Aluminum Chemistry in a Prototypical Post-Loss-of-Coolant-Accident, Pressurized-Water-Reactor Containment Environment (NUREG/CR-6915)
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Publication Information
Manuscript Completed: August 2006
Date Published: December 2006
Principal Investigator: M. Klasky
Prepared by
M. Klasky, J. Zhang, M. Ding, and B. Letellier (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
D. Chen and K. Howe (University of New Mexico)
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM 87545
University of New Mexico
Department of Civil Engineering
Albuquerque, NM 87110
T.Y. Chang, NRC Project Manager
Prepared for
Division of Fuel, Engineering and Radiological Research
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001
NRC Job Code N6285
Abstract
An analysis of the integrated chemical effects tests (ICET) experiments has been
performed by a comprehensive examination of both the test solutions and precipitates. In
addition, a comprehensive review of the literature has been performed to assist in
explaining the behavior of aluminum in alkaline solutions. The objective of this analysis
was to elucidate the behavior of precipitate that formed when the ICET Tests 1 and 5
solutions were allowed to cool so that the behavior of other solutions with different
conditions, i.e., pH, temperature, etc., could be predicted throughout the pressurizedwater
reactor following a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). This examination included
supplemental analytical measurements using x-ray diffraction, 27Al and 11B nuclear
magnetic resonance for both liquid and solid states, and quasi-elastic light-scattering
measurements. Surrogate solutions were developed and compared with the analytical
measurements of the ICET Tests 1 and 5 solutions. Finally, the characterization of the
particle sizes and corrosion properties, including the corrosion mechanism and the
corrosion rate of aluminum under LOCA conditions, has been elucidated. The current
study should allow for the development of a head-loss correlation using the existing cake
filtration theory, which could be used in conjunction with a corrosion model to predict
system performance following a LOCA.