Analysis, by RELAP5 code, of Boron Dilution Phenomena in a Mid-Loop Operation Transient, Performed in PKL III F2.1 RUN 1 Test

The present paper deals with the post test analysis and accuracy quantification of the test PKL III F2.1 RUN 1 by RELAP5/Mod3.3 code performed in the framework of the international OECD/SETH PKL III Project. The PKL III is a full-height integral test facility (ITF) that models the entire primary system and most of the secondary system (except for turbine and condenser) of pressurized water reactor of KWU design of the 1300-MW (electric) class on a scale of 1:145. Detailed design was based to the largest possible extent on the specific data of Philippsburg nuclear power plant, unit 2. As for the test facilities of this size, the scaling concept aims to simulate overall thermal hydraulic behavior of the full-scale power plant [1].The main purpose of the project is to investigate PWR safety issues related to boron dilution and in particular this experiment investigates (a) the boron dilution issue during mid-loop operation and shutdown conditions, and (b) assessing primary circuit accident management operations to prevent boron dilution as a consequence of loss of heat removal [2]. In this work the authors deal with a systematic procedure (developed at the university of Pisa) for code assessment and uncertainty qualification and its application to RELAP5 system code. It is used to evaluate the capability of RELAP5 to reproduce the thermal hydraulics of an inadvertent boron dilution event in a PWR. The quantitative analysis has been performed adopting the Fast Fourier Transform Based Method (FFTBM), which has the capability to quantify the errors in code predictions as compared to the measured experimental signal