• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.719-726
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• 2012

The object of this work is the validation and assessment of the TRACE v5.0 code using the scaled test ATLAS1 facility in the context of a DVI2 line break. In particular, the experiment selected models the 50%, 6-inch break of a DVI line. The same experiment was also adopted as a reference test in the ISP-503. The ISP-50 was proposed to, and accepted by, the OECD/NEA/CSNI due to its technical importance in the development of a best-estimate of safety analysis methodology for DVI line break accidents. In particular, the behavior of the two-phase flow in the upper annulus downcomer was expected to be complicated. What resulted was the need for relevant models to be implemented into safety analysis codes, in order to predict these thermal hydraulic phenomena correctly.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.775-784
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• 2009

This paper summarizes the tests performed in the ATLAS facility during its first two years of operation (2007${\sim}$2008). Two categories of tests have been performed successfully: (a) the reflood phase of the large-break loss-of-coolant accidents in a cold leg, and (b) the breaks in one of four direct vessel injection lines. Those tests contributed to understanding the unique thermal-hydraulic behavior, resolving the safety-related concerns and providing an evaluation of the safety analysis codes and methodology for the advanced pressurized water reactor, APR1400. Several important and interesting phenomena have been observed during the tests. In most cases, the ATLAS shows reasonable accident characteristics and conservative results compared with those predicted by one-dimensional safety analysis codes. A wide variety of small-break LOCA tests will be performed in 2009.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.112-122
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• 2014

A main steam line break (MSLB) test at the ATLAS facility was simulated using the best-estimate thermal-hydraulic system code, MARS-KS. This has been performed as an activity at the third domestic standard problem for code benchmark (DSP-03) that has been organized by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). The results of the MSLB experiment and the MARS input data prepared for the previous DSP-02 using the ATLAS facility were provided to participants. The preliminary MSLB simulation using the base input data, however, showed unphysical results in the primary-to-secondary heat transfer. To resolve the problems, some improvements were implemented in the MARS input modelling. These include the use of fine meshes for the bottom region of the steam generator secondary side and proper thermal-hydraulics calculation options. Other input model improvements in the heat loss and the flow restrictor models were also made and the results were investigated in detail. From the results of simulations, the limitations and further improvement areas of the MARS code were identified.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2477-2487
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• 2021

To improve safety analysis technology for a nuclear reactor containment considering an interaction between a reactor coolant system (RCS) and containment, this study aims at an experimental investigation on the integrated simulation of the RCS and containment, with an integral effect test facility, ATLAS-CUBE. For a realistic simulation of a pressure and temperature (P/T) transient, the containment simulation vessel was designed to preserve a volumetric scale equivalently to the RCS volume scale of ATLAS. Three test cases for a steam line break (SLB) transient were conducted with variation of the initial condition of the passive heat sink or the steam flow direction. The test results indicated a stratified behavior of the steam-gas mixture in the containment following a high-temperature steam injection in prior to the spray injection. The test case with a reduced heat transfer on the passive heat sink showed a faster increase of the P/T inside the containment. The effect of the steam flow direction was also investigated with respect to a multi-dimensional distribution of the local heat transfer on the passive heat sink. The integral effect test data obtained in this study will contribute to validating the evaluation methodology for mass and energy (M/E) and P/T transient of the containment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.199-212
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• 2008

A small-break loss of coolant accident (SB-LOCA) test with a break size equivalent to a 3-inch cold leg break of the APR1400 was carried out as the first transient integral effect test using the ATLAS (Advanced Thermal-hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation). This was the first integral effect test to investigate the integral performance of the test facility and to verify its simulation capability for one of the design-basis accidents. Reasonably good thermal hydraulic data was obtained so that an integral performance of the fluid sub-systems was identified and control performance of the ATLAS was confirmed under real thermal hydraulic conditions. Based on the measured data, a post-test calculation was carried out using the best-estimate thermal hydraulic safety analysis code, MARS 3.1, and the similarity between the expected and actual data was investigated. On the whole, the post-test calculation reasonably predicts the major thermal hydraulic parameters measured during the SB-LOCA test. The obtained data will be used to enhance the simulation capability of the ATLAS and to improve an input model of the ATLAS for simulation of other target scenarios.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.709-718
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• 2012

The pressurized water reactor APR1400 adopts DVI (Direct Vessel Injection) for the emergency cooling water in the upper downcomer annulus. The International Standard Problem number 50 (ISP-50) was launched with the aim to investigate thermal hydraulic phenomena during a 50% DVI line break scenario with best estimate codes making use of the experimental data available from the ATLAS facility located at KAERI. The present work describes the calculation results obtained for the ISP-50 using the RELAP5/MOD3.3 system code. The work aims at validation and assessment of the code to reproduce the observed phenomena and investigate about its limitations to predict complicated mixing phenomena between the subcooled emergency cooling water and the two-phase flow in the downcomer. The obtained results show that the overall trends of the main test variables are well reproduced by the calculations. In particular, the pressure in the primary system show excellent agreement with the experiment. The loop seal clearance phenomenon was observed in the calculation and it was found to have an important influence on the transient progression. Moreover, the collapsed water levels in the core are accurately reproduced in the simulations. However, the drop in the downcomer level before the activation of the DVI from safety injection tanks was underestimated due to multi-dimensional phenomena in the downcomer that are not properly captured by one-dimensional simulations.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.120-125
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• 2007

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.1263-1274
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• 2009

Several experimental tests to simulate a reflood phase of a cold-leg LBLOCA of the APR1400 have been performed using the ATLAS facility. This paper describes the related experimental results with respect to the thermal-hydraulic behavior in the core and the system-core interactions during the reflood phase of the cold-leg LBLOCA conditions. The present descriptions will be focused on the LB-CL-09, LB-CL-11, LB-CL-14, and LB-CL-15 tests performed using the ATLAS. The LB-CL-09 is an integral effect test with conservative boundary condition; the LB-CL-11 and -14 are integral effect tests with realistic boundary conditions, and the LB-CL-15 is a separated effect test. The objectives of these tests are to investigate the thermal-hydraulic behavior during an entire reflood phase and to provide reliable experimental data for validating the LBLOCA analysis methodology for the APR1400. The initial and boundary conditions were obtained by applying scaling ratios to the MARS simulation results for the LBLOCA scenario of the APR1400. The ECC water flow rate from the safety injection tanks and the decay heat were simulated from the start of the reflood phase. The simulated core power was controlled to be 1.2 times that of the ANS-73 decay heat curve for LB-CL-09 and 1.02 times that of the ANS-79 decay curve for LB-CL-11, -14, and -15. The simulated ECC water flow rate from the high pressure safety injection pump was 0.32 kg/s. The present experimental data showed that the cladding temperature behavior is closely related to the collapsed water level in the core and the downcomer.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.871-894
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• 2013

KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has been operating an integral effect test facility, the Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation (ATLAS), for transient and accident simulations of advanced pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Using ATLAS, a high-quality integral effect test database has been established for major design basis accidents of the APR1400 plant. A Domestic Standard Problem (DSP) exercise using the ATLAS database was promoted to transfer the database to domestic nuclear industries and contribute to improving a safety analysis methodology for PWRs. This $2^{nd}$ ATLAS DSP (DSP-02) exercise aims at an effective utilization of an integral effect database obtained from ATLAS, the establishment of a cooperation framework among the domestic nuclear industry, a better understanding of the thermal hydraulic phenomena, and an investigation into the possible limitation of the existing best-estimate safety analysis codes. A small break loss of coolant accident with a 6-inch break at the cold leg was determined as a target scenario by considering its technical importance and by incorporating interests from participants. This DSP exercise was performed in an open calculation environment where the integral effect test data was open to participants prior to the code calculations. This paper includes major information of the DSP-02 exercise as well as comparison results between the calculations and the experimental data.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2008

A thermal-hydraulic integral effect test facility, ATLAS (Advanced Thermal-hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation), has been constructed at KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). Recently several integral effect tests for the reflood period of a LBLOCA (Large Break LOss of Coolant Accident) of the APR1400 have been performed with the ATLAS. In the APR1400 a high flow condition is changed to a low flow condition due to an fluidic device during an operation of the SIT. As the self-controlled fluidic device was not installed in the ATLAS, a set of characterization tests was performed to simulate its injection capability from the SIT for the APR1400 simulation. In the ATLAS the required SIT flow rate in the high flow condition was acquired by installing orifices with an optimized flow area to throttle the SIT discharge line and the low flow condition was achieved by changing the opening of the flow control valve in the SIT injection line. The test results showed that the safety injection systems of the ATLAS could simulate the required high and low flow rates of the SIT for the APR1400 simulation efficiently.