Hydrogen suppression study and testing of Halon 1301. Phases I and II. Final report Nov 74--Dec 76

In the event of a loss-of-coolant-accident in the reactor to be used to power nuclear ships, it can be postulated that sufficiently high concentrations of H2 and O2 might develop that a resulting explosion would produce overpressures that exceed the containment design. If a LOCA occurred and the H2 concentration reached the explosive limit, an inerting gas could be discharged into the containment to suppress any possible explosion. A study is described that was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of employing Halon 1301 in an explosion suppression system for a maritime nuclear reactor. One experimental task involved measuring the quantity of agent required to inert H2, O2, N2 mixtures over a range of conditions likely to be encountered in a containment. In another task, a facility was assembled which simulated a containment vessel on subscale. Several tasks were addressed to technical problems that could be envisioned if Halon were present in a containment vessel. The results of the study support the concept of using Halon 1301 for containment protection