SMALL-SCALE COMPONENT EXPERIMENTS OF THE PENETRATION LEAK CHARACTERIZATION TEST IN THE ALPHA PROGRAM

YAMANO N SUGIMOTO J MARUYAMA Y HIDAKA A KUDO T SODA K

N. Yamano et al., SMALL-SCALE COMPONENT EXPERIMENTS OF THE PENETRATION LEAK CHARACTERIZATION TEST IN THE ALPHA PROGRAM, Nuclear Engineering and Design, 145(3), 1993, pp. 365-374

4

INGLESE

Article

Nuclear Sciences & Tecnology

Nuclear Engineering and Design → ACNP

0029-5493

145

3

1993

365 - 374

ISI

0029-5493(1993)145:3<365:SCEOTP>2.0.ZU;2-7

A small-scale penetration leak characterization test has been performe d as a part of the ALPHA program at Japan Atomic Energy Research Insti tute (JAERI). Two series of experiments were performed using test sect ions which simulate relevant parts of an EPA (Electrical Penetration A ssembly) used in Japanese PWR containments. One of the test sections s imulates an alumina module and the other includes the silicone resin p ortion of the EPA. The test section was heated in a leak test vessel w hich simulated thermal-hydraulic conditions inside and outside of the containment in a severe accident. From the experimental results, it wa s concluded that although the silicone resin may melt at high temperat ure, the alumina module will remain intact under severe accident condi tions. The EPA as a whole is estimated to maintain leak-tightness duri ng a severe accident. It was found in the experiments that heat conduc tion along the metal portion of the test section had a strong influenc e on the melt progression of the resin. It was also found that the mea sured strain of the alumina module was predominantly caused by the ele vated temperature. Therefore, the thermal load will be more of a threa t to the EPA's integrity rather than the pressure load.