Core makeup tank behavior investigation during ACME integral effect tests

•Thermal hydraulic behaviors of CMT were investigated on ACME SBLOCA tests.•CMT injection characteristics and dominate factors were scrutinized based on phase division.•Break condition greatly affects CMT operation characteristics in each phase.•The phenomena of thermal stratification and heat transfer and the mechanisms were presented.•Hot liquid layer flashing induced cooling and pressure increases were observed. Passive safety systems are widely used in the advance reactors, such as AP1000 and CAP1400. As an important component in the passive safety system, the core makeup tank (CMT) plays a key role for the safety injection and the core decay heat removal. Since the CMT not only provides the full-pressure injection but also triggers the auto depressurization system by its level signal during small-break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA), the CMT thermal hydraulic behaviors affect the SBLOCA transient process. The thermal hydraulic behaviors of the CMT were investigated by conducting different SBLOCA tests on the ACME integral effect test facility, which includes the 2.5 cm, 5 cm and 20 cm breaks, and double ended direct vessel injection (DVI) line break. Based on the test observations, the CMT injection response to SBLOCA was divided into four phases: the circulation, the drain transition, the injection inhabitation and the final drain. The CMT injection characteristics and the dominate factors were scrutinized based on the phase division. It was found that the break condition has significant impacts on the CMT operating characteristics in each phase. The CMT circulation flow rate can be predicted, and the break size determines the circulation phase length. The CMT drain transition process is controlled by the PBL voiding process that has a close relation to the liquid level change in the cold leg. The ACC-CMT interaction was modeled, and the prediction result agreed with the test result. The comparison tests showed that the ACC nitrogen gas injection still affected the CMT drain behavior. A similar thermal stratification pattern formed during the different SBLCOA tests, and the thermal stratification remained not only in the CMT internal fluid but also in the CMT wall. The estimation of the flashing amount showed it did not play a significant role for the CMT liquid level decline, but it could induce the increases in the pressure difference between the CMT and the system and thus accelerate the CMT drain rate. The CMT internal fluid temperature determ