The vaporization of tungsten from the APT spallation target dominates the radiological source term for unmitigated target overheating accidents. Chemical reactions of tungsten with steam which persist to tungsten temperatures as low as 800 C result in the formation of a hydrated tungsten-oxide which has a high vapor pressure and is readily convected in a flowing atmosphere. This low-temperature vaporization reaction essentially removes the oxide film that forms on the tungsten-metal surface as soon as it forms, leaving behind a fresh metallic surface for continued oxidation and vaporization. Experiments were conducted to measure the oxidative vaporization rates of tungsten in steam as part of the effort to quantify the MT radiological source term for severe target accidents. Tests were conducted with tungsten rods (1/8 inch diameter, six inches long) heated to temperatures from approximately 700 C to 1350 C in flowing steam which was superheated to 140 C. A total of 19 experiments was conducted. Fifteen tests were conducted by RF induction heating of single tungsten rods held vertical in a quartz glass retort. Four tests were conducted in a vertically-mounted tube furnace for the low temperature range of the test series. The aerosol which was generated and transported downstream from the tungsten rods was collected by passing the discharged steam through a condenser. This procedure insured total collection of the steam along with the aerosol from the vaporization of the rods. The results of these experiments revealed a threshold temperature for tungsten vaporization in steam. For the two tests at the lowest temperatures which were tested, approximately 700 C, the tungsten rods were observed to oxidize without vaporization. The remainder of the tests was conducted over the temperature range of 800 C to 1350 C. In these tests, the rods were found to have lost weight due to vaporization of the tungsten and the missing weight was collected in the downstream condensate system. The aerosol formed a fine white smoke of tungsten-oxide which was visible to the eye as it condensed in the laminar boundary layer of steam which flowed along the surface of the rod. The aerosol continued to flow as a smoke tube downstream of the rod, flowing coaxially along the centerline axis of the quartz glass tube and depositing by impaction along the outside of a bend and at sudden area contractions in the piping. The vaporization rate data from the 17 experiments which exceeded the vaporization threshold temperature are shown in Figure 5 in the form of vaporization rates (g/cm(sup 2) s) vs. inverse temperature (K(sup (minus)1)). Two correlations to the present data are presented and compared to a published correlation by Kilpatrick and Lott. The differences are discussed.
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