Abstract
ABB-CE＇s regionalization methodology for the core inlet flow distribution map is reviewed. This methodology merges the test data of fuel assembly locations which are either in symmetry or strongly correlated with others. It increases the number of available test data for each regional flow factor It makes up effectively for the deficiency due to limited number of test data. It also contributes to making the core inlet flow distribution smoother not only locally but also over the entire core, and to relieving the impacts of test errors that may happen due to some do- calibrated local pressure measurement taps. As a result, the core inlet How distribution data becomes more statistically useful and thus the conservatism involved in handling the core inlet flow factors for the thermal margin analysis is expected to be reduced. Meanwhile, the regionalized map may lose the unique local characteristics in core inlet flow distribution too much. By an alternative approach introduced in the present work, it is shown that such a disadvantage can be mitigated somewhat if the engineering judgement is made more