NEA/NSC/WPNCS/DOC(2003)1
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NEA/NSC/WPNCS/DOC(2003)1
Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety
Fourth Meeting of the Expert Group on
Experimental Needs in Criticality Safety
10 September 10 2002
NEA Headquarters, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
SUMMARY RECORD
1. Introduction (P. Cousinou)
Nineteen participants from seventeen different organisations attended the meeting. Patrick Cousinou opened the meeting and welcomed the participants.
2. Approval of the agenda (All)
Mikey Brady Raap suggested adding a presentation on experiments with fission products foils funded by the DOE/NERI initiative. Blair Briggs proposed to make a presentation of the ICSBEP work plan for future evaluations. The agenda was then approved after adding these two items.
3. Review of the actions from the previous meetings (A. Nouri)
The main action concerned the use of the web form designed to describe and compile experimental needs. This form has never been used so far. It was also agreed to input the experimental requests compiled by the US/DOE. Rick Anderson will check if this request list can be shared at the international level.
4. Features of the new ICSBEP handbook/database that can be used to highlight experimental needs
Blair Briggs presented an overview of the 2002 Edition of the ICSBEP handbook and briefly described the evaluations added this year. He then made a demonstration of DICE, the database for the ICSBEP. The new features of DICE include a detailed flux and reaction rates spectra, a detailed balance in the core and in the whole geometry as well as sensitivity coefficients to nuclear data processes. The users’ interface allows to plot this information and to compare the spectra in various configurations.
Blair Briggs also mentioned that the ICSBEP project tries to put together a five-year evaluation work plan (see the ICSBEP home page at: http://icsbep.inel.gov/icsbep). This plan provides a description of the experimental programmes identified in different laboratories. In principle, no restriction is foreseen about the availability of the data. This planning is not completely fixed and the priorities can in principle be re-assessed according to users’ needs.
Ed Fujita informed that a document describing the experimental programme on fast reactors carried out at Argonne West for about 30 years has been published.
5. Experimental programs/needs in different countries
Mikey Brady described the NERI brunup credit experiments recently performed at Sandia National Laboratory. The experiments configuration includes a driver core composed of water moderated UO2 rods (4.31% enriched uranium) and other fuel elements in which foils can be added. Rhodium was inserted in these elements as foils. Different experimental configurations were obtained according to the thickness of the foils which varied from 0 mm (no Rh) to 0.1 mm.
Yasushi Nomura reported on experiments recently performed or on-going in Japan. In the STACY assembly, basic experiments with slabs and interaction experiments are on-going. In 2003 it is planned to perform experiments with plutonium solutions and with fission product poisoning. Experiments with heterogeneous (lattice + solution) media are also planned.
Patrick Cousinou presented a paper entitled: “CRISAL Validation Database an Experimental Needs for Criticality Safety”. The database contains more than 800 experiments which were chosen as representative of various operations of the fuel cycle. The distribution of experiments according to fissile systems was shown. Plans to extend the database in order to ensure a better coverage of all intended applications were presented. Experiments available in the ICSBEP handbook will be used for this purpose as well as classified experimental data. However, new programmes will be needed for the validation of the following systems: MOX powder systems, structural materials, low water-moderated arrays (UO2 and MOX) and MOX arrays with Pu content between 8 and 12%. Finally, Patrick Cousinou described some planned experiments in Valduc, including MOX powders experiments and configurations with structural materials. Another experimental programme for the validation of the “Am Credit” (decrease of reactivity of Pu and MOX systems due to the decay of Pu-241 to Am-241) is also planned.
6. Follow-up of the activities of the Expert Group
The participants were asked to express their views about the usefulness of the framework provided by the Expert Group and on possible future orientations of the activities. Peter Broome said that the UK has no experimental facilities to perform experiments although the industry has identified some needs. Thus he does not foresee a contribution to the work of the Expert Group other than that of an interested observer. Mikey Brady Raap expressed the need to pursue the initial effort of the Expert Group by making contributions to the request list through the submission of requests using the web form. Peter Grimm believes that, at this stage, and in view of the very slow progress in the resolution of actions, a revision of the scope and objectives of the Expert Group is necessary. He also highlighted the lack of experimentalists among the group participants, which he thinks limits the progress of the work. Bernhard Gmal agreed on the need to revise the scope and objectives of the group and added that his country is mainly interested in experiments to support the final disposal of irradiated fuel. Lida Markova informed the group that the experimental resources in her country are rather limited while the need is mainly linked to the implementation of burnup credit. She mentioned that post-irradiation experiments were performed in Russia and in principle, these experiments can be included in the SFCOMPO database. Carl Withee, Ludovic Bergé and Yasushi Nomura shared the view on the importance of this Expert Group as a unique forum to present on-going and planned experimental programmes. It was also considered that the scope of the group should be limited to the exchange of information on the needs and to an attempt to define a common expression of these needs. It was believed in particular that the setting-up of international programmes to meet these needs are beyond the means of the participants. The group should rather limit its scope to technical definition of these needs and hand-over the information to higher instances (WPNCS and NSC in particular) and seek their contribution in establishing the right frameworks for international collaboration.
Mike Westfall agreed to co-ordinate the definition of needs for MOX powders. Another possible need related to this one concerns configurations where the U-238 capture is mainly in the [10,500 keV] energy range.
7. List of actions
Action number / Action holders / Description of the action / Due datesEncs2002.1 / Anderson / Check if the experimental needs
expressed in the framework of the US/
DOE activity can be made available to the international community. / December 2002
Encs2002.2 / US participants / In case the US/DOE request list can be shared, enter the corresponding
requests on the NEA form. / Next meeting
Encs2002.3 / Country representatives / Advertise for the existence of the NEA web-based form for the expression of experimental needs. / December 2002
Encs2002.4 / Westfall / Co-ordinate the definition of needs for MOX applications including the U-238 capture in the [10,500 keV] region. / March 2003
Annex 1
List of participants
CZECH REPUBLIC
MARKOVA, Ludmila +420 (2) 6617 2291
Ustav jaderneho vyzkumu Rez
Theoretical Reactor Physics
Nuclear Research Institute
25068 REZ
FRANCE
BERGE, Ludovic +33 1 47 65 29 31
EDF - Recherche et Développement,
1, av. du Général de Gaulle,
92141 Clamart Cédex,
COUSINOU, Patrick +33 1 58 35 74 21
Chef du Service IRSN/DPEA/SEC
B.P. 17
F-92265 FONTENAY AUX ROSES CEDEX
GERMANY
GMAL, Bernhard +49 (0)89 32004 494
Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit
Postfach 1328
D-85739 GARCHING
JAPAN
NAITO, Yoshitaka +81 29 270 5000
President, NAIS co. inc.
416 Muramatsu, Tokai-mura
Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-1112
NOMURA, Yasushi +81 (0)29 282 5834
Fuel Cycle Safety Evaluation Lab.
JAERI
2-4 Shirakata-Shirane,Tokai-mura,
Naka-gun,Ibaraki-ken 319-1195
YAMANE, Yuichi
Criticality Safety Laboratory,
2-4 Shirakata Shirane,
Tokai-mura Naka-gun Ibaraki-ken,
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
TSIBOULIA, Anatoli +7 08439 98938
Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE)
Fiziko-Energiticheskij Inst.
1, Bondarenko Square
249020 OBNINSK
SWEDEN
MENNERDAHL, Dennis +46 (0) 8 756 58 12
E. Mennerdahl Systems
Starvägen 12
S-183 57 TAEBY
SWITZERLAND
GRIMM, Peter +41 (56) 310 2071
Paul Scherrer Institute
CH-5232 VILLIGEN PSI
UNITED KINGDOM
BROOME, Peter E. +44 (0)1925 833 022
British Nuclear Fuels plc
R101, Rutherford House
BNFL Risley, Warrington WA3 6AS
EDGE, Jane +44 19467 79007
BNFL plc
B170 Seellafield, Cumbria
NUTTALL, Michelle +44 1925 83 5917
BNFL plc
R170 Rutherford House
Risley WA3 6AS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ANDERSON, Richard E. +1 (505) 667 6912
Los Alamos National Laboratory
NIS-6, MS J562
P.O. Box 1663
LOS ALAMOS, NM 87545
BRADY RAAP, Michaele C. +1 (509) 375-3781
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
902 Battelle Blvd
P.O. Box 999, MSIN: K8-34
Richland, Washington 99352
BRIGGS, J. Blair +1 (208) 526 7628
Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Lab.
P.O. Box 1625, MS-3860
2525 North Fremont
IDAHO FALLS, ID 83415-3860
DEHART, Mark D. +1 (865) 576 3468
Building 6011, MS 6370
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Post Office Box 2008
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6370
FUJITA, Edward K. +1 630 252 4866
Reactor Analysis & Engineering Division
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 South Cass Avenue, Bldg. 208
ARGONNE, IL 60439-4842
HOPPER, Calvin M. +1 865 576 8617
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Building 6011, MS-6370
1 Bethel Valley Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6370
WESTFALL, R. Michael +1 (865) 574 5269/80
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Building 6011, MS 6370
P.O. Box 2008
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6370
WITHEE, Carl J. +1 (301) 415 8534
U.S. NRC
Office of Nuclear Material
Safety & Safeguards /SFPO
Mail Stop O-13-D13
WASHINGTON, DC 20555
International Organisations
NOURI, Ali +33 (0)1 45 24 10 84
OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
Le Seine St-Germain
12, Boulevard des Iles
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
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