Summary of treat experiments on oxide core-disruptive accidents

A program of transient in-reactor experiments is being conducted by Argonne National Laboratory in the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility to guide and support analyses of hypothetical core-disruptive accidents (HCDA) in liquid-metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBR). Test results provide data needed to establish the response of LMFBR cores to hypothetical accidents producing fuel failure, coolant boiling, and the movement of coolant, molten fuel, and molten cladding. These data include margins to fuel failure, the modes of failure and movements, and evidence for identification of the mechanisms which determine the failure and movements. A key element in the program is the fast-neutron hodoscope, which detects fuel movement as a function of time during experiments