The future Jules Horowitz Material Testing Reactor: A way for developing international collaboration around a major European irradiation infrastructure

International audienceDevelopment process of a fuel product or a nuclear material before using at an industrial scale in a power reactor ranges from characterization of the material itself under neutronic flux up to its qualification in accidental conditions. Irradiations in Material Testing Reactors (MTRs) are in practice the basis of the whole process, in complement of prediction capabilities gained by modelling. Dedicated experimental reactors play also an important complementary role for some specific integral tests (e.g. RIA tests). Irradiations of precursors in power reactors are often limited to products which present a slight design evolution compare to the standard product or are implemented when a statistical approach is useful for defining a safety criterion.However European MTR park status is characterized by ageing infrastructures, which could cause operational issues in coming years, either on technological or on safety point of views. Moreover some specific supplies related to the public demand could be strongly affected (e.g. radiopharmaceutical targets). To avoid a lack in irradiation capacity offer at European level, CEA launched the Jules Horowitz Material Testing Reactor (JHR) international program, in the frame of a Consortium gathering also EDF (FR), AREVA (FR), European Commission (EU), SCK.CEN (BE), VTT (FI), CIEMAT (SP), STUDSVIK (SE), UJV (CZ), NNL (UK), IAEC (IL), DAE (IN) and as associated partnership JAEA (JP). Some institutions in this list are themselves the flagship of a national Consortium. Discussions for enlarging participation are on-going with other countries, as JHR Consortium is open to new member entrance until JHR completion.The Jules Horowitz Material Testing Reactor (JHR MTR) is under construction at CEA Cadarache in southern France and will be an important international User Facility for RandD in support to the nuclear industry, research centres, regulatory bodies and TSO, and academic institutions. It represents a unique and extremely favourable situation for which future end-users can express very early their needs, thanks to either participation to the JHR Consortium, or to international programs or through bilateral collaborations.A general presentation of this research infrastructure and associated experimental capability has been made at the 9th WWER Fuel Performance Meeting in 2011. Current paper updates in a first part the facility building status and the current design work carried out on irradiation hosting systems for nuclear materials and nuclear fuels and on non-destructive examination benches. Then expected main performances are reviewed and collaborations set up around each study are also underlined, as they often correspond to an in-kind contribution of a Consortium member. Finally, recent developments in the international co-operation around the facility are highlighted, such as for example the CEA candidacy for the IAEA designation as an ICERR (International Center based on Research Reactors) or the numerous staff of secondees working on-site

The future Jules Horowitz Material Testing Reactor: an opportunity for developing international collaborations on a major European irradiation infrastructure

International audienceDevelopment process of a fuel product or a nuclear material before using at an industrial scale in a power reactor ranges from characterization of the material itself under neutronic flux up to its qualification in accidental conditions. Irradiations in Material Testing Reactors (MTRs) are in practice the basis of the whole process, in complement of prediction capabilities gained by modelling. Dedicated experimental reactors play also an important complementary role for some specific integral tests (e.g. RIA tests). Irradiations of precursors in power reactors are often limited to products which present a slight design evolution compare to the standard product or are implemented for further tests when a statistical approach is useful for defining a safety criterion.However European MTR park status is characterized by ageing infrastructures, which could cause operational issues in coming years, either on technological or on safety point of views. Moreover some specific supplies related to the public demand could be strongly affected (e.g. radiopharmaceutical targets). To avoid a lack in irradiation capacity offer at European level, CEA launched the Jules Horowitz Material Testing Reactor (JHR) international program, in the frame of a Consortium gathering also EDF (FR), AREVA (FR), European Commission (EU), SCK.CEN (BE), VTT (FI), CIEMAT (SP), STUDSVIK (SE), UJV (CZ), NNL (UK), IAEC (IL), DAE (IN) and as associated partnership JAEA (JP). Some institutions in this list are themselves the flagship of a national Consortium. Discussions for enlarging participation are on-going with other countries, as JHR Consortium is open to new member entrance until JHR completion.The Jules Horowitz Material Testing Reactor (JHR MTR) is under construction at CEA Cadarache in southern France and will be an important international User Facility for RandD in support to the nuclear industry, research centres, regulatory bodies and TSO, and academic institutions. It represents a unique and extremely favourable situation for which future end-users can express very early their needs, thanks to either participation to the JHR Consortium, or to international programs or through bilateral collaborations.A general presentation of this research infrastructure and associated experimental capability has been made at the 9th WWER Fuel Performance Meeting in 2011. Current paper updates in a first part the facility building status and the current design work carried out on irradiation hosting systems for nuclear materials and nuclear fuels and on non-destructive examination benches. Then expected main performances are reviewed and collaborations set up around each study are also underlined, as they often correspond to an in-kind contribution of a Consortium member. Finally, recent developments in the international co-operation around the facility are highlighted, such as for example the CEA candidacy for the IAEA designation as an ICERR (International Center based on Research Reactors) or the numerous staff of secondees working on-site

Hot fuel element thermal-hydraulics in the Jules Horowitz Reactor

International audienceThe newest European high performance material testing reactor, the Jules Horowitz Reactor, will support existing and future nuclear reactor designs. The reactor is under construction at CEA Cadarache research center in France and is expected to start operation at the end of this decade. This paper presents a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation of the reactors hot fuel element. Moreover conjugate heat transfer analysis is performed for the hot channel. The main objective of this work is to improve the thermal-hydraulic knowledge of the complex hot fuel element and to present the most prominent finds. Possible improvements for the future work are suggested

THERMAL HYDRAULIC AND NEUTRONIC CORE MODEL FOR POWER TRANSIENT ANALYSES OF REFLECTOR EXPERIMENTAL DEVICES DURING SHUTDOWNS IN JULES HOROWITZ REACTOR (JHR)

The Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) is expected to become the most important material testing reactor in the framework of European nuclear research and development. It is designed to exploit a fast in-core spectrum as well as a thermal neutron flux within the experimental locations in the reflector. The latter are mainly used to investigate fuel behaviour under nominal, abnormal and post-failure operating conditions. Since the core power is relatively high (100 MW), the power released within the reflector fuel devices is not negligible. Heat removal is a main topic in nuclear safety and power transient analyses concerning these experimental devices are requested in order to control fuel samples heating. Here a model of JHR core is implemented by means of the pointwise kinetics code DULCINEE. It takes into account both the neutronic features of the system and the thermal hydraulic properties as far as reactivity feedbacks are concerned. The core power transients are evaluated with respect to normal shutdown and safety shutdown. Then neutronic coupling between reflector and core is computed by means of the Monte Carlo calculation code TRIPOLI 4.7. Thus power evolution in experimental devices is obtained accounting for four burnup levels during the equilibrium cycle \u2013 namely Beginning of Cycle (BOC), Xenon Saturation Point (XSP), Middle of Cycle (MOC) and End of Cycle (EOC). Fission energy is released through different nuclear interactions. Depending on the considered radiation, the yield of energy deposition is different and the time behaviours are specific to particle production mechanisms. Finally neutrons and gammas are considered in terms of energy deposition and contribution to total in-reflector fuel sample power transients during the considered shutdown procedures

The LORELEI Test Device for LOCA Experiments in the Jules Horowitz Reactor

International audienceFor the operational starting of the Jules Horowitz material testing reactor (JHR) in France, CEA intends to promote different experimental devices aiming at testing materials and fuels under irradiation. More specifically, in the safety studies domain, the LORELEI "Light water One Rod Equipment for LOCA Experimental Investigations" test device is dedicated to the study of the thermal-mechanical behavior of a fuel rod and quantification of Fission Product (FP) and fissile material releases under Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) type conditions. Lorelei will allow investigating ballooning and burst of the fuel cladding, clad corrosion phenomena (oxidation and hydriding), post quench behavior and FP release (for that aim, the device will be connected to water and gas sampling lines to the Fission Product Laboratory of the JHR). This paper presents the scientific objectives of the Lorelei device, its main technical characteristics, its experimental protocol and the main options of the preliminary design, based on thermal-hydraulic and mechanical studies. Examinations planned on non-destructive underwater benches and characterization laboratories of the JHR will be detailed, in order to highlight their essential support for gaining as soon as possible exclusive and valuable scientific data on the "as tested" sample

LORELEI: A future Test Device for LOCA Experiments in the JHR

International audienceThe Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) is a high performance Material Testing Reactor (MTR) under construction in southern France (CEA Cadarache). JHR will host a set of fuel and material test facilities for the nuclear industry or other organizations. In the safety studies domain, the LORELEI (Light water One Rod Equipment for LOCA Experimental Investigations) test device is dedicated to the study of the thermal-mechanical behavior of a fuel rod and quantification of Fission Product (FP) and fissile material releases under Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) type conditions. LORELEI will allow investigating ballooning and burst of the fuel cladding, clad corrosion phenomena (oxidation and hydriding), post quench behavior and FP release (for that aim, the device will be connected with water and gas sampling lines to the Fission Product Laboratory of the JHR). After a quick description of the JHR, this paper presents the main objectives of the LORELEI test device, its main technical characteristics and its experimental protocol

CEA’s Optical Pyrometry Technique for Non-Contact Temperature Measurement in High Temperature Surroundings

<p><span><span>This article presents field research with bibliographic support studying aspects related to corporate sustainability. It covers the implementation of a quality management system where sustainability and requirements are addressed in a system, in which quality is not only seen as maintaining compliance with standards and features of a product; it also encompasses numerous attributes connected with responsibility. It was concluded that there had been significant returns which allowed it to meet quality standards and consolidate the supply of products with greater accuracy, in addition to promoting the image of the company as being socially responsible. Gains in efficiency and commitment from suppliers were also demonstrated, thus allowing product prices to remain competitive. It shows how the company obtained the certification label issued by the regulatory body, demonstrating audited quality and standards of corporate sustainability; a feature which is an edge for companies in the global environment.</span></span></p