Experimental and analytical investigation of the fast reactor passive shutdown system: LIM

To enhance the inherent safety of the fast reactors, the lithium injection module (LIM) is proposed for inherent ultimate shutdown instead of conventional scram rod. LIM is composed of a refractory metal envelope in which 95% enriched ⁶Li is enclosed. In case the core outlet temperature exceeds the melting point of the freeze seal, ⁶Li is injected by a pneumatic mechanism from the top to bottom chamber to achieve negative reactivity insertion. This concept is attractive because the actuator has no moving parts and depends on the reliable physical property. In this paper, experimental and analytical verification of the LIM performance are presented. Real-time monitoring of LIM during reactor operation has been discussed as well. (author)