PSAM 16 - Paper Overview

PSAM 16 Conference Paper Overview

Welcome to the PSAM 16 Conference paper and speaker overview page.

Lead Author: Matthew Bucknor

Sodium Fire Protection Systems, Mitigation Strategies, and Risk Analysis
Liquid sodium coolant at nominal sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) operating temperatures, approximately 350°C – 550°C, will readily ignite in air environments. The severity of the resulting fire scenario depends on several factors including sodium temperature, amount of available oxygen, geometric factors such as the size and configuration of the leaked sodium volume, and the type of fire (pool fire versus spray fires). To minimize the consequences associated with these fires, sodium fire protection systems (SFPSs) and mitigation strategies are utilized to provide a means of detecting, locating, containing, and suppressing the fires. The SFPSs and mitigation strategies proposed for future U.S. SFRs are based on experience and data from historical SFR facilities and testing programs which no longer exist. Software tools utilized to simulate sodium fires are also based on historical efforts and testing data and their development has been fragmented throughout the last few decades due to interest and sporadic funding. This presentation provides a brief overview of sodium fires, SFPSs and mitigation strategies, and a discussion on the status of sodium fire risk analysis in the U.S.

Sodium Fire Protection Systems, Mitigation Strategies, and Risk Analysis

Liquid sodium coolant at nominal sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) operating temperatures, approximately 350°C – 550°C, will readily ignite in air environments. The severity of the resulting fire scenario depends on several factors including sodium temperature, amount of available oxygen, geometric factors such as the size and configuration of the leaked sodium volume, and the type of fire (pool fire versus spray fires). To minimize the consequences associated with these fires, sodium fire protection systems (SFPSs) and mitigation strategies are utilized to provide a means of detecting, locating, containing, and suppressing the fires. The SFPSs and mitigation strategies proposed for future U.S. SFRs are based on experience and data from historical SFR facilities and testing programs which no longer exist. Software tools utilized to simulate sodium fires are also based on historical efforts and testing data and their development has been fragmented throughout the last few decades due to interest and sporadic funding. This presentation provides a brief overview of sodium fires, SFPSs and mitigation strategies, and a discussion on the status of sodium fire risk analysis in the U.S.

Paper MB291 Preview

Author and Presentation Info

Presentation only, a full paper is not available.

Lead Author Name: Matthew Bucknor (mbucknor@anl.gov)

Bio: Matthew Bucknor is a Principal Nuclear Safety/Risk Analyst with the Nuclear Science and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory. He has expertise in leading and performing advanced reactor safety and risk assessments for the Department of Energy and in collaboration with industry partners. His areas of technical expertise include: advanced reactor safety analysis, probabilistic risk assessments, component reliability evaluations, mechanistic source term evaluations, and advanced reactor modeling and simulation. Matthew Bucknor holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering, an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering, and a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University.

Country: United States of America
Company: Argonne National Laboratory
Job Title: Principal Nuclear Safety/Risk Analyst