Applicability of small-scale integral test data to the 4500 MWt ESBWR loss-of-coolant accidents Original Research Article

This paper discusses the scaling methodology used by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to show that the data obtained from the small-scale integral test facilities, namely, GIST and GIRAFFE-SIT, are relevant to the postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) of the 4500 MWt ESBWR. The conservation of mass and energy equations for the steam-water mixture in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) are transformed to the equations for the rates of pressure change and water mass or inventory change. These equations are non-dimensionalized based on the most dominant physical processes of the individual stages of a LOCA, namely, the late blowdown stage, the GDCS (gravity driven cooling system) transition stage and the full GDCS stage. The magnitudes of the non-dimensional Pi-groups, obtained from these equations, for the 4500 MWt ESBWR are compared with those obtained for the small-scale integral tests mentioned earlier. In addition, simplified analyses were conducted for the first two stages by integrating the non-dimensional RPV depressurization rate and the water inventory change rate equations. The results of the 4500 MWt ESBWR are very similar to the test data obtained from the GIST and the GIRAFFE-SIT test facilities. Therefore, based on both the Pi-group magnitudes and the simplified analyses, it is concluded that the small-scale integral test data mentioned above are applicable to the 4500 MWt ESBWR LOCA applications.