Experimental R and D innovation for Gen-II,III et IV neutronics studies in ZPRs : a path to the future ZEPHYR facility in Cadarache

P. Blaise (1) , F. Boussard (1) , P. Ros (1) , P. Leconte (1) , M. Margulis (1) , G. Martin (1) , K. Blandin (1)

1 CEA-DES (ex-DEN) - CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire)

The experimental programs performed in EOLE and MINERVE ZPRs for the last 40 years have been very fruitful for the understanding of LWR physical phenomena, and have generated a large experimental database of core physics data. Today these facilities are nearly fifty years old and would require an important refurbishment in order to comply with new safety criteria against earthquakes and to meet the post-Fukushima requirements. Therefore, the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) started the project of building a new facility in Cadarache, called ZEPHYR, designed for offering at least the same level of services as EOLE and MINERVE. ZEPHYR, for Zero power Experimental PHYsics Reactor, an acronym in reference to its mythology family ties with EOLE, is a project led by CEA, in parallel to its numerous international collaborations in experimental reactor physics. ZEPHYR is intended to be a modern RandD tool dedicated to reactor physics research (nuclear data, code validation in fundamental, mock-up and degraded/accidental configurations) open to the international community and Academia, whose functionalities and versatility will make it unique in the world.

Domaines: Physique Nucléaire Expérimentale [nucl-ex]; Physique Nucléaire Théorique [nucl-th]

P. Blaise, F. Boussard, P. Ros, P. Leconte, M. Margulis, et al.. Experimental R and D innovation for Gen-II,III et IV neutronics studies in ZPRs : a path to the future ZEPHYR facility in Cadarache. RRFM/IGORR 2016 - European Research Reactor Conference (IGORR) - International Group Operating Research Reactor (IGORR), Mar 2016, Berlin, Germany. ⟨cea-02442364⟩