Initial Thermal-Hydraulic Behaviors under Simultaneous ECC Water Injection into Cold Leg and Upper Plenum in a PWR-LOCA

Core thermo-hydrodynamic characteristics under the combined injection mode before and just after the beginning of bottom reflood of a PWR-LOCA were experimentally studied by performing three tests in Slab Core Test Facility simulating a full radius slab section of a PWR. Emergency core cooling water was simultaneously injected into the upper plenum and the intact cold leg. The subcooling and the radial distribution of the upper plenum injection water were the test parameters. The core was cooled by falling water before the beginning of bottom reflood. However, the core was finally quenched by bottom reflood. Before the beginning of bottom reflood, the transients of water level in the lower plenum were different among three cases, that is, the water level was rapidly or gradually increased in the first and second cases, respectively, or remained below the bottom of core barrel in the third case. The bottom reflood was much delayed in the last two cases. Even under the conditions with large upper plenum injection rate of subcooled water and with steam escape through the lower plenum, continuous fall back was not observed but the subcooled water was intermittently supported by the upward steam flow generated in the core.