Validation of the ATHROC Code With NUPEC Tests

Abstract

Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) has developed a containment code called ATHROC (Analysis of Thermal Hydraulic Response of Containment) for the design of a new advanced PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) in China. In the present work, the well-known NUPEC (NUclear Power Engineering Corporation) tests are simulated to validate the code. NUPEC test M-7-1 and M-4-3 were separately simulated to investigate the mixing effect of hot gas and steam being injected at a low elevation with or without spray cooling in the dome. An analytical model consisting of 26 cells and 67 flow paths was established. In addition, 62 distributed heat structures and 1 lumped heat structure were also modeled in the simulation. The predictions of both simulated tests agree relatively well with the experiment data. The maximum relative errors of predicted temperature for M-7-1 test and M-4-3 test were about 10% and 3%, respectively. The peak pressures of the two tests were about 3.8% and 6.7% overestimated, respectively, and the peak helium concentrations were about 25% and 20% overestimated, respectively. On the other hand, thermal and helium stratification within the containment were well predicted.