Vaguely automotive related topic: Radiator sealant and the Japanese reactors

As all of you may be aware, several days ago an attempt was made to stop the water leakage at the Japanese reactor(s) using a mixture of sawdust, etc. When I heard this failed, I immediately thought of Stop Leak, or whatever that stuff is called that's used for leaking car coolant systems. I figured it was a whacky idea, and wouldn't have much credibility if I were to somehow get a hold of someone at Tepco, so I just dismissed it. So what do I read about today? They're using sodium silicate (the stuff in coolant sealant) with some measure of success! How 'bout them apples?!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2011 02:13PM by Laz. (view changes)

I met a Japanese guy about a month ago who said a major problem was that once having breached some seawalls, water remained inland because of no drainage. Sufficient sections of seawall can be made into one way (outward opening) gates. No manmade power source would be needed as the landside water pressure would push them open once the seaward water recedes. At some time they could be brought shut again, possibly with a powered system. Some of this was inspired by the tidal gates used in Venice, Italy.

carried back the sea. Then subsequent tsunami waves would then go through these now debris blocked gates.

That a seawall needs to have the ability to allow sea water that gets behind it to return to the sea suggests the real weakness is in the sea wall's design. It is not a wall or a barrier to the sea water being driven by the tsunami, just a minor annoyance.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Well, debris inhibition of operation would depend greatly on the geometry of how they open; horizontally and perpendicularly from the wall's length, or swinging down from bottom hinges, etc. It'd still rely on the tremendous pressure from the water on the landward side to force them open. If there's that much water, the gates will open, and even partial openings would be better than none. I think most all of the debris would be manmade junk, trees, and such on the landward side, not seaward (the direction the gates would open into.) As far as subsequent tsunamis, I'd say it's the first one in most any case that causes the most destruction, and there would be some provision for clearing and reclosing the gates in a timely manner. As far as height, strength, etc. for the wall itself, that would be based on risk analysis, like anything else built to withstand stresses up to specified levels. Again, I emphasize the gates wouldn't require an artificial power source to operate in the most critical phase, unlike the catch-22 of the power plants that don't have power to operate the cooling pumps. Or there could be motors to operate them, too, should there still be power available, with water pressure giving a tremendous assist. Lastly, clearing debris so they could operate would be a lot more solvable problem than containing fuel rod meltdowns and containment breaches.