Interactions Between an Organic Coolant and Drops of Molten Lithium
Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 26 / Number 3P2 / November 1994 / Pages 983-987
Tritium Technology, Safety, Environment, and Remote Maintenance / Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40282
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Twenty scoping experiments were performed to investigate the behavior of nominally 0.5 g molten lithium drops when released into 0.7 L of the organic coolant Therminol 66 at local atmospheric pressure using a vortex insertion technique. Diagnostics consisted of video and photographic imaging and several chemical analyses. Six coolant/Li temperature pairs were used: 300/300; 300/530; 300/770; 464/530; 600/530 and 600/770, all nominal in K. Because the coolant: Li weight ratio was 103, only rapid (∼0.5 s) quenching reactions could be studied when TLi > Tc; when TLi ≤ Tc, however, both rapid and slower (min) interactions could be investigated. In none of the experiments was there any indication of (a) a vigorous, self-sustaining chemical reaction between the lithium and the organic coolant, or (b) the formation of water-insoluble debris, in particular carbon. Our work confirms the benign behavior at similar temperatures reported earlier by others.
