NEA Mandates and Structures
Working Party on Scientific Issues and Uncertainty Analysis of Reactor Systems (WPRS)
| Chair(s): |
Kostadin IVANOV, United States
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Secretary: |
Oliver BUSS
(oliver.buss@oecd-nea.org)
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| Vice-Chair(s): |
Hakim FERROUKHI, Switzerland
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| Member(s): | All NEA member countries* |
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| Russia (Suspended*) |
| *Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council. |
| Full participant(s): |
European Commission
Under the NEA Statute
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| Observer(s)(International Organisation): |
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
By agreement
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| Date of creation: | 30 June 2004 |
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| End of mandate: | 31 March 2024 |
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Mandate (Document reference):
- Agreed at the 15th meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee in June 2004 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2004)3]
- Extended at the 21st meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee in June 2010 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2010)3]
- Revised at the 9th meeting of the Working Party on Scientific Issues of Reactor Systems in June 2012 [NEA/SEN/NSC/WPRS(2012)7]
- Extended and revised at the 24th meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee in June 2013 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2013)2]
- Extended and revised at the 27th meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee in June 2016 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2016)2]
- Extended and revised at the 30th meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee in June 2019 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2019)2]
- Mandate of the Working Party on Scientific Issues of Reactor Systems (WPRS) [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2019)11]
- The NSC Working Party on Scientific Issues of Reactor Systems (WPRS): Proposal for Prioritisation and Restructuring [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2020)19]
- Summary record of the 31st meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee in September 2020 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2020)20]
- Mandate of the Working Party on Scientific Issues and Uncertainty Analysis of Reactor Systems (WPRS) [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2020)18]
Mandate (Document extract):
Extract from document [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2020)18]
Scope
Under the guidance of the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), the Working Party on Scientific Issues and Uncertainty Analysis of Reactor Systems (WPRS) will deal with reactor physics, radiation transport and dosimetry, core thermal-hydraulics, fuel performance, and associated multi-physics aspects, including coupling with other physics such as structural mechanics, and chemistry for present and future nuclear power systems. As such, it will study the modelling and simulation (M&S) of reactor systems, verification and validation and uncertainties quantification (VVUQ) associated with single and multi-physics phenomena.
Objectives
- To provide Members with up-to-date information, preserve knowledge on, and develop consensus regarding reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, radiation transport and dosimetry, and multi-physics aspects associated with nuclear power systems, aimed at providing the technical underpinnings of assessment of system performance and safety.
- To provide advice to the nuclear community on the developments needed to meet the requirements (data and methods, validation experiments, scenario studies) for the assessment of different reactor systems.
- To preserve and evaluate experimental data within the scope of the WPRS.
- To provide training and educational material to the nuclear community, to assist with developing future technical expertise within member countries. Workshops will be held on WPRS benchmarks, which will be aimed at:
- disseminating information about the benchmarks;
- advancing progress in the deliverables of the benchmarks;
- education and training workshops on single and multi-physics VVUQ;
- fostering collaborations between technical experts and young professionals.
Reactor types considered include, but are not limited to the following:
- Current fleet of light-water and heavy water reactors (LWRs/HWRs) as well as present generation of fuel designs.
- Evolutionary and innovative LWRs/HWRs along with advanced and/or accident tolerant fuel designs.
- Next generation of reactor systems including water cooled small modular reactors (SMRs), micro-reactors , high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGR) as well as advanced fast spectrum systems including sodium fast reactors (SFRs) and molten salt reactor systems (MSRs).
- Accelerator driven (sub-critical) and critical systems for waste transmutation as well as fusion systems.
Working Methods
The WPRS will report to the Nuclear Science Committee. The WPRS will meet once per year, with additional meetings in support of particular activities such as expert groups and task forces reporting to the WPRS.
Links to other NEA bodies and international projects
The WPRS will liaise closely with other relevant NEA working parties, especially those operating under the guidance of the NSC and the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), to ensure the respective programmes of work are complementary, to provide advice and support where required and undertake common work where appropriate. In particular, close working relationships will be maintained with the NSC Working Party on Scientific Issues of Advanced Fuel Cycles (WPFC), the Working Party on Multi-scale Modelling of Fuels and Structural Materials for Nuclear Systems (WPMM)[1], the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety (WPNCS), the Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) as well as with the CSNI Working Group on Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA) and the Working Group on Fuel Safety (WGFS). Links to the IAEA Technical Working Group on Fuel Performance and Technology (TWGFPT) will be maintained.
Deliverables (2020-2023)
The WPRS will work with its expert groups to produce the deliverables contained in the mandates of its expert groups:
- International Reactor Physics Experiments Evaluation Project Technical Review Group (IRPhE) [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2020)15, forthcoming]
- Expert Group on Physics of Reactor Systems (EGPRS) [NEA/SEN/NSC/WPRS(2020)2]]
- Expert Group on Reactor System MUlti-Physics (EGMUP) [NEA/SEN/NSC/WPRS(2020)1]
- Expert Group on Reactor Core Thermal-hydraulics and Mechanics (EGTHM) [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2020)16]
- Expert Group on Reactor Fuel Performance (EGRFP) [NEA/NSC/WPRS/DOC(2020)17]
[1] Change of name forthcoming for the WPMM following the NSC prioritisation process: Working Party on Scientific Issues of Nuclear Fuels and Materials (WPFM).
