Experimental studies on burning behaviour of liquid sodium in a shallow pool

A hypothetical leak of liquid sodium in a fast breeder type of reactor could result in potential fire hazards. It can be shown that for typical leak rates of 10,000-50,000 kg/h, a stable, shallow pool will be formed in a very short time compared to the duration of the fire. As a follow-up, in the present work, the experimental study of the burning characteristics of sodium pools of shallow depth (of 12 and 16 mm) under controlled environmental conditions is reported. It is found that the combustion of liquid sodium in a shallow pool can be very different when compared to the combustion in a deep pool. Estimated burning rates revealed that the average burning rate for a shallow pool is higher by a factor of two than the steady burning rate value of 40 kg/h m2 commonly used in most of the sodium fire safety computer codes. If the prevailing wind conditions are such that the aerosols produced at the flame sheet are prevented from depositing on the pool, then even higher rates of burning can be expected.