Trends in severe accident research in Europe: SARNET network from Euratom to NUGENIA

Abstract

SARNET (Severe Accident Research Network) was set up under the aegis of the Framework Programmes of theEuropeanCommission from2004 to 2013 and coordinated by IRSNto performR&Don severe accidents in water-cooled nuclear power plants. The network self-sustainability was achieved through integration mid-2013 in the NUGENIA European association devoted toR&D on fission technology of Generation II and III. TheSARNETactivities continue in the technical area “Severe accidents” through technical workshops, ranking of R&D priorities, improvements of severe accident codes, ERMSAR international conferences, and education and training courses. Six technical domains are addressed in this technical area: in-vessel corium/debris coolability, ex- vessel coriuminteractionsandcoolability, containment behaviour includinghydrogen risk, source termreleased to the environment, impact of severe accidents on the environment andemergencymanagement, and severe accident scenarios.Therankingof researchpriorities intheNUGENIAR&Droadmapthatwaspublishedin2015underlined theneedtofocusefforts inthenextyearsonthe improvementofpreventionofsevereaccidentsandonthemitigation of their consequences, as highlightedbytheFukushimaDai-ichi accidents. Several currentprojects onmitigationof severe accident consequences in Euratom or NUGENIA frame are shortly described in this paper.