The LOCA air-injection loads in BWR Mark II pressure suppression containment systems

Large-scale blowdown tests were conducted to investigate the thermal-hydrodynamic response of a boiling-water reactor (BWR) Mark II pressure suppression containment system to a postulated loss-of-coolant accident. This paper presents the test results on the early blowdown transients, where air in the drywell is injected into the pressure suppression pool and induces various hydrodynamic loads onto the containment pressure boundary and internal structures. The test data are compared to predictions by analytical models used for the licensing evaluation of the hydrodynamic loads to assess these models.