Derivation of general scaling criteria for BWR containment tests

General top-down scaling criteria for facilities used to study Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) containments including a pressure suppression system are derived, with particular attention to the recent passive BWRS. The criteria are derived by considering the generic processes in classes of containment subsystems (e.g., containment volumes, pools, pipes, etc.). In reactor containments, the thermodynamic behavior of the system (essentially, its pressure history) is linked to its thermal-hydraulic behavior (the flows of mass and energy between volumes). The case of prototypical fluids under prototypical thermodynamic conditions is treated. The study confirms the validity of the (familiar) scaling of power, volumes, horizontal areas in volumes, mass flow rates, and heat transfer areas with a system scale. Important pressure drops and the corresponding flows are controlled by the submergence depth of vents or by hydrostatic pressure differences in connected vessels. The analysis of these processes justify the choice of 1:1 scaling for the pressure drops, vertical heights, submergence depths and level differences. The importance of certain distortions regarding inertial response and transit times is minor