Experimental investigations for head loss build up at clogged strainers after LOCA

During Loss-of-Coolant-Accidents (LOCA) in nuclear reactors insulation materials of pipes and pressure vessels can be released inside of drywells and containments under the impingment forces of steam and water jets. A portion of dislodged fragments of thermal insulation materials would transport to the screens and strainers arranged forwards of Emergency-Core-Cooling-System (ECCS) pumps. Within the „ German competence network East for nuclear engineering“ at the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz (FH) and the Research Centre Rossendorf (FZR) generic investigations has been carried out for the development and improvement of CFD-models for the analytic simulation of insulation-water-two phase flow based on an experimental generated data basis. This paper presents the description of the test facility „Ring line-II“ and results of separate effect experiments regarding the behaviour of water-insulation fragments flow at a horizontal perforated plate used as strainer in BWR plants with the insulation material MD2-1999.