Fast Breeder Reactor

Sodium Fire Protection System

in FBR

R.Nanda Kumar
Sodium Circuits Section
Sodium Heat Transport Division
Reactor Design Group, IGCAR
INTRODUCTION

 Primary Na system ~ 1150 t

 Secondary sodium system ~ 410 t (Non – Radioactive),

 SGDHR system ~ 120 t (Non – Radioactive)

 Reserve sodium 50 t (Non – Radioactive)

 Total sodium inventory ~ 1730 t

SODIUM – AIR REACTION

 Na reacts with O2 in the air and catches fire if

O2 > 5 % & ignition temp. > ~ 200 ºC : produces heat, sodium
oxides and thick smoke which is opaque

 Na reacts with moisture in the air; produces heat and forms

sodium hydroxide which is corrosive and safety hazard to
personnel
SODIUM – CONCRETE INTERACTION

 Sodium reacts with constituents of concrete

 Sodium reacts with water in the concrete and produces heat

& H2

 Sodium heat releases water from the concrete

 All the above leads to damage of concrete structures

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Na is Radioactive or Non - Radioactive

 Location of system / component

 Quantity of Na leak

 Accessibility for intervention

 Type of sodium fire

DESIGN STRATEGIES

 Make Na leak improbable

 Minimising Na leak by :

 Early detection of Na leak

 Safety actions
 Minimising contact with air / concrete

 Dealing with sodium fire by :

 Fire fighting
 Controlled ventilation of Na aerosols
 Cleaning and disposal
DEALING WITH SODIUM FIRE

 Major systems in well separated buildings

 Use of partition walls / barriers to prevent spread of sodium

fire

 No direct fire fighting for radioactive sodium. Passive

system to avoid Na fire

 Well defined approach route for fire fighting persons

 For non – radioactive Na passive & active system of fire
fighting

 Direct Na fire fighting, using dry chemical powder (DCP)

 Storage of adequate qty. of DCP at strategic locations (3

times the Na likely to catch fire)

 Application of DCP by shovel for small fires, portable /

mobile extinguishers for medium and large fires
DESIGN PROVISIONS

 Provisions for reducing quantity of sodium

coming out:

 Double envelope
 Leak Collection Tray
 Inerting of area

 Fast dumping of sodium

 Barrier to prevent fire from spreading

 Capability to withstand for 3 hours

 Sodium circuits protected from

 Accidental dropping of objects

 Other missiles by suitable design

 Prevent sodium-concrete interaction

 Liners on concrete

 Adequate storage of extinguishants

 Double envelope for sodium pipes in RCB

 Small pipe lines – single walled in inerted

cabins
SECONDARY SODIUM SYSTEM

 Fast dumping – 10 minutes

 Sodium lines & equipments outside RCB are single walled

and provided with LCTs

 Sodium resistant concrete

 Sodium leak detection

Sodium leak detector & Leak collection tray

Leak Detectors:
Spark plug type leak
detector
Wire type leak detector

Leak Detector
Sodium aerosol detector

To suppress sodium fire by

oxygen starvation:
Leak collection trays
Dry Chemical Powder (DCP)

SODIUM LEAK COLLECTION TRAY

 SGDHR bays are placed at two ends of SGB and well
segregated from SG bay

 Design Basis Leak

 1 cm2 crack size for > 150 NB pipe

 One guillotine pipe rupture for  150 NB pipe

 2 t of sodium leak as DBL

 LCTs provided with gravity drain lines to sodium Transfer tank

SODIUM FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM IN REACTOR CONTAINMENT BUILDING
SODIUM FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM IN STEAM GENERATOR BUILDING
FLOW SCHEME OF FIXED DCP FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM IN SGB-1
SODIUM DRAINING FROM GUARD PIPE TO SLCT FROM IHX & DHX
CONNECTED SODIUM LINES