Liquid Sodium Technology Development, (I)

General results obtained from an initial program for developing liquid sodium loop technology and related techniques are reported. The loop systems are outlined, together with operating experiences on three types of test loops, i.e., for studies in corrosion and in purification, and a system of mother and daughter loop. A description is given of results obtained on the purification system (cold trap, hot trap, etc.), work undertaken on the loop sodium, and the adopted standard operational procedure. Preliminary results of the corrosion test and carburization test are reported. The main objective of the present experiment was to test austenitic stainless steels, but supplementary work was also done with Cr-Mo steels and refractovy metals (Nb, Ta, Mo, Zr and Ti). Also reported are the methods adopted for analyzing the data, the behavior observed on oxygen, carbon and other impurities in sodium, and work in developing an impurity meter (plugging indicator).