Considerations of scaling effects in the LOFT reactor system during a large break LOCA simulation

An investigation was performed to assess the effects of scale in a reduced-scale integral test facility designed to simulate the response of a commercial four-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR) during a hypothesized loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The facility considered in the investigation was the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) system, which simulates the principal physical features of a PWR, but has only one-fiftieth of the fluid volume. LOFT experimental data and data from comparable Semiscale Mod-1 and Mod-3 tests were used to assess the influences of component scaling characteristics on LOFT performance during a 200% cold leg break LOCA simulation.