Core Catcher - Cooling Structures

Prevention and control - a central component in the safety system

Prevention and control of theoretical, although of extremely improbable accident sequence, have gained a great deal of importance for the realisation of additional safety reserves for the operation of nuclear power plants.

With the development of a core catcher system in the EPR (European Pressurised Water Reactor), a decisive step has been taken towards a modern conception of safety. This guarantees that the effects of an accident on the interior of the plant are limited and decisive measures outside the plant itself are no longer necessary. The core catcher ensures the integrity of the containment by long-term stabilisation and cooling of the molten core. The basic principle consists in spreading the melt over a large area of approx. 170 m². Siempelkamp manufactures the spreading area from cast iron elements that for purposes of protection and melt conditioning are covered with special concrete, and have a total weight of approx. 500 Mg.