Investigation of PAR Behavior in the REKO-4 Test Facility Available to Purchase

Passive auto-catalytic recombiners (PARs) play a key role in the hydrogen mitigation strategy of European LWRs. In order to avoid possible threats related to hydrogen combustion, PARs are installed to remove hydrogen released during a loss-of-coolant accident. The possible impact of hydrogen explosions became evident during the reactor accident in Fukushima (Japan) in March 2011, where leaked hydrogen ignited and largely destroyed the upper part of the reactor building. The mitigation strategy is based and verified by computational accident assessments. Code validation against experimental data is vital in order to achieve reliable results.