Supercritical water loop design for corrosion and water chemistry tests under irradiation

Abstract

An experimental loop operating with water at supercritical conditions (25MPa, 600°C in the test section) is designed for operation in the research reactor LVR-15 in UJV Rez, Czech Republic. The loop should serve as an experimental facility for corrosion tests of materials for in-core as well as out-of-core structures, for testing and optimization of suitable water chemistry for a future HPLWR and for studies of radiolysis of water at supercritical conditions, which remains the domain where very few experimental data are available. At present, final necessary calculations (thermalhydraulic, neutronic, strength) are being performed on the irradiation channel, which is the most challenging part of the loop. The concept of the primary and auxiliary circuits has been completed. The design of the loop shall be finished in the course of the year 2007 to start the construction, out-of-pile testing to verify proper finictioning of all systems and as such to be ready for in-pile tests by the end of the HPLWR Phase 2 European project by the end of 2009.