An experimental investigation of loop seal clearings in SBLOCA tests

Highlights: • An experimental study of the loop seal clearing in the SBLOCAs was performed. • Loop seal behaviors with related parameters were investigated. • The mechanism of initiation of a loop seal clearing was suggested. • The sustaining of a loop seal clearing without refilling was evaluated. - Abstract: An investigation of the loop seal clearing (LSC) in a small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) for direct vessel injection (DVI) line and cold leg (CL) breaks was performed. The behavior of an LSC appears to be closely related to the break location and break size. In the tests of SBLOCAs, a loop seal or cross-over leg (COL) in the broken loop was cleared first, and the number of loop seals cleared was dependent on the break size. The larger the break size was, the more the loop seals or COLs that were cleared. The location of the LSCs appeared to have a consistent behavior under each scenario. In the SBLOCA tests, the downcomer water level just before an LSC was a very important parameter to the peak cladding temperature (PCT). The initiation of an LSC might not be related to the existing flooding condition, but to the magnitude of the pressure difference between the reactor upper head and downcomer, which is sufficient to push the upflow leg of a COL. The sustaining of an LSC without refilling was evaluated using the test data and existing flooding conditions