IRPhE Technical Review Group

Ongoing

The International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation (IRPhE) Project provides the nuclear community with qualified benchmark data sets by collecting reactor physics experimental data from nuclear facilities worldwide. More specifically, the objectives of the expert group are as follows:

maintaining an inventory of the experiments that have been carried out and documented;
archiving the primary documents and data released in computer-readable form;
promoting the use of the format and methods developed and to seek to have them adopted as a standard.

Experiments where interest and priority are expressed by member countries or working parties and executive groups within the NEA to provide guidance or co-ordination in:

compiling experiments into a standard international agreed format;
verifying the data to the best extent possible by reviewing original and subsequently revised documentation, and by consulting with the individuals who are familiar with the experimenters or the experimental facility;
analysing and interpreting the experiments with current state-of-the-art methods;
publishing the benchmark evaluations electronically.

The Expert Group:

identifies gaps in data and guides on priorities for future experiments;
involves the younger generation (Masters, PhD students and researchers) to find an effective way of transferring know-how through experimental techniques and analysis methods;
provides a tool for improved exploitation of completed experiments for Generation IV reactors;
co-ordinates its work closely with other Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) experimental work groups, in particular, the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP), the Shielding Integral Benchmark Experiment Database (SINBAD) and others, e.g. knowledge preservation in fast reactors of the IAEA, American Nuclear Society (ANS) joint benchmark activities;
keeps a close link with the Working Party on Scientific Issues of reactor systems (WPRS), the Expert Group on Reactor-based Plutonium Disposition (TFRPD), now integrated into WPRS, the Working Party on Scientific issues of the fuel cycle (WPFC) and the Working Party on International Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC).

The secretariat of the group is provided by the NEA Data Bank, in charge of the management of the material released to the project. The IRPhE Technical Review Group is chaired and co-ordinated by John D. Bess from Idaho National Laboratory (INL), United States.

2021 edition and availability

For more information about the 2021 edition, please visit the following page.

Co-operation

IRPhE co-operates with the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP).

Acknowledgements

Much of the work realised so far by the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation (IRPhE) Project, in particular, the evaluation and review of selected benchmark experiments, was possible thanks to substantial funding provided by the Government of Japan. Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States have contributed evaluations, reviews and data at their own expense. Overall technical coordination of the IRPhE Project is directly supported by the United States Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy with significant in-kind contributions from the NEA International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP), supported in the United States by the Department of Energy's Office of Facility Management and ES&H Support.

Contact

cps-irphe@oecd-nea.org

Activities

results

Database for ICSBEP (DICE)

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) released the first version of the Database for the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments (DICE) in 2001.

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International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook contains criticality safety benchmark specifications that have been derived from experiments that were performed at various critical facilities around the world.

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International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhE)

The International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhE) contains reactor physics benchmark specifications that have been derived from experiments that were performed at various nuclear facilities around the world.

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International Reactor Physics Handbook Database and Analysis Tool (IDAT)

The IRPhEP Database and Analysis Tool (IDAT) was first released in 2013 and is included on the IRPhE Handbook DVD. This database and corresponding user interface allows easy access to handbook information. Selected information from each configuration was entered into IDAT, such as the measurements performed, benchmark values, calculated values and materials specifications of the benchmark. In many cases this is supplemented with calculated data such as neutron balance data, spectra data, k-eff nuclear data sensitivities, and spatial reaction rate plots.

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IRPhE primary documentation

Collected sources of primary documentation for reactor physics benchmarks.

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MeshTal Viewer

MeshTal Viewer is a Java based software which can read mesh tallies output formats of several neutron transport codes and display them graphically.

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Nuclear Data Sensitivity Tool (NDaST)

Nuclear Data Sensitivity Tool (NDaST), aims to provide rapid feedback on the effect of changes to nuclear data on integral benchmarks.

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Nuclear Science Committee (NSC)

The NEA nuclear science programme is developed and executed by the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), comprising high-level scientific experts from all NEA member countries.

Working Party on Scientific Issues and Uncertainty Analysis of Reactor Systems (WPRS)

The Working Party on Scientific Issues and Uncertainty Analysis of Reactor Systems (WPRS) studies the reactor physics, fuel performance, and radiation transport and shielding in present and future nuclear power systems.

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