[en] One of the problems which must be solved in severe accidents is the melt concrete interaction which does occur when the core debris penetrates the lower pressure vessel head and contacts the basement. To prevent these accident consequences a core catcher concept is proposed to be integrated into the new PWR design. The core catcher consists of a perforated steel plate covered with a sacrificial layer and is connected with the basement by a supporting structure. In case of an accident the interfacial gap under the bottom plate is filled with sumpwater. In the sacrificial layer melt plugs are inserted which are the extension of the holes in the bottom steel plate. When the core melt erodes the layer, the plugs open by melting, and water/steam flow through the plugs and the melt starts. This continuous cooling stabilizes the melt and finally allows flooding of the upper melt surface. In order to identify the dominant processes during flooding of the melt from the bottom, two prototypic experiments in laboratory scale have been carried out. (orig.)