The International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP)

Conference · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2006

OSTI ID:22039463

Blair Briggs, J ^[1]; Sartori, E ^[2]; Scott, L ^[3]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 North Fremont, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3860 (United States)
2. OECD, Nuclear Energy Agency, Le Seine Saint-Germain, 12 Boulevard des Iles, F-92310 Issy-les-Moulineaux (France)
3. Cover to Cover, 1015 Cedar Hills Blvd., Belle Vernon, PA 15012 (United States)

Since the beginning of the Nuclear Power industry, numerous experiments concerned with nuclear energy and technology have been performed at different research laboratories, worldwide. These experiments required a large investment in terms of infrastructure, expertise, and cost; however, many were performed without a high degree of attention to archival of results for future use. The degree and quality of documentation varies greatly. There is an urgent need to preserve integral reactor physics experimental data, including measurement methods, techniques, and separate or special effects data for nuclear energy and technology applications and the knowledge and competence contained therein. If the data are compromised, it is unlikely that any of these experiments will be repeated again in the future. The International Reactor Physics Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was initiated, as a pilot activity in 1999 by the by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Science Committee (NSC). The project was endorsed as an official activity of the NSC in June of 2003. The purpose of the IRPhEP is to provide an extensively peer reviewed set of reactor physics related integral benchmark data that can be used by reactor designers and safety analysts to validate the analytical tools used to design next generation reactors and establish the safety basis for operation of these reactors. A short history of the IRPhEP is presented and its purposes are discussed in this paper. Accomplishments of the IRPhEP, including the first publication of the IRPhEP Handbook, are highlighted and the future of the project outlined. (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22039463
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
BENCHMARKS
COST
DESIGN
EVALUATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
NEA
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTOR PHYSICS
REACTOR SAFETY
SAFETY ANALYSIS