A Task Group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF) had been set up to provide an overview of facilities suitable for carrying out safety research on gas-cooled and sodium fast reactors.

The objective was to highlight facilities for safety research on advanced reactors as these reactors incorporated design features, materials and safety provisions that were likely to require exploratory experiments, verifications and confirmatory tests. An adequate facility and expertise infrastructure was required to support safety evaluation and licensing for these reactors.

The task group used phenomenon identification and ranking tables (PIRT) and questionnaire findings to propose a strategy for the efficient utilisation of facilities and resources which met safety research priorities.

The scope of work included:

• compiled questionnaires regarding facilities that were suitable for experimental studies;
• developed and examined the PIRT and questionnaire responses;
• made a recommendation to the CSNI for facility utilisation in safety domains.

Participants

Members from Canada, China, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States took part in this task. The USNRC took the lead on gas-cooled reactor systems, while the IRSN took the lead on sodium fast reactor systems.