[en] The integrity of an ex-vessel core-retention system in the event of core meltdown is of concern in PAHR safety assessment. Several ex-vessel core retention concepts incorporate sacrificial beds. The integrity of the ex-vessel core-retention system is dependent on the directional growth of the molten pool into soluble boundaries of the sacrificial bed. Mutual dissolution of the molten pool of core-debris and the sacrificial material is expected to change the thermal characteristics of the pool and thus affect the heat transfer to the boundaries. The two-dimensional simulation study of the penetration of a dense, hot liquid pool into the boundaries of a meltable, soluble solid revealed the dependency of the directional pool growth on the density ratio, rho*, of the liquid pool to the meltable solid. In the one-dimensional study of the downward penetration of the hot pool into a soluble boundary four different hydrodynamic flow regimes were identified that occurred at different ranges of rho*. The downward heat transfer enhanced beyond rho* approx. = 1.1. The present study investigates the effect of test cell geometry and material properties on the downward heat transfer in a horizontal melting system