Model of the Destruction of the Reactor in the No. 4 Unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

The authors, who participated in 1986–1995 in the investigations of the destroyed power-generating unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, have made an attempt to reconstruct, on the basis of an analysis of the results of investigations, the processes leading to the destruction of the reactor system. It is shown how the ideas concerning the accident processes developed as data on the postaccident state of the structures of the reactor system were obtained and analyzed. A model of the destruction of the reactor system is proposed. This model substantiates that fact that the core was lifted by 30 m from the reactor shaft and exploded above the central hall.