Abstract
An evaluation was made of heat transfer tube failure propagation due to sodium-water reaction wastage in a sodium heated steam generator, by comparing an empirically derived wastage equation with leak detector responses.
The experimental data agreed well with the wastage equation even for different values of distance-to-nozzle diameter ratio, though the formula had been based on wastage data obtained for only one given distance. The time taken for failure propagation was estimated for a prototype steam generator, and compared with the responses characteristics of acoustic detectors and level gages. It was found that there exists a range of leak rate between 0.5 and 100g/sec, where the level gage can play a useful role in leak detection. The acoustic detector can be expected to respond more rapidly than the cover gas pressure gage, if noise is kept below ten times the value observed in an experimental facility, SWAT-2.
