Page 4 - PR 2014 2016 09 Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycle

248 Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycle | Progress Report

Reactor Engineering the primary documents and data released in
and Energy Systems computer-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 physics and analyzed. More than 100 critical config-
group of the nuclear Engineering Center of urations have been approved to be included
IPEN is participating in two international in the ICSBEP handbook. From these experi-
programs for elaboration of benchmarks of ments, it is possible to mention the critical
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. Another
tion Project) and IRPhE (International Reactor 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 development
IRPhE is more related to reactor physics ex- in Europe. In the reactor physics area (IRPhE),
periments in general. The purpose of ICSBEP a series of benchmark experimental problems
is: a) identify a comprehensive set of critical on the isothermal reactivity coefficient of
benchmark data and, to the extent possible, light water reactors were carried out. Those
verify the data by reviewing original and experiments contributed to give support on
subsequently revised documentation, and data evaluation of U in the thermal energy
235
by talking with experimenters; b) evaluate 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. pose Reactor (RMB) will be produced in Brazil
The work of ICSBEP group is documented and, consequently, there will be needs of ex-
as an International Handbook of Evaluated perimental support of several quantities relat-
Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments. ed to the operational behavior of these fuels,
The IRPhE project aims to provide the nuclear mainly taking into consideration the future
community with qualified benchmark data licensing needs of this reactor. By means of a
sets by collecting reactor physics experimen- research contract with FINEP, the IPEN/MB-01
tal data from nuclear facilities worldwide. reactor is being totally adapted for accommo-
More specifically, the objectives of the expert dation of a new core with fuel elements of
group are as follows: a) maintaining an in- RMB. The project involves several blanches of
ventory of the experiments that have been Nuclear Engineering: Reactor Physics, Instru-
carried out and documented; b) archiving mentation and Control, Structural and Me-

Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares