Hydrogen management during severe accidents

An unplanned or randomly occurred combustion of hydrogen in a containment during a sever accident can be avoided if there is a strategy to control physical parameters fundamental to the combustion processes. Hydrogen management strategies should consider both hydrogen burn prevention and hydrogen inventory reduction. The hydrogen burn prevention can be achieved through flammability limits control and ignition source control. The hydrogen reduction strategy may come from a combination of recombiners, deliberate ignition and/or containment venting to another unit, if available. A good strategy must also be supported by timely and accurate information on the containment hydrogen (and other combustible gases) concentration. (author)