Regular Article

Comparison of CATHARE results with the experimental results of cold leg intermediate break LOCA obtained during ROSA-2/LSTF test 7

¹ EDF, SEPTEN, 12-14 avenue Dutriévoz, 69628 Villeurbanne, France
² Institute of Heat Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 21/25 Nowowiejska, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
³ CEA-Saclay, DEN, DM2S/STMF, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

^* e-mail: piotr.mazgaj@itc.pw.edu.pl

Received: 5 May 2015
Received in final form: 15 November 2015
Accepted: 24 November 2015
Published online: 11 January 2016

Abstract

Thermal-hydraulic analysis is a key part in support of regulatory work and nuclear power plant design and operation. In the field of Loss Of Coolant Accident, evolutions of the regulations are discussed in various countries taking into account the very unlikely character of a double-ended guillotine break and questioning the necessity to study such an event with Design Basis Conditions assumptions. As a consequence, the consideration of intermediate size piping rupture becomes more and more important. The paper presents the modeling of the Test Facility ROSA-2/LSTF in the calculation code CATHARE 2.V2.5. OECD/NEA ROSA-2 Project Test 7 was conducted with the Large Scale Test Facility on June 14, 2012. The experiment simulated the thermal-hydraulic responses during a PWR 13% cold leg Intermediate Break Loss Of Coolant Accident (IBLOCA). The break was simulated by a cold leg upwardly mounted long break nozzle. The facility and the experiment conditions are modeled in CATHARE. The vessel is modeled by using a 3D module. A thermal-hydraulic analysis is conducted and the obtained results are subsequently compared with the experimental results from ROSA-2/LSTF Test 7. Evaluation of the differences between experimental and calculated results is discussed.