Facility consists of the hemispherical test vessel, a volumetric heating system in the test vessel to simulate the decay heat, a heating furnace to generate and pour the simulated corium melt, and a multitude of instrumentation to characterize the status of the melt.

This programme sets out to reduce uncertainties when evaluating the environmental release of radioactive products such as iodine or ruthenium following a core meltdown accident in a pressurised water reactor (PWR).

The KROTOS test facility is a relatively small scale experimental installation dedicated to the study of: (a) molten fuel-coolant pre-mixing either with prototypic reactor melts or simulants such as alumina up to 5 kg; (b) progression and energetics of spontaneous and triggered fuel-coolant interactions (vapor explosions).

The separate effect studies of vertical steam generators have been conducted in the CIEMAT PECA facility, which was properly modified and conditioned for that purpose. The PECA facility set-up used in the SGTR separate effect tests basically consists of:

Boron carbide rod degradation test and associated releases.

The Mozart analytical test program, conducted from 2005 to 2007, was dedicated to the study of oxidation in air of nuclear fuel cladding.

The VULCANO facility is mainly composed of a furnace and a test section, which is thoroughly instrumented. In the experiments with prototypic material the furnace has the following characteristics:

The DISCO-H test facility was set up to perform scaled experiments that simulate melt ejection scenarios under low system pressure in Severe Accidents in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR).

In case of a steam explosion, e.g. as a consequence of a severe reactor accident, part of the thermal energy of the melt is transferred into mechanical energy. At Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, the ECO experiments are being directed to measure the conversion factor under well-defined conditions. The programme was launched in 2000.

The TOSQAN experimental vessel is a large stainless steel cylindrical enclosure (volume 7m3, height 4m, internal diameter 1.5m) with double walls. A coolant circulates in between the walls to regulate the wall temperature from 60 °C to 160 °C.

Experimental facility Figure &
A single sampler unit

The PWR PACTEL test facility is designed and constructed in 2009 to be used in the safety studies related to thermal hydraulics of pressurized water reactors with EPR type vertical steam generators