The CATHARE code has been developed by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in cooperation with EDF, FRAMATOME and IRSN since 1979. In the course of these years, research and industry collaborations have enabled the CATHARE team to always propose innovative and rigorous solutions to its partners. With this experience and extensive validation basis, the CATHARE code is known as the French reference thermal-hydraulic system code used for nuclear safety analysis. Their high academic investment and regular participation in international conferences enjoy a high reputation in France and international scientific networks.

The modularity of the code component library and the generic equation set based on the 6-equation/2-phase flow model enable it to simulate various thermal-hydraulic transients. Now combined with the REFPROP library, more than 150 fluids are available in the latest version of the code. That is why the scope of CATHARE extends to non-nuclear systems in various fields such as space, energy conversion, storage, etc.

 

CATHARE has become over the years a multi-reactor and internationally-recognized tool used for a range of applications, including: studies of nominal operating conditions and accidental transients for reactor design and safety assessment, integration in engineering and training simulators. Framatome uses CATHARE for the study of incidental and accidental transients in the main reactor coolant system (the primary circuit) and the main secondary systems as covered in the Safety Analysis Report submitted to the Nuclear Safety Authority in France and abroad.

The CATHARE code has become in France, and for EDF in particular, an indispensable tool for safety analysis in the field of thermal hydraulics, but also the essential component of the EDF training simulators on which hundreds of plant operators are trained every year. The CATHARE code is the result of a remarkable collaboration within the French nuclear industry and it is the realization of all the expertise and competence of the CEA development teams that have followed for over 40 years, by improving its capabilities, validation, performance and application fields.