STUDIES ON DECAY-HEAT REMOVAL BY AIR CONVECTION FROM STORED CERAMIC MEDIA CONTAINING HIGH LEVEL FISSION PRODUCT WASTES. Period covered : September 1960-June 1961

Author: Kim, B. C.
Published: United States : [publisher not identified], 1961.
[Oak Ridge, Tennessee] : [U.S. Atomic Energy Commission], 1961.
Physical Description: microopaque : positive ; 8 x 13 cm
Additional Creators: Eliassen, R., Fricke, P. H., and Stefany, N. E.

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Summary

The storage of glass cylinders contdining high-level radioactive wastes from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants presents a problem of cooling. The continuous generation of heat from decaying radioisotopes in the stored fission products must be countered by a cooling medium. Free convection cooling with air offers a possible safe and economical solution. The design of a satisfactory storage system depends on a knowledge of the controlling parameters of heat transfer and convection. Free convection laminar flow and heat transfer of alr in a vertical channel with linearly varying wall temperatures were studied analytically and experimentally. With a uniform heat flux at the wall, the vertical wall temperature was found to vary linearly except for the inlet and outlet regions where end effects may be appreciable. In the analysis of velocity and temperature distribution, the Rayleigh number was found to be a significant parameter. From the temperature distribution function a heat transfer correlation was established by expressing a Nusselt number as a unique function of the Rayleigh number. Over the range of values for the Rayleigh number from 100 to 36,000 and for the Nusselt number from 3.3 to 15.3, the heat transfer correlation was found to be valid within experimental errors. The heat flux at the wall-increased with increasing channel width but became independent of the channel width when the Rayleigh number exceeded 2,500. An approximate design procedure was indicated for storage and cooling of slabs of glass containing radioactive wastes by calculating estimated values of design parameters. (auth)

Report Numbers

NYO-9652

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Collection

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission depository collection.

Note

DOE contract number: AT(30-1)-621
NSA number: NSA-15-030306
OSTI Identifier 4834708
Research organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge. Sedgwick Labs. of Sanitary Science.

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