ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on containment research and experiments performed for Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), because of its major contributions to past and present international code validation efforts. For this purpose, results of the experimental test series performed at the Battelle Model Containment (BMC) and the Heißdampfreaktor (HDR) as well as the accompanying computational results are being assessed and the rational behind them developed. The HDR containment experiments are part of a large-scale experimental research program at the HDR in Karlstein, near Frankfurt. Containment experiments were performed during Phase I of the HDR Safety Program (1980–1984) as well as in the Phase II. A new series of containment experiments related to hydrogen distribution/deflagration will be performed in Phase III, including long-term thermal-hydraulic issues. As aerosol behavior is coupled with the thermodynamic and thermohydraulic conditions of the containment atmosphere, thermodynamic/thermohydraulic measurements and codes were also included in the DEMONA investigation.
