Behavior of reactor core-simulant aerosols during hydrogen/air combustion

Just before ignition, three representative reactor core-simulant aerosols were dispersed into combustible hydrogen-air mixtures contained in 5.1 and 0.18 m3 chambers. Oxidic aerosols (Al2O3, Fe2O3) produced only minor changes in the burns. A metallic aerosol (Fe) ignited along with the hydrogen, producing more complete combustion of the hydrogen, and substantially increased overpressures and thermal effects compared to control experiments performed identically without the aerosols. CsI-containing aerosols generated substantial quantities of molecular iodine. The relationship of these observations to certain reactor safety issues is discussed