Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An apparatus for catching, fragmenting and then uniformly cooling a melt, the apparatus comprising: a coolant supply system containing a pre-pressurized coolant running from said coolant supply system toward the melt for cooling the melt, said coolant supply system having an outlet region; and  a porous body formed of composite and/or particle material disposed directly at said outlet region of said coolant supply system for catching the melt, said porous body having a plurality of flow channels formed therein, said porous body having a flow resistance, the pre-pressurized coolant being fed with a feed-flow rate limited by said flow resistance of said porous body. 2. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , including a supporting substructure for supporting said porous body. claim 1 3. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said porous body contains a porous composite material. claim 1 4. The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein said porous composite material is porous concrete, which contains at least one of an aggregate, a binder and a ceramic. claim 3 5. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said porous body is constructed from particles being at least one of regular particles and irregular particle. claim 1 6. The apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein said particles contain at least one of a mineral material, steel, cast iron and a ceramic. claim 5 7. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , including a sacrificial layer covering said porous body. claim 1 8. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein said porous body has cavities formed therein which are to be completely filled with the pre-pressurized coolant. claim 7 9. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein said porous body and said sacrificial layer are cast together in their boundary region. claim 7 10. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , including a sealing layer disposed between and separating said porous body and said sacrificial layer. claim 7 11. The apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein said sealing layer is formed from at least one material selected from the group consisting of metals and plastics. claim 10 12. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said porous body is to be disposed directly beneath a reactor pressure vessel. claim 1 13. The apparatus according to  claim 12 , including a core-catching device and a channel connected to said core-catching device, said porous body is disposed laterally offset below the reactor pressure vessel and is connected to said core-catching device by said channel. claim 12 14. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said porous body has an underside and side faces and the pre-pressurized coolant can be fed to at least one of said underside and said side faces of said porous body over a large area. claim 1 15. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said porous body has an underside and side faces, and including channels connected to said porous body, the pre-pressurized coolant is fed to at least one of said underside and said side faces of said porous body through at least one of said channels and over a large area. claim 1 16. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said coolant supply system includes: claim 1 a coolant reservoir;  coolant lines supplying the pre-pressurized coolant to said porous body; and  a cooling channel connecting said coolant reservoir to said coolant lines. 17. An apparatus for catching, fragmenting and then uniformly cooling a core melt in a containment of a nuclear power plant, the apparatus comprising: a coolant supply system containing a pre-pressurized coolant running from said coolant supply system toward the melt for cooling the melt, said coolant supply system having an outlet region; and  a porous body formed of composite and/or particle material disposed inside the containment directly at said outlet region of said coolant supply system for catching the melt, said porous body having a plurality of flow channels formed therein, said porous body having a flow resistance, the pre-pressurized coolant being fed with a feed-flow rate limited by said flow resistance of said porous body.