code. Theoretical models and computational procedure were recounted in detail. Good agreements of an overall transient behavior were obtained in a series of sodium-concrete interaction experiment analysis. Comparison between analytical and experimental results showed that the chemical kinetics model presented in this paper was creditable and reasonable for simulating the sodium-concrete interactions.