A MODEL TO ESTIMATE VOLUME CHANGE DUE TO RADIOLYTIC GAS BUBBLES AND THERMAL EXPANSION IN SOLUTION REACTORS

Aqueous homogeneous solution reactors have been proposed for the production of medical isotopes. However, the reactivity effects of fuel solution volume change, due to formation of radiolytic gas bubbles and thermal expansion, have to be mitigated to allow steady-state operation of solution reactors. The results of the free run experiments analyzed indicate that the proposed model to estimate the void volume due to radiolytic gas bubbles and thermal expansion in solution reactors can accurately describe the observed behavior during the experiments. This void volume due to radiolytic gas bubbles and fuel solution thermal expansion can then be used in the investigation of reactivity effects in fissile solutions. In addition, these experiments confirm that the radiolytic gas bubbles are formed at a higher temperature than the fuel solution temperature. These experiments also indicate that the mole-weighted average for the radiolytic gas bubbles in uranyl fluoride solutions is about 1 {micro}m. Finally, it should be noted that another model, currently under development, would simulate the power behavior during the transient given the initial fuel solution level and density. The model is based on Monte Carlo simulation with the MCNP computer code [Briesmeister, 1997] to obtain the reactor reactivity as a function of the fuel solution density, which, in turn, changes due to thermal expansion and radiolytic gas bubble formation