NEA-1734 CRISSUE-S.

1. NAME OR DESIGNATION:  CRISSUE-S.

3. DESCRIPTION

The CRISSUE-S project was created with the aim of re-evaluating fundamental technical issues in the technology of LWRs. Specifically, the project seeks to address the interactions between neutron kinetics and thermal-hydraulics that affect neutron moderation and influence the accident performance of the NPPs. This is undertaken in the light of the advanced computational tools that are readily available to the scientific community today.
  
Specifically, the CRISSUE-S activity deals with the control of fission power and the use of high burn up fuel; these topics are part of the EC Work Programme as well as that of other international organisations such as the OECD/NEA and the IAEA. The problems of evaluating reactivity induced accident (RIA) consequences and eventually deciding the possibility of NPP prolongation must be addressed and resolved. RIA constitutes one of the most important of the "less-resolved" safety issues, and treating this problem may have huge positive financial, social and environmental impacts. Public acceptance of nuclear technology implies that problems such as these be satisfactorily resolved.
  
Cross-disciplinary (regulators, industry, utilities and research bodies) interaction and co operation within CRISSUE-S provides results which can directly and immediately be beneficial to EU industry. Co-operation at an international level: the participation of the EU, former Eastern European countries, the USA, and observers from Japan testify to the broad interest these problems engender. Competencies in broad areas such as thermal-hydraulics, neutronics and fuel, overall system design and reactor surveillance are needed to address the problems that are posed here. Excellent expertise is available in specific areas, while limited knowledge exists in the interface zones of those areas, e.g. in the coupling between thermal-hydraulics and neutronics. In general terms, the activities carried out and described here aim at exploiting available expertise and findings and gathering together expert scientists from various areas relevant to the issues addressed.
  
Added value for the CRISSUE-S activity consists of proposing and making available a list of transients to be analysed by coupled neutron kinetics/thermal-hydraulic techniques and of defining "acceptability" (or required precision) thresholds for the results of the analyses. The list of transients is specific to the different NPP types such as PWR, BWR and VVER. The acceptability thresholds for calculation precision are general in nature and are applicable to all LWRs. The creation of a database including the main results from coupled 3-D neutron kinetics/thermal-hydraulic calculations and their analysis should also be noted.
  
The CRISSUE-S project is organised into three work packages (WPs). The first WP includes activities related to obtaining and documenting relevant data. The second WP is responsible for the state-of-the-art report (SOAR), while the third WP concerns the evaluation of the findings from the SOAR and includes outcomes of the entire project formulated as recommendations, mainly to the nuclear power industry and to the regulatory authorities. The present report is the result of the first WP and discusses the type of transients that are of interest in relation to reactivity-initiated accidents in LWR NPPs and elaborates on the data required for coupled 3-D neutron kinetics/thermal hydraulic analysis and also on data needed to perform associated validations.
  
The reports have been written to accomplish the objectives established in the contract between the EU and its partners. Expected beneficiaries include institutions and organisations involved with nuclear technology (e.g. utilities, regulators, research, fuel industry). In addition, specific expected beneficiaries are junior- or senior-level researchers and technologists working in the considered field of research and development and application of coupled neutron kinetics/thermal-hydraulics.

10. REFERENCES

Revisiting Critical Issues in Nuclear Reactor Design / Safety by using 3-D Neutronics / Thermal-hydraulics Models:
State-of-the-Art (CRISSUE-S): F. D'Auria (Universita di Pisa), F. Reventos (Asociacion Nuclear Asco Vandellos, L'Hospitalet de l'Infant-Tarragona), A. Sjoeberg (Studsvik Eco & Safety AB, Nykoeping), O. Sandervag (SKI, Stockholm), E. Sartori (OECD/NEA, Issy-les-Moulineaux), C. Ahnert (UPM, Madrid), G. Verdu (UPV, Valencia), J. Macek (NRI, Rez), K. Ivanov (The Pennsylvania State University, Illinois), Rizwan Uddin (The Urbana University at Champaign, Illinois), V. Frid (Royal Institut of Technology, Stockholm), D. Panayotov (Westinghouse Atom AB, Vasteras)

- Neutronics/Thermal-hydraulics Coupling in LWR Technology, Vol.1
CRISSUE-S - WP1: Data Requirements and Databases Needed for Transient
Simulations and Qualifications, 5th Euratom Framework Programme
OECD/NEA (2004), ISBN 92-64-02083-7

- Neutronics/Thermal-hydraulics Coupling in LWR Technology, Vol.2
CRISSUE-S - WP2: State-of-the-art Report, 5th Euratom Framework Programme
OECD/NEA (2004), ISBN 92-64-02084-5

- Neutronics/Thermal-hydraulics Coupling in LWR Technology, Vol.3
CRISSUE-S - WP3: Achievement and Recommendations Report, 5th Euratom Framework
Programme
OECD/NEA (2004), ISBN 92-64-02085-3

15. NAME AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORS

Francesco D''AURIA (Project Co-ordinator),
Anis BOUSBIA SALAH, G.M. GALASSI, Juswald VEDOVI
Universita degli Studi di Pisa
Dept. of mechanical, nuclear & production engineering  
Via Diotisalvi, 2
I-56126 PISA, Italy
  
Georges VAN GOETHEM (EC Co-ordinator)
Reactor Safety Research
D.II.3 Nuclear Fission and Radiation Protection
European Commission, Building Mondrian
200, rue de la Loi
B-1049 Brussels
    
Jan HADEK and Jiri MACEK
Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc
250 68 Rez near Prague, Czech Republic
  
Udo RINDELHARDT and Ulrich ROHDE
Institute of Safety Research
Forschungszentrum Rossendorf
Postfach 510119
D-01314 DRESDEN, Germany
  
Carol AHNERT IGLESIAS and Jose Maria ARAGONES BELTRAN
Instituto de Fusion Nuclear
Esc.Tec.Sup.Ing.Industriales
Jose Gutierrez Abascal, 2
28006 MADRID, Spain
  
Francesc REVENTOS and Arantxa CUADRA, Jose Luis GAGO
Technical University of Catalonia (UPC)
Seccion de Ingeniera Nuclear
Av. Diagonal No. 647, Pabellon C  
08028 BARCELONA, Spain
   
Gumersindo VERDU, Rafael MIRO, Damian GINESTAR and Ana Maria SANCHEZ
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia
Dept. Ingenieria Quimic y Nuclear
Camino Devera, 14
P.O. Box 22012
46022 VALENCIA, Spain
  
Anders SJOBERG and M. YITBAREK
Studsvik Eco & Safety AB
S-611 82 Nykoping, Sweden
  
Oddbjorn SANDERVAG and Ninos GARIS
Reactor Safety Research Coordinator  
Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI)
Klarabergsviadukten 90
S-106 58 STOCKHOLM, Sweden
  
Wiktor FRID  
Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI)
Klarabergsviadukten 90
SE-10658 Stockholm, Sweden
  
Dobromir PANAYOTOV
Westinghouse Atom AB  
SE-721 63 Vasteras, Sweden
  
Kostadin IVANOV
Nuclear Engineering Programme  
The Pennsylvania State University
230 Reber Building
University Park PA 16802, USA
  
Rizwan UDDIN
University of Illinois (MC 234)
at Urbana-Champaign
214 NEL
103 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana IL 61801, USA
  
Enrico SARTORI
OECD/NEA Data Bank
Le Seine-Saint Germain
12, boulevard des Iles
92130 ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France
  
*****
Sponsors:
EURATOM 5th Framework Programme, University of Pisa and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), and Committee on Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)

README.txt                  Information file
nea4452-crissue-s-vol1.pdf  CRISSUE-S Volume 1
nea5436-crissue-s-vol2.pdf  CRISSUE-S Volume 2
nea5434-crissue-s-vol3.pdf  CRISSUE-S Volume 3