International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) was initiated in October of 1992 by Dae Chung, Director of the Department of Energy Defense Programs Systems Engineering Division. The project is managed through the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), but involves nationally known criticality safety experts from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Savannah River Technology Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 Plant, Hanford, Argonne National Laboratory, and the Rocky Flat Plant. An International Criticality Safety Data Exchange component was added to the project during 1994. Representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Japan, the Russian Federation, Hungary, and Korea are now participating on the project and others have expressed an interest in the project. The ICSBEP is now an official activity of the OECD-NEA.

The purpose of the ICSBEP is to:

1. Identify and evaluate a comprehensive set of critical benchmark data.
2. Verify the data, to the extent possible, by reviewing original and subsequently revised documentation, and by talking with the experimenters or individuals who are familiar with the experimenters or the experimental facility.
3. Compile the data into a standardized format.
4. Perform calculations of each experiment with standard criticality safety codes.
5. Formally document the work into a single source of verified benchmark critical data.

The work of the ICSBEP is documented as an International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments. Currently, the handbook spans seven volumes and contains 176 evaluations representing 1316 critical configurations. The handbook is intended for use by criticality safety analysts to perform necessary validations of their calculational techniques and is expected to be a valuable tool for decades to come.

The ICSBEP Handbook is available both on CD-ROM and the Internet. You may request a CD-ROM by completing the CD-ROM Request Form. Access to the Handbook on the Internet requires a password. You may request a password by completing the Password Request Form.