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Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycle | Progress Report 257
Reactor Engineering mary documents and data released in com-
and Energy Systems puter-readable form; c) promoting the use
of the format and methods developed and
seeking to have them adopted as a standard.
Reactor Physics benchmarks The experiments have been performed at the
at the IPEN/MB-01 IPEN/MB-01 research reactor facility. Several
experiments have been designed, executed
During the last decades, the reactor phys- and analyzed. More than 100 critical config-
ics group of the nuclear Engineering Center urations have been approved to be included
of IPEN is participating in two internation- in the ICSBEP handbook. From these experi-
al programs for elaboration of benchmarks ments, it is possible to mention the critical
of experiments on critical facilities. The pro- configurations with borated stainless steel
grams are the working groups ICSBEP (Inter- used in the storage pool of Angra-I and Angra-
national Criticality Safety Benchmark Evalua- II power plants to save storage space. Anoth-
tion Project) and IRPhE (International Reactor er experiment was a central void simulation
Physics Evaluation Program) both sponsored with an aluminum block. More recently, the
by INL (Idaho National Laboratory, USA) and reactor physics group completed a series of
NEA (Nuclear Energy Agency). ICSBEP is de- experiments with a heavy reflector made of
voted to criticality safety benchmarks and SS-304 to give support to the EPR develop-
IRPhE is more related to reactor physics ex- ment in Europe. In the reactor physics area
periments in general. The purpose of ICSBEP (IRPhE), a series of benchmark experimental
is: a) identify a comprehensive set of criti- problems on the isothermal reactivity coeffi-
cal benchmark data and, to the extent possi- cient of light water reactors were carried out.
ble, verify the data by reviewing original and Those experiments contributed to give sup-
subsequently revised documentation, and port on data evaluation of 235U in the ther-
by talking with experimenters; b) evaluate mal energy region of neutron.
the data and quantify overall uncertainties
through various types of sensitivity analyses; New Core in the IPEN/MB-01 Reactor
c) compile the data into a standardized for- to Support Licensing Needs of the
mat; d) perform calculations of each experi- RMB (Multipurpose Brazilian Reactor)
ment with standard criticality safety codes;
e) formally document the work into a single The fuel elements for the Brazilian Multipur-
source of verified benchmark critical data. The pose Reactor (RMB) will be produced in Brazil
work of ICSBEP group is documented as an In- and(,) consequently, there will be needs of ex-
ternational Handbook of Evaluated Criticali- perimental support of several quantities relat-
ty Safety Benchmark Experiments. The IRPhE ed to the operational behavior of these fuels,
project aims to provide the nuclear commu- mainly taking into consideration the future
nity with qualified benchmark data sets by licensing needs of this reactor. By means of a
collecting reactor physics experimental data research contract with FINEP, the IPEN/MB-
from nuclear facilities worldwide. More spe- 01 reactor is being totally adapted for accom-
cifically, the objectives of the expert group modation of a new core with fuel elements of
are as follows: a) maintaining an inventory RMB. The project involves several blanches of
of the experiments that have been carried Nuclear Engineering: Reactor Physics, Instru-
out and documented; b) archiving the pri- mentation and Control, Structural and Me-
