A Scaling Analysis for a Filtered Containment Venting System

Abstract

A scaling method is proposed for the design of a reduced-scale experimental facility for testing the performance of a newly proposed filtered containment venting system (FCVS). A full-height facility at prototypic pressure and temperature conditions is chosen to preserve the fundamental physics such as depressurization rate, two-phase mixture level, and scrubbing process. The geometrical similarities in terms of the ratio of the cross-sectional area and geometric and frictional loss coefficient are preserved for each component in the FCVS. Scaling of the number of components in the reduced-scale test facility is suggested using the prototypic components of the FCVS including a venturi scrubber, a cyclone, a metal fiber filter, and a molecular sieve. This approach minimizes scaling distortions. A properly scaled test facility allows testing in a wide range of initial and boundary conditions such that it can predict the full performance of the prototypic FCVS.