Forecast of Criticality Experiments & Experimental Programs Needed to Support Nuclear Operations in the USA: 1994-1999
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
This Forecast is generated by the Chair of the Experiment Needs Identification Workgroup (ENIWG), with input from Department of Energy and the nuclear community. One of the current concerns addressed by ENIWG was the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board's Recommendation 93-2. This Recommendation delineated the need for a critical experimental capability, which includes (1) a program of general-purpose experiments, (2) improving the information base, and (3) ongoing departmental programs. The nuclear community also recognizes the importance of criticality theory, which, as a steppingstone to computational analysis and safety code development, needs to be benchmarked against well-characterized critical experiments. A summary projection of the Department's needs with respect to criticality information includes (1) hands-on training, (2) criticality and nuclear data, (3) detector systems, (4) uranium- and plutonium-based reactors, and (5) accident analysis. The Workgroup has evaluated, prioritized, and categorized each proposed experiment and program. Transportation/Applications is a new category intended to cover the areas of storage, training, emergency response, and standards. This category has the highest number of priority-1 experiments (nine). Facilities capable of performing experiments include the Los Alamos Critical Experiment Facility (LACEF) along with Area V at Sandia National Laboratory. The LACEF continues to house the most significant collection of critical assemblies in the Western Hemisphere. The staff of this facility and Area V are trained and certified, and documentation is current. ENIWG will continue to work with the nuclear community to identify and prioritize experiments because there is an overwhelming need for critical experiments to be performed for basic research and code validation.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 102275
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-95-2098; CONF-9509100-8; ON: DE95015299; TRN: 95:019274
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICNC '95: 5. International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 17-22 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION
CRITICALITY
EXPERIMENT PLANNING
FORECASTING
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
SLIGHTLY ENRICHED URANIUM
PLUTONIUM
NUCLEAR PHYSICS
TOPAZ REACTOR
NEUTRON SOURCE FACILITIES
REACTIVITY
SPENT FUELS
ACPR REACTOR
SPR-2 REACTOR
SPR-3 REACTOR
ZERO POWER REACTORS
SANDIA LABORATORIES
HANFORD RESERVATION
ORNL
ANL
ROCKY FLATS PLANT
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Chair of the Experiment Needs Identification Workgroup (ENIWG)
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB)
Spent Fuel Safety Experiments (SFSX)
Fission Rate
Fissile Mass
Sandia Pulse Reactor III (SPR-III)
Personnel Resources
Current Documentation