3 ms·
That's certainly possible, theoretically. However, I'm not sure if those conditions can actually be met (rods should not ever come into contact with water and n
by craigmccaskill 16y ago
That's certainly possible, theoretically. However, I'm not sure if those conditions can actually be met (rods should not ever come into contact with water and nothing should be able to ignite the gas, especially not at higher pressure levels).
- uvdiv 16y agoNo, actually the fuel pellets never need to come in contact with water; it is their cladding, which is a zirconium alloy ("Zircaloy"), which can react with steam under extreme conditions. It's a redox reaction: Zr + 2H2O --> ZrO2 + 2H2 or something similar. This actually happened at Three Mile Island, and there was a hydrogen explosion in the containment building there (which did not break). (I am not an engineer)
- craigmccaskill 16y agoThat makes more sense, thanks.