Experimental program on debris reflooding (PEARL) – Results on PRELUDE facility

The “Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté Nucléaire” is developing simulation tools to be used in the safety studies, for the optimization of the severe accident management strategy and to assess the probabilities to stop the progress of in-vessel core degradation in a nuclear power plant. The objective of the experimental program PEARL is to extend the validation of debris reflooding models in 2D and 3D situations. The aim is to predict the consequences of the water reflooding of a severely damaged reactor core where a significant part of the core has collapsed and formed a debris bed.