Abstract
Existing schemes of core melt retention apparatus for water-cooled water-moderated nuclear reactors are analyzed. In-shaft variants of melt catchers at nuclear power plants with VVÉR-1000 reactors are proposed. It is shown that TiO2- and Nd2O3-based materials increase the operational reliability of the retention apparatus by modifying the processes occurring in the melt and by preserving the integrity of refractory coatings consisting of zirconium dioxide. TiO2-based material not only decreases the effect of the melt on the refractory but also confines some fission products in geologically similar matrices which are synthesized as the melt cools.
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Mineev, V.N., Akopov, F.A., Vlasov, A.S. et al. Optimization of the Materials Composition in External Core Catchers for Nuclear Reactors. Atomic Energy 93, 872–879 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022451520006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022451520006