LACOMECO

Large Scale Experiments on Core Degradation, Melt Retention and Containment Behaviour

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

The objective of the LACOMECO project is to offer EU research institutions access to four experimental facilities QUENCH, LIVE, DISCO and HYKA which are designed to study the remaining severe accident safety issues, ranked with high or medium priority by the SARP group for SARNET. These issues are coolability of a degraded core, corium coolability in the RPV, possible melt dispersion to the reactor cavity, and hydrogen mixing and combustion in the containment. These facilities are unique in providing experimental programmes in specific fields of core damage initiation up to hydrogen behaviour, without rival in other Member States. The experiments are designed to be complementary to other European facilities and experimental platforms to form a coherent European nuclear experimental network. The project will bring together competent teams from different countries with complementary knowledge. Moreover, the links with the East European research organisations and utilities will be established and maintained. Therefore, the project will offer a unique opportunity to join networks and activities supporting VVER safety, and for Eastern experts to get access to large scale experimental facilities in a Western research organisation. They will thereby improve their understanding of material properties, core behaviour, and containment safety under severe accident conditions. These topics addressed are extremely complex and demand the specific research involving substantial resources; the research field is too wide to allow the study of all the phenomena by any national programme. To optimise the use of the resources, the collaboration between different EU institutions at both national and international levels is highly important. This is precisely the main objective of the LACOMECO project, which aims to provide these resources and to facilitate this collaboration by offering unique severe accident research facilities at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for transnational access.

Introduzione (Teaser)

Large-scale nuclear test facilities unique in Europe joined in an initiative to open their doors to transnational access. Scientists were thus able to address the few remaining priority safety issues for nuclear power plant operation under unparalleled prototype conditions.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Prevention is of critical importance when it comes to the safety of nuclear reactor operation. While severe accidents are highly unlikely, they are the subject of intense research due to the particularly hazardous nature of radioactive material release into the environment.

The Severe Accident Research Priorities (SARP) group of the Severe Accident Research Network of Excellence (SARNET) provides an up-to-date ranking of research priorities in the field. The phenomena are extremely complex and require substantial human, financial and infrastructural resources often beyond the means of individual countries. The main objective of the EU-funded project 'Large scale experiments on core degradation, melt retention and containment behaviour' (LACOMECO) was to facilitate cooperation. The focus was on core melt scenarios using large-scale tests under prototypical conditions.

By providing transnational access to four large-scale experimental facilities at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), scientists enabled investigation of the remaining medium- and high-priority severe accident safety issues. In addition, the participation of east European research organisations and utilities provided a unique opportunity for knowledge transfer to respective experts historically lacking the required financial and material resources.

Results of the experiments have been widely disseminated. They are providing critical input to models and simulation software for safety assessment and accident mitigation. Among these is Accident Source Term Evaluation Code (ASTEC), a software package that attempts to simulate all phenomena occurring in a severe accident based on separate effects tests. Further, knowledge gained is expected to improve severe accident management measures and increase public confidence in nuclear energy.

LACOMECO outcomes have enhanced understanding of events in a whole core melt sequence by addressing the last remaining medium- and high-priority severe accident safety issues. They will serve not only to lower the risk of occurrence but also but to mitigate potential consequences.