Comparison of SPES-2 and APEX tests to examine AP600 integral system performance

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation has performed a series of tests in the SPES-2 facility (Simulatore Per Esperienze di Sicurezza--Simulator for Safety Experimental Analysis) in Piacenza, Italy and in the APEX (Advanced Plant Experiment) facility, at Oregon State University. These testing programs are designed to evaluate the thermal hydraulic performance of the passive safety systems (gravity driven injection, natural convection, and passive cooling) of the Westinghouse Advanced Passive 600 MWe pressurized water reactor (AP600). They are also designed to obtain data that can be used to assess and validate the safety analysis techniques and computer codes being used to predict the transient system behavior of the AP600. This paper presents a comparison of the two test facility designs and the results of counterpart tests.