Recapturing Net Positive Suction Head Margins in Boiling Water Reactor Emergency Core Cooling Systems

Boiling Water Reactor pressure suppression pools have stringent housekeeping requirements, as well as restrictions on amounts and types of insulation and debris that can be present in the containment, to guarantee that suction strainers that allow cooling water to be supplied to the reactor during a Loss of Coolant Accident remain operational. By introducing “good debris” into the cooling water, many of these requirements/restrictions can be relaxed without sacrificing operational readiness of the cooling system.