Experimental Study of the Lower Support Structure Effect on the Core Flow Distribution

The flow distribution characteristic at the reactor core is essential for the licensing and design process. An hydraulic test facility was established to simulate the internal flow of the APR1000 reactor at a reduced scale of 1/5. The design concept of the test facility with an applied scaling method was introduced briefly, and the effect of the lower support structure on the core inlet flow distribution was investigated experimentally, as a preliminary test. The flow characteristics were quantified and discussed from the directly measured flow rates of 177 fuel assemblies.