Post-Test Thermalhydraulic Analysis of Two Intermediate LOCA Tests at the ROSA Facility Including Uncertainty Evaluation

Abstract

The OECD/NEA ROSA-2 project aims at addressing thermal-hydraulic safety issues relevant for light water reactors by building up an experimental database at the ROSA Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF). The ROSA facility simulates a PWR Westinghouse design with a four-loop configuration and a nominal power of 3423 MWth. Two intermediate break loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) experiments (Test 1 and 2) have been carried out during 2010. The two tests were analyzed by using the US-NRC TRACE best estimate code, employing the same nodalization previously used for the simulation of small-break LOCA experiments of the ROSA-1 program. A post-test calculation was performed for each test along with uncertainty analysis providing uncertainty bands for each relevant time trend. Uncertainties in the code modeling capabilities as well as in the initial and boundary conditions were taken into account, following the guidelines and lessons learnt through participation in the OECD/NEA BEMUSE program. Two different versions of the TRACE code were used in the analysis, providing a qualitatively good prediction of the tests. However, both versions showed deficiencies that need to be addressed. The most relevant parameters of the two experimental tests were falling within the computed uncertainty bands.