Experimental Study on Burning Process and Characteristic of Sodium Columnar Fire

A variety of sodium fire generated by the leakage of liquid sodium in the FBR is common. This paper focuses on the burning process and characteristics of sodium fire in a columnar flow. About 290°C liquid sodium was injected into a 7.9 m³ stainless steel cylindrical combustion space to shape the sodium columnar fire by 0.2 MPa high pressure nitrogen. The data of temperature field for the study of burning characteristic of sodium columnar fire have been collected by the temperature acquisition system located in the combustion space. The sodium flow maintains the columnar shape at first, and disperses by hydrodynamic effects on its way down. About 64s after the initiating time of sodium ejection for this experiment, the maximum temperature of the area close to the ejection center reaches over 1200°C. And the maximum temperature appears at the space of 1–1.5m from the plate. But the high temperature lasts for a short time and reduces rapidly. The radial temperature of the area far from the sodium flow is relatively low and generally about 200°C, and maximally about 350 °C. This study is helpful to evaluate the combustion characteristics and burning process of the sodium fire in the sodium-related facilities.