Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of the Lace Experiments and its Fall-Out on the Safety Analysis of LWRs Containment Systems

Abstract

The main results of the LACE analysis, carried out at the DCMN (Dipartimento di Costruzioni Meccaniche e Nucleari) of Pisa University, are reported in this work; a brief description of the way the four analyzed tests were performed, is necessary to the understanding of the results. The main section of this work deals with the analysis of the thermal-hydraulic results of the tests; the conclusions have been pointed out especially during official participations to various international exercises performed as part of the project. Three levels of conclusions are reported in the final section of this report, focusing on the possible fall-outs of the LACE programme results on LWRs safety analysis and qualification of Best Estimate (BE) computer codes, in particular of the FUMO one.