MISTRA facility for containment lumped parameter and CFD codes validation. Example of the International Standard Problem ISP47

During a severe accident in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), the formation of a combustible gas mixture in the complex geometry of the reactor depends on the understanding of hydrogen production, the complex 3D thermal-hydraulics flow due to gas/steam injection, natural convection, heat transfer by condensation on walls and effect of mitigation devices. Numerical simulation of such flows may be performed either by Lumped Parameter (LP) or by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes. Advantages and drawbacks of LP and CFD codes are well-known. LP codes are mainly developed for full size containment analysis but they need improvements, especially since they are not able to accurately predict the local gas mixing within the containment. CFD codes require a process of validation on well-instrumented experimental data before they can be used with a high degree of confidence. The MISTRA coupled effect test facility has been built at CEA to fulfil this validation objective: with numerous measurement points in the gaseous volume - temperature, gas concentration, velocity and turbulence - and with well controlled boundary conditions. As illustration of both experimental and simulation areas of this topic, a recent example in the use of MISTRA test data is presented for the case of the International Standard Problem ISP47. The proposed experimental work in the MISTRA facility provides essential data to fill the gaps in the modelling/validation of computational tools. (author)