The Phebus Fission Product and Source Term International Programme

Nucler Energy for New Europe 2005, Bled, Sovenia, 5-8 Septembre 2005

B. Clément, R. Zeyen (1).

The international Phébus FP programme, initiated in 1988 is one of the major research programmes on light water reactors severe accidents. After a short description of the facility and of the test matrix, the main outcomes and results of the first four integral tests are provided and analysed. Several results were unexpected and some are of importance for safety analyses, particularly concerning fuel degradation, cladding oxidation, chemical form of some fission products, especially iodine, effect of control rod materials on degradation and chemistry, iodine behaviour in the containment. Prediction capabilities of calculation tools have largely been improved as a result of this research effort. However, significant uncertainties remain for a number of phenomena, requiring detailed physical analysis and implementation of improved models in codes, sustained by a number of separate-effect experiments. This is the subject of the new Source Term programme for a better understanding of the phenomenology on important safety issues, in accordance with priorities defined in the EURSAFE project of the 5th European framework programme aiming at reducing the uncertainties on Source Term analyses. It covers iodine chemistry, impact of boron carbide control rods degradation and oxidation, air ingress situations and fission product release from fuel.
Regarding the interpretation of Phébus, an international co-operation has been established since over ten years, particularly helpful for the improvement and common understanding of severe accident phenomena. Few months ago, the Phébus community was happy to welcome representatives of a large number of organisations from the following new European countries: the Czech republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and also from Bulgaria and Romania.

(1) : JRC-Petten