The calculation of phase equilibria of oxide core-concrete systems

Thermodynamic models have been developed to describe the phase equilibria of oxide solutions appropriate for the understanding of the chemical interactions between nuclear reactor core debris and concrete. For this purpose, the Gibbs energy of the liquid phase is described by the inclusion of associ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of nuclear materials Vol. 201; pp. 238 - 249
Main Authors Ball, R.G.J., Mignanelli, M.A., Barry, T.I., Gisby, J.A.
Format Journal Article Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.05.1993
Elsevier
Subjects
Applied sciences
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Exact sciences and technology
Fission nuclear power plants
Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy
Uranium Oxides
Gibbs free energy
Melting
Ternary system
Phase diagram
Binary system
Computation code
Excess parameter
Modeling
Nuclear reactor
Aluminium Oxides
Accident
Silicon Oxides
Numerical simulation
Thermodynamic analysis
Concrete
Calcium Oxides
Oxidation
Zirconium Oxides
Phase equilibrium
Computing method
Reactor core
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Thermodynamic models have been developed to describe the phase equilibria of oxide solutions appropriate for the understanding of the chemical interactions between nuclear reactor core debris and concrete. For this purpose, the Gibbs energy of the liquid phase is described by the inclusion of associate species and nonideal interactions between the components and associate species. Assessments of the thermodynamic and phase equilibrium data for the subsystems of the CaO- Al 2 O 3- SiO 2- UO 2- ZrO 2 system have been used to obtain a thermodynamic description of the crystalline and liquid phases in good agreement with published data. The data for the subsystems have then been combined, using well established principles, to predict the phase relationships in the ternary and quaternary systems and in the overall quinary system. The results show that the overall system cannot properly be treated as a pseudo-ideal liquid and solid solution, as used in some computer codes which attempt to model the physics and chemistry of core-concrete interactions. The limitations of the current model are discussed.
ISSN:0022-3115
1873-4820
DOI:10.1016/0022-3115(93)90179-3