Sodium Exposure Tests on Limestone Concrete Used as Sacrificial Protection Layer in FBR

Hot sodium coming in contact with structural concrete in case of sodium leak in FBR system cause damage as a result of thermo-chemical attack by burning sodium. In addition, release of free and bound water from concrete leads to generation of hydrogen gas, which is explosive in nature. Hence limestone concrete, as sacrificial layer on the structural concrete in FBR, needs to be qualified. Four concrete blocks of dimension 600mm × 600mm × 300mm with 300mm × 300mm × 150mm cavity were cast and subjected to controlled sodium exposure tests. They have composition of ordinary portland cement, water, fine and coarse aggregate of limestone in the ratio of 1 : 0.58 : 2.547 : 3.817. These blocks were subjected to preliminary inspection by ultrasonic pulse velocity technique and rebound hammer tests. Each block was exposed for 30 minutes to about 12 kg of liquid sodium (∼ 120 mm liquid column) at 550° C in open air, after which sodium was sucked back from the cavity of the concrete block into a sodium tank. On-line temperature monitoring was carried out at strategic locations of sodium pool and concrete block. After removing sodium from the cavity and cleaning the surfaces, rebound hammer testing was carried out on each concrete block at the same locations where data were taken earlier at pre-exposed stage. The statistical analysis of rebound hammer data revealed that one of the concrete block alone has undergone damage to the extent of 16%. The loss of mass occurred for all the four blocks varied from 0.6 to 2.4% due to release of water during the test duration. Chemical analysis of sodium in concrete samples collected from cavity floor of each block helped in generation of depth profiles of sodium monoxide concentration for each block. From this it is concluded that a bulk penetration of sodium up to 30 mm depth has taken place. However it was also observed that at few local spots, sodium penetrated into concrete up to 50 mm. Cylindrical core samples of 50 mm × 150 mm long were obtained from the exposed cavity and tested for compressive strength and longitudinal ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV). These are compared with core samples obtained from concrete cubes used as standard reference. The average reduction in UPV and compressive strength were 7% and 29% respectively indicating marginal degradation in mechanical properties of sodium-exposed concrete.