MELCOR is developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). MELCOR is widely used globally for nuclear reactor accident analyses. Currently, there are over 1000 MELCOR licenses worldwide. MELCOR is a fully-integrated, multi-physics engineering-level computer code that utilizes the generalized building-block concept to develop an analytical model for a simple building to highly complex or compartmentalized facility.
The broad range of physical phenomena modeled by MELCOR has enabled its application to a range of engineering analyses beyond traditional fission power reactor plant accident analyses. These include:
- Assessment of fusion systems
- Transport of contaminants within buildings
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility safety analyses
MELCOR was developed as a modular code which allows users to select the physics package(s) to be included in simulations. Additionally, MELCOR can be used for non-fission reactor applications to quantify the amount of released radioactive/harmful materials from a facility, building or a confined space structure.