The NEA Co-ordinated Programme on Steam Explosion Resolution for Nuclear Applications (SERENA) was established to assess the capabilities of the current generation of fuel-coolant interaction (FCI) computer codes to predict steam explosion-induced loads in reactor situations. One of the main findings of this programme was that in-vessel FCI would not challenge the integrity of the nuclear reactor containment but that this scenario could not be ruled out for ex-vessel FCI. The OECD/NEA SERENA Joint Project has therefore been set up to resolve any uncertainties on these issues. A limited number of focused tests using advanced instrumentation will be performed to examine a large spectrum of ex-vessel melt compositions and conditions. In parallel, analytical work will be carried out to bring the code capabilities to a sufficient level that they may be used in reactor case analyses. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/jointproj/serena.html.
The NEA has actively supported the open process initiated by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) to revise its general recommendations. Whilst the ICRP has no formal power to impose its recommendations on radiological protection, legislation in most countries adheres to them closely. NEA member countries in the Asia-Pacific area have played an important role in this revision process. The specific views of these members were addressed in three regional conferences on the evolution of the system of radiological protection held in Tokyo in October 2002, July 2004 and July 2006. The forthcoming publication of the new ICRP recommendations and the success of the previous Tokyo conferences have led the NEA to organise a Fourth Asian Regional Conference to discuss next steps. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/rp/tokyo/.
The recently established NEA Expert Group on the Improvement of Accessibility and Quality of the EXFOR database held its first meeting on 11 October 2007 in Vienna, Austria. Existing calculation tools were reviewed using experimental data from the database. During the meeting it was decided to introduce a working method to facilitate a faster response to minor corrections to the data and to use a specific computation format in the verification exercise. Expert group members also discussed the completeness of the reference coverage as well as whether to include older or additional photonuclear data. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/science/wpec/.
The NEA Expert Group on Nuclear Data Needs for Advanced Reactor Systems met on 19 October 2007 in Prague, Czech Republic to review its final report. The group's report includes a list of isotopes for which data revisions are recommended before they are used in the analysis of advanced reactors and fuel cycles. A list of target accuracies is also set out in the report, which will be issued in 2008. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/science/wpec/.
A page listing all new programs in the last 12 months can be found at www.oecd-nea.org/tools/abstract/new.
| 08-OCT-2007 | NEA-1731 | ZZ-BFBT, OECD/NEA-US/NRC NUPEC BWR full-size fine-mesh bundle tests benchmark (Tested) |
| 05-OCT-2007 | NEA-1769 | ZZ UAM-LWR, Uncertainty analysis in modelling, coupled multi-physics and multi-scale LWR analysis (Tested) |
| 04-OCT-2007 | NEA-1209 | DWBA07/DWBB07, Elastic scattering with nucleon-nucleon potential and DWBA for inelastic scattering (Tested) |
| 03-OCT-2007 | IAEA1279 | ZZ NMF-90, Database for neutron spectra unfolding (Tested) |
Instructions on retrieving material from the NEA may be found at www.oecd-nea.org. Please note that scientific database access is only available to residents of OECD/NEA Data Bank member countries.
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