Sodium Freezing and Remelting Tests in FY 2018

In FY 2017 and FY 2018, a total of thirteen tests were successfully performed in the Sodium Freezing and Remelting test facility. Each new test was carefully designed based upon the results and findings of the previous test to investigate the effects of different factors on the sodium freezing phenomena, including dissolved Ar cover gas versus vacuum, test section cooling rate during freezing, different freezing patterns (e.g., from the free surfaces inward toward the center versus from the center toward the free surfaces), and Ar cover gas pressure. The freezing results were found to depend upon a combination of phenomena. As more tests were conducted and lessons learned, the conduct of the tests improved. In particular, the last three experiments, Tests 11 through 13, may be singled out as providing representative data under well controlled conditions. The maximum stresses arising from sodium freezing are measured to be quite mild. In the tests, a maximum strain change of 60 radial micro strains was measured, equivalent to a stress/negative pressure of 77 psi. This mild maximum stress is thought to reflect the low yield stress of solid sodium near the freezing temperature. Evidence for yielding of solid sodium is provided by the visual observation of a depression in the frozen sodium free surface inside of the sodium reservoir in one test. It is thought that contraction of sodium in the test section during freezing pulled downward on the frozen sodium at the free surface creating the depression. The authors are not aware of any data for the yield stress of solid sodium or the stress versus strain behavior of solid sodium (sodium is not a structural material). It is thus not possible to directly compare with the solid sodium yield strength. However, stress versus strain data at different temperatures up to the freezing temperature are available for solid lithium which is also a alkali metal and has a low yield strength similar to the maximum stresses determined from the Sodium Freezing and Remelting tests providing support for the interpretation of the results in terms of yielding of solid sodium. This is a good result for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors and sodium facilities. The maximum stress due to frozen sodium pulling inward upon a structural wall wetted by sodium and to which the sodium adheres will be limited by the low sodium yield stress. Argon has a significant solubility in sodium. Cavitation due to nucleation of dissolved argon can offset the effects of sodium thermal contraction and alleviate the formation of stress/negative pressure. This is also a good result for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors and sodium facilities that operate with an argon cover gas. In the tests, it was found that due to the cavitation, the maximum measured strain change during sodium freezing was limited to 10 axial micro strains, or equivalently 55 psi of negative pressure.