Development of experimental and computational procedures for nuclear power plant component testing under flooding conditions

Idaho State University (ISU), with support from Idaho National Laboratory, is actively engaged in enhancing nuclear power plant risk modeling. The ISU team is significantly increasing the understanding of non-containment, nuclear power plant component performance under flooding conditions. The work involves experimentation activities and development of mathematical models, using data from component flooding experiments. The research consists in developing experimentation procedures that comprised small scale component testing, followed by simple and then complex full scale component testing. The research is taking place in the Component Flooding Evaluation Laboratory (CFEL). Tests in CFEL will include water rise, spray, and wave impact experiments on passive and active components. Initial development work focused on small scale components, radios and simulated doors, that served as a lowrisk and low-cost proof-of-concept options. Following these tests, full-scale component tests were performed in the Portal Evaluation Tank (PET). The PET is a semi-cylindrical 7500-l capacity steel tank, with an opening to the environment of 2.4 m. x 2.4 m. The opening allows installation of doors, feedthroughs, pipes, or other components.