An assessment of a LBLOCA similarity for a reduced-height integral effect test loop design for PWRs

The simulation capability of a reduced-height integral effect test loop design has been assessed for a large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) transient in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). A 1/2-height, 1/100-area-scaled model is evaluated against a prototype APR1400 plant by using the best-estimated code, MARS, and the same control logics and accident scenarios. The scaled model and APR1400 are found to have similar thermal-hydraulic responses for the analyzed LBLOCA scenario. It can be concluded from the results of this study that the ATLAS (advanced thermal-hydraulic test loop for accident simulation), which was designed based on the same scaling criteria and now under construction by KAERI, can maintain a similarity with the reference APR1400 plant.