Safety and relief valve testing

Two major programmes of safety relief valve testing have been established in support of system design and the selection of valves for Sizewell 'B'. The Central Electricity Generating Board has constructed the BRAVO facility to reproduce PWR pressuriser fluid conditions for the full scale testing of pressuriser relief system valves. Current tests on BRAVO, on a full size tandem pair of pressuriser pilot operated safety relief valves, will be followed by the full flow testing of a pressuriser safety valve. Tests at secondary circuit conditions have been carried out at the Siemens Kraftwerk Union Test Facilities, W Germany, where candidate MSSV's have been tested at full scale blowdown conditions. (author)