Nuclear Power Group reactor vessel

In the period of 1998-99, two sets of experiments focused on problems of rapid decrease of concentration of boric acid in reactor coolant at nuclear reactor core inlet were performed at the University of Maryland, US, under the auspices of OECD. The situation, when there is an inadvertent supply of boron-deficient water into the reactor vessel, could lead to a rapid (very probably local) increase of reactor core power in reactor, operated at nominal power, or to a start of fission reaction in shut-down reactor (secondary criticality). In the above mentioned experiments the transport of boron-deficient coolant through reactor downcomer and lower plenum was simulated by flow of cold water into a model of reactor vessel. These experiments were selected as the International Standard Problem ISP-43 and organisations, involved in thermal — hydraulic calculations of nuclear reactors, were invited to participate in their computer simulation. Altogether 10 groups took part in this problem with various CFD codes. The participants obtained only data on geometry of the experimental facility, and initial and boundary conditions. 

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