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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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A new ANSI/ANS standard for liquid metal fire protection published
ANSI/ANS-54.8-2025, Liquid Metal Fire Protection in LMR Plants, received approval from the American National Standards Institute on September 2 and is now available for purchase.
The 2025 edition is a reinvigoration of the withdrawn ANS-54.8-1988 of the same title. The Advanced Reactor Codes and Standards Collaborative (ARCSC) identified the need for a current version of the standard via an industry survey.
Typical liquid metal reactor designs use liquid sodium as the coolant for both the primary and intermediate heat-transport systems. In addition, liquid sodium and NaK (a mixture of sodium and potassium that is liquid at room temperature) are often used in auxiliary heat-removal systems. Since these liquid metals can react readily with oxygen, water, and other compounds, special precautions must be taken in the design, construction, testing, and maintenance of the sodium/NaK systems to ensure that the potential for leakage is very small.
R. A. Baker, Alexander, Sesonske
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 13 | Number 3 | July 1962 | Pages 283-288
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE62-A26165
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To provide heat transfer data of high precision for NaK heat exchange systems, a NaK heat transfer loop was designed to minimize experimental errors and yield results with a high degree of reproducibility. Average heat transfer coefficients were determined for both tube and annulus in a horizontal concentric tube, NaK (56% K) to NaK exchanger. The results after correction for entrance effects are described by the following empirical relations: No distinction was found between the Nusselt moduli measured at uniform heat flux and those measured at variable heat flux. No change in the experimental Nusselt moduli was observed when the oxide content was varied between 0.0025 and 0.006 wt. % oxygen.