Heat Removal Tests for Pressurized Water Reactor Containment Spray by Large-Scale Facility

Heat removal tests for pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment spray were carried out to investigate effectiveness of the depressurization by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute model containment (7-m diameter, 20 m high, and 708-m³ volume) with PWR spray nozzles. The depressurization rate is influenced by the spray heat transfer efficiency and the containment wall surface heat transfer coefficient. The overall spray heat transfer efficiency was investigated with respect to spray flow rate, weight ratio of steam/air, and spray height. The spray droplet heat transfer efficiency was investigated whether the overlapping of spray patterns gives effect or not. The effect was not detectable in the range of large value of steam/air, however, it was better in the range of small value of it. The experimental results were compared with the calculated results by computer code CONTEMPT-LT/022. The overall spray heat transfer efficiency was almost 100% in the containment pressure, ranging from 2.5 to 0.9 kg/cm²·G, so that the code was useful on the prediction of the thermal-hydraulic behavior of containment atmosphere in a PWR accident condition.