Liquid metals as heat-transfer agents

Liquid metals - especially sodium and potassium and their alloys - first became familiar as heat transfer agents through the technology of fast breeder reactors. Their application in conventional technology has been limited to a few special cases. The excellent thermal properties and the substantial experience available in the meantime associated with these fluids make their more extensive utilization even beyond nuclear technology very desirable; even more so when a distinct trend has been established toward higher efficiencies in power engineering processes, which are chiefly associated with higher temperatures for which the liquid metals are perfectly suitable.