The LOBI Integral System Test Facility Experimental Programme

The LOBI project has been carried-out in the framework of the European Commission Reactor Safety Research Programme in close collaboration with institutional and/or industrial research organizations of EC member countries. The primary objective of the research programme was the generation of an experimental data base for the assessment of the predictive capabilities of thermal-hydraulic system codes used in pressurised water reactor safety analysis. Within this context, experiments have been conducted in the LOBI integral system test facility designed, constructed and operated (1979-1991) at the Ispra Site of the Joint Research Centre. The LOBI project originated from a reactor safety research and development collaborative agreement between the European Commission (EC) and the former Bundesminister für Forschung und Technologie (BMFT) of the Federal Republic of Germany. On the basis of contingent and perceived safety requirements, the BMFT decided in 1972 on the need of an integral system test facility for thermal-hydraulic investigations relevant to large break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of German design. The collaborative agreement was signed in December 1973 and was then re-negotiated in 1982 extending the original research objectives to the small break LOCA and Special Transients scenarios. This paper provides a historical perspective and an overview of major achievements of the research programme which has represented an effective approach to international collaboration in the field of reactor safety research and development. Emphasis is also placed on knowledge management aspects of the acquired experimental data base and on related on-line open access/retrieval user functionalities.

ADDABBO Carmelo;  ANNUNZIATO Alessandro; 

2011-12-01

Hindawi Publishing Corporation

JRC63871

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/stni/2012/238019/,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC63871,   

10.1155/2012/238019,