Test section design for SGTR experimental investigation in CIRCE facility for HLMRS supported by SIMMER-III code

In the framework of MAXSIMA project, the design of a large-scale Test Section (TS), aiming to experimentally investigate the Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR) postulated event in a relevant configuration for Gen IV MYRRHA reactor, was carried out. The TS will be implemented in the large pool CIRCE facility, at ENEA CR Brasimone. The TS is composed of four tube bundles representing a full scale portion of the Primary Heat eXchanger (PHX) of MYRRHA plant. They allow the execution of four SGTR tests, one at a time, excluding the necessity to extract the TS from the facility after each test. Water is foreseen to be injected at 16 bar and 200° C in the pool, partially filled by LBE at 350° C with a cover gas of argon at about 1 bar. The pressurization transients of CIRCE vessel and the sizing of the discharge lines and relative rupture disks were numerically predicted by SIMMER-III code on the base of a preliminary simplified configuration of the TS. The obtained results showed that the design pressure of CIRCE main vessel was not reached during more than 10 s of water injection, implementing a singular rupture disk having a diameter of 2 inch activated at 6.5 bar. It appears more than enough to notice, in a real reactor, the occurrence of the SGTR event and stop the water supply, interrupting the accidental scenario. These numerical results were adopted to support the design of the presented TS. Copyright © 2016 by ASME.