Overview of experimental programs on core melt progression and fission product release behaviour

An overview of experimental programs that have been conducted to better understand core melt progression phenomena and fission product behaviour during severe reactor accidents in light water reactors is presented. This discussion principally focuses on the melting and liquefaction of core materials at different temperatures, materials oxidation and relocation, hydrogen generation behaviour, and the release and transport of fission products and aerosols. A comparison of fission product release results from annealing and in-reactor experiments is also presented.