Reaction path analysis of sodium-water reaction phenomena in support of chemical reaction model development

Computational study of the sodium-water reaction at the gas (water) - liquid (sodium) interface has been carried out using ab initio (first-principle) method. A possible reaction channel has been identified for the stepwise OH bond dissociations of a single water molecule. The energetics including the binding energy of a water molecule to the sodium surface, the activation energies of the bond cleavages, and the reaction energies, have been evaluated, and the rate constants of the first and second OH bond-breakings have been compared. The results are used as the basis for constructing the chemical reaction model used in a multi-dimensional sodium-water reaction code, SERAPHIM, being developed by JAEA toward the safety assessment of the steam generator (SG) in a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). (author)