GLOBAL THERMODYNAMIC APPROACH OF THE MOLTEN CORE-CONCRETE INTERACTION(MCCL) AND SELECTED APPLICATIONS IN THE NUCLEAR-FIELD

As part of a study on nuclear reactor safety, we modelled the thermody namical properties of a complex mixture called ''corium'' obtained in the unlikely event of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant, if t he reactor core melts through the vessel and slumps into the concrete reactor cavity. When the core and the concrete interact, the phenomeno n is called ''Molten Core-Concrete Interaction'' (MCCI). The equilibri um state of the cerium is calculated by the GEMINI2 program linked to the database TDBCR, which includes the thermochemical properties of th e main constituents of the different materials present in a pressurize d water reactor. The methodology of assembling a self-consistent datab ase and some selected applications are presented. Such an approach is essential to increase the knowledge base of the material ''corium'' to feed other codes assigned to nuclear reactor safety.