Boiling Rubidium A8 a Reactor : Coolant
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UNITED STATES ATOMlC ENERGY CUMMISSiON -F - - 71013 BOILING RUBIDIUM A8 A REACTOR : COOLANT. PREPARkTION OF RUBDIUM adETAL, PHYBICAL AND 33PBER.MO~AMIcC PROFERTLES, AND COMPATIBILITY WITH INCONEL , technical Infor~ionEx?snsion, Oak Ridgs, Timnessee DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency Thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. This mprt em~~$utrraf 2 gtwks, Pcljrt I asd Pea*t 11. *. .I. I *** .* ** . ... .. : :: . :*:. *::: /f- 8. .* .*** . e.. 0.. .* 0.. * *. 0... 0.. *I *to.. 0 *a ** . ..a . .a* .* - -8 OPSE RIDCE SCHOOL OF REACTOR TECHNOUXY ''BOI~RUBIDIUM AS A BEACTOR.COOLANT : , PREPAMTION OF RUBIDIUM METALg PHYSICAL AND THERMJDYNAMIC PROPERTIESg AND COMPATIBILI!PY WII"H INCONEX" This report cont~insinformaticg. geiierated by E. group of @$SORT students under .the leadershim df S; Reed Nixon aa part of an assigned summer project. Although .)ther members of the group contributed in, varying degrees to the effort described herein, the @uses reported on were the respowibillty of: 8. August 1954 In September, 3.953, a group of men representing various scie~tificand engineering fields embarked on the twelve months of study whieh culminated in this repork. For nine of these months, formal claeeroom and etudent laboratory work occupied their Lime. At the end of that period, MA student; group wae presented with a problem in reactor design, This is a summary report of the study, the research, the problem and the eolutions which de~~Qopdduricd 'the :final ten weeks period of the echo02 ,term, It must be realized that, in so shod a tie, a sl;u.dy of this Beope ca? not be guaranteed eompl&e or free of error, This '%heels is aaot offered a8 a poxshed engineering report but rather as a record of the work done by the group under the leaderehip of the group leader. It is reproduced for uee by those persona competent to assess the uncertainties inherent in the results obtained in term of the prebieeneee of the t.ecbnica1 data md analytical met hods employed in the study. fn the opinion of the student 8 and f acul%,y of OBSCWT, the problem has served +,,he pedagogical purpose for ,wkieh i.t vaa . intended. Ae a matter of hiwtorieal fact and pride we point out ,that similar investigations by stude~tgroups of previous ORSOEF classes have led to sufficiently encouraging results to warrant more exhaustive studiee; in at least one instance, a reactor first investigated by a.s%udentgroup is soon to become a physical reality, There is also recorded & instance in whieh calculations contafned in a similar report were uncritically abstracted alad applied to a atudy for whi.ch they were never intended, It is to avoid the recurrence of the latter experience that we have .taken some pains to acquaint the reader with ,the character of this report, The famltv wishes to Join the,authors ,in an expression of appreciatf on for the aseistance which various members of the Oak Ridge National laboratory have eo generously contributed. In particular, ,the guidance of the group consultant, E, It. ddann, is gratefully achwledged. F. C. BonderLage for The Faculty of CRSOEi! Section Descrf~tio~ 0.1 Introducticn 0.1. Initiationof the Project . 0.1, 2 Scope of the Report O0lO3 Organization of the Report 0.1.4 Acknowledgement 002 Smxqy 0.2.1 Conclusfons 002,2 Recomendationa Preparation of Rubidium Metal Introduction Chromtography of Alkali Metals 1.2.1 Inorganic Exchanger 1,2,2 Qmthetic Resin Cation Exchanger " 1.2.3 1-1/2 Inch Diameter Resin Column 1.2.4 3 - Inch ,Diameter Resin Column 1.2.5 . Resin Column Operating Procedure . Conversion of Rubidium Carbonate to Rubidium Fluoride Reduction of Rubidium Fluoride, by calcium 1,4,B Chemical R,eaction 1.4.2 Quartz Reduction Unit . 1,4,3 'Stainless Steel Reduction Unit Purification of Rubidium Metal b:, Vacuum Distillation Analytical Procedures for Alkali Metals 6 Oxygen in Alkali Metals 106,2 Determination of Na, K, Rb, and Cs by Flame Photometer 1.6,3 Iron, Chromiun and Nickel Impurtieg 1n6n/, Fused Sal%s Manufacturing Cost Estimate for Rubidium Metal 1 7, 1 Introduction9 1.7, 2 Rough hnufacturf ng Cost References Physical Properties of Rubidium Introduction 2.2 Summary of Data gj 2,3 Density 53 ........................................................ ........................................ Sectf on Specf f ic Heat Viscosity Thermal Conductivity Vapor Pressure 2070% ORIJL 2,'7,2 BatteUe DhrContent of Vapor Surface Tension Coef fiefent of Cubical Expansion Heat Transfer Properties References 300. Thermodynamic Diagrams for Rubidium 77 3,1 Introduction 77 302 Temperature - Entropy Diagram '78 3020% Entropy of the saturated Liquid, S1 78 3.2.2 Entropy of Vaporization, Sh as 3.2,3 Entropy of Saturated Vapor % 79 3,2,4 Entropy of Superheated Vapor, SSB 79 303 Temperature - Enthalpy Diagram 81 3.3.1 Enthalpy of Saturated Liquid, HI 82 3?302 Enthalpy of Vaporization 82 30303 Enthalpy of Vapor Due to Superheat Hsg 82 3.3.4 'Enthalpy of Saturated Vapor, 82 30305 Total Enthalpy, H 82 304 References .91 40 0 Cmpatfbflf ty of Ineonel and Rubidium at 1 Elevated Tempe~ature s 401 Handling of Rubidium 402 Corrosion of Ineonel 40201 htr0dU~tf0g 40202 1540Q F Capsule Test 4,2,3 1650°F Capsule Test 4,2,4 Boiling Rubidium Loop 4.2,5 Quar+,z Capsule Test 403 References Appendix 132 This report contains a portion of the informtion obtaiced during the course of an investigation to determine the merits of a vapor cycle for aircraft propulsion by use of a nuclear reaetor employing a boiling . liquid metal as a coolant, . There are certain advantages inherent in a power system utflizing. a coolant which undergoes a ghange of state to transfer the heat energy8 1, Low mass flow of vapor coolant 2, An isothermal system can be approached, If the change of state is a vaporization or boiling i.socess, these are accompanying. disadvantages s 1, The coolant must experience a'considerable change in specific volume'and the sizes of both equipment. and piping become large, 2, Dangers of flow instability and wburnoutwof reactor components are'present, Dr, A, Po F'raas', ANP General Design 'Groazp, suggested tias possibility of using a liquid-=pop cykle with rubidium aB the coolant fok an power plant and recommended its study as an ORSORT project, Rubidium was selected because it is.a coolant with a high latent heat of vaporization having an atmospheric boiling point in the temperature range of the current reactor designs for aircraft apl;lie;.j.tfon,. It als~. \ has a low melting point which obviates the problem of maintaining a molten coolant, Other physical properties are as might 'be expertid for an ilkali metal, ...... ..... ..... ..... ... .I.. ... ..... ........ .. ... ...... .... ..... .... .... .. ...... ... .... ... On Jme l.4, 1954 eight students of the 953-54 session of ORSORT were Ikc.t I .I I assigned this,pro,ject as a 10-week summer assignment, Do Lo Stockton and M, J, Whitmaw were assigned the portions of the investigation 'described in this report, Dr. E, R. Mann, ORNL inst~ntationand Control Division, was designated as the advisor. The overall investigation as described in a preliminary report, "Rubidium Vapor Aircraft Reactorn ORNL CF-55-6-49 was devoted primarily to determidng the feasibility of using rubidium metal as a heat transfer medium in an aircraft.reactor, The lack of reliable data concerAng borrosiora, heat transfer, and nuclear properties of rubidium necessitated the expenditure of most of the effort on these subjects, In addition, the ua9aflabilfty of reasonably pure rubidium metal presented a serious problem, To overcome these difficultiee in order to meet the project objectives, the following programs were initiated: . 1, The preparation of rubidium metal, 2, Determination of the physical properties of rubidium, 3, Preparation of thermodynamic diagrams for rubidium, 4. Determination of the compatibility of Inconel and Rubidium , . , at elevated temperatures, 5. A pebble bed boiling experiment, .*.' 6, A comparison of sodium and mbidi-rn activationd 7, A power cycle study 8, A reactor study ' -. This report contains the. ixaf"omtion obtained as the result of efforts to complete the firs? four programs listed, . >. :- .-. .,.". .....-..... ,:..' . +,,,{, It is ho'pd that the remaining f 6% 'ph'e:&s of the investigation d~l."- ' ' ' ,.-. .... .. ., v.. I . , <, '*,: . ,:, . I. -. .. , is.., - . .,'! be published infinal f,&n the in hear future. .. .. ,.. i . ./,. ... .... :J; .... ; , . .I.: .". : &.' . :. 0.1.3 Organization' of Ithe Re~ort . :. .A ,. , . I ... ' !: .! '; .!, ,I ' .Since the "a.rws, covered in this project are . diversified , it is ' . ., ..C ... --. ..; . - . necessary t.6 report the results of each sepa~te.,sectiono. It is believed ... ' that, . thi.b will result in :a suitable presentation: of the material; .!ys, .,'- . report :therefore is a cgqpilation of several reports. The order... in which . the subjects are presented does not represent their relative importance, but was selected to give a logical arrangement. of the results. J 0.1.4 Ackn6wledgement. Sincere appreoiation is exten8ed.to the many persons who assisted I us in' this project.