Scaling distortions analysis of the CREST test facility - 15116

This paper presents a scaling distortions analysis for the passive residual heat removal system (PRHRS) of the cooling and residual heat removal system test facility for accidents (CREST), a full-height, 1/37.62 volume and power scaled test facility with respect to the prototype reactor ACP100. ACP100 is an advanced modular integral type pressurized water reactor with a rated thermal power of 330 MW and with several passive safety features. CREST's scaling distortions are due to its disproportionately large mass of metal compared with ACP100 and have an impact on stored energy and heat loss. The goal of the scaling distortions analysis was to support the design of CREST used to simulate the thermal hydraulic phenomena important to the safety of ACP100. The PRHRS was designed according to the single-phase natural circulation scaling law, which was proposed by Ishii and modified in this paper for practical applications. In order to assess the scaling distortions of the facility, the station blackout accident (SBO) analysis was performed by CATHARE for CREST and ACP100 respectively, and the results show that the parameters characterizing reactor safety such as coolant temperature and pressure are well preserved in CREST and that CREST is capable of simulating the process of removing the core residual heat by the PRHRS under SBO