SETH-2 Project Overview - NEA Joint Projects

The SESAR Thermal-hydraulics (SETH) project began in 2001. It consisted of thermal-hydraulic experiments in support of accident management, which were carried out at facilities identified by the CSNI as those requiring international collaboration to sponsor their continued operation. A follow-up project, SETH-2, has now been launched with the aim of resolving key computational issues for the simulation of thermal-hydraulic conditions in reactor containments. To this end, the SETH-2 project will make use of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) PANDA* and Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA) MISTRA** facilities.

The aim of the project is to generate high quality experimental data that will be used for improving the modelling and validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and lumped parameter (LP) computer codes designed to predict post-accident containment thermal-hydraulic conditions. The unique and complementary instrumentation used in the PANDA and MISTRA facilities and the different size and configuration of the two installations will contribute to address a variety of measured parameters, configurations and scale, thus enhancing the value of the data for code applications. Relevant containment phenomena and separate effects will be studied in the programme, including the effects of jets, natural convection, the effect of containment coolers, the effect of sprays etc. The experiments will not only support CFD and LP code validation for current operating reactors but also simulate conditions specific to advanced reactor designs.

A kick-off meeting for the project was held in June 2007. The detailed test specifications are currently being formulated and first results are expected by early 2008. In parallel, analytical activities will be conducted by participants for the benchmarking and qualification of their computer codes.