NUCLEAR ENERGY AND SAFETY RESEARCH DEPARTMENT 


LABORATORY FOR THERMAL-HYDRAULICS 

Paul Scherrer Institut
CH-5232 Villigen PSI
Tel: +41 56 310 26 85 -  Fax: +41 56 310 23 27
Email Secretary


The Laboratory for Thermal-Hydraulics (LTH) forms part of PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES) and is engaged in both analytical and experimental research and development (R&D) related to the design basis (DBA), beyond design basis (BDA) and severe accident (SA) conditions of current and future nuclear power plants.  
The rationale for the pursued activities is threefold:  
  • to offer R&D support to the Swiss utilities, nuclear safety authority and industry; 
  • to conduct research with national and international collaborations aimed at strengthening the reactor safety associated with the accidents,
  • translate research results into services and new products for back fitting to improve safety.
The R&D activities in the LTH can be roughly grouped in three discrete but interlinked research areas:  
  • Investigations involving thermal-hydraulic phenomena in small or large-scale facilities in conjunction with the current and future nuclear systems,
  • Investigations involving severe accident phenomena in small and large-scale facilities in conjunction with the current and future nuclear systems,
  • Code and model development and application to multi-phase, multi-dimensional problems with large system thermal-hydraulic, severe accident, containment, and CFD codes,
  • Development and qualification of new systems or products.