Activities

• Acquisition of data through discussion and negotiation with originators;
• Compilation of the data into a standard form and content as agreed by an expert group set up to supervise the work; 
• Peer review of the data by independent experts;
• Integration and indexing of the data into the IFPE database, inclusion of all used reports in electronic form; 
• Distribution to interested parties and assistance where necessary in use of datasets.

Content of the IFPE database

The database has been limited to thermal reactor fuel performance, principally with standard product Zircaloy clad UO2 fuel, although the addition of advanced products with fuel and clad variants is not ruled out. Further, efforts are underway to include select fast reactor fuel performance datasets. Emphasis has been placed on including well-qualified data that illustrate specific aspects of fuel performance. Of particular interest to fuel modellers are data on: fuel temperatures, fission gas release (FGR), fuel swelling, clad deformation (e.g. creep-down, ridging) and mechanical interactions. Data on these issues are of great value if measured in-pile by dedicated instrumentation and in this respect, the IFPE Database is fortunate in having access to several diverse experiments. In addition to direct in-pile measurement, every effort is made to include PIE information on clad diameters, oxide thickness, hydrogen content, fuel grain size, porosity, Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) measurements on caesium, xenon, other fission product and actinides.

Database request

To date about 1452 rods/samples from various sources encompassing BWR, AGR, PHWR, PWR, and VVER reactor systems have been included. The full list of data is available on the dedicated webpage. If you wish to submit a request for specific packages, please follow the guidance; for the full collection, please submit your request to the NEA Data Bank - Computer Program Services.

Contributing organisations

• AEA Technology
• AEKI/KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute
• Anatech International Corporation
• AREVA NP
• Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) Chalk River Laboratories
• Battelle Pacific North-West Laboratory (PNL)
• Belgonucleaire
• British Energy (BE)
• British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL)
• Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA)
• Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA)
• EC Institute for Transuranium (ITU)
• Electricite de France (EdF)
• Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
• Fortum Power and Heat Oy (Fortum)
• Halden Reactor Project (HRP)
• Imatran Voima Oy (IVO)
• Institute of Nuclear Research Pitesti (INR-Pitesti)
• Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy Sofia (INRNE Sofia)
• Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)
• Kurchatov Institute Moscow (INR RCC)
• Research Institute of Inorganic Materials, Bochvar Institute (VNIINM)
• Risoe National Laboratory
• Scientific Research Institute for Atomic Reactors (SSCR RIIAR)
• SCK•CEN Mol
• Siemens Power Corporation
• Studsvik AB
• Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI)
• TVEL - Joint Stock Company, Moscow
• UK Health and Safety Executive
• UK Industry Management Committee (IMC)
• US Department of Energy(DOE)

References

NEA archived reports

• Status of Nuclear Science Committee Activities in the Field of Fuel Behaviour (Summer 2002)
• Nuclear Fuel Behaviour Activities at the OECD/NEA (April 2001)
• Summary of the Fifth Meeting of the Expert Group on Scientific Issues of Fuel Behaviour - International Fuel Performance Experiments Data Base (IFPE) (Status and Programme) (September 2000)
• Nuclear Fuel Behaviour Activities at the OECD/NEA (May 2000)
• Scope and Objectives of Expert Group on Scientific Issues in Fuel Behaviour (1998)

IFPE collection and data

• Killeen, J., & Sartori, E. (2006). The relevance of the IFPE Database to the modelling of WWER-type fuel behaviour  . 6th International Conference on WWER Fuel Performance, Modelling and Experimental Support, Albena, Bulgaria, September 2005.
• Killeen, J. C., Sartori, E., & Turnbull, J. A. (2005). Experimental Data on PCI and PCMI within the IFPE Database. Pellet-Clad Interaction in Water Reactor Fuels: Seminar Proceedings, Aix-En-Provence, France, March 2004.
• Paraschiv, M. C. (2003). The romanian irradiation tests prepared for IAEA/OECD database. TopFuel 2003.
• Turnbull, J. A., Menut, P., & Sartori, E. (2001). A Review of fission gas release data within the NEA/IAEA IFPE Database. Fission Gas Behaviour in Water Reactor Fuels - Seminar Proceedings, Cadarache, France, September 2000.
• Requirements for Including Data in the IFPE Database (April 2000)
• Menut, P., Sartori, E., & Turnbull, J. A. (2000). The public domain database on nuclear fuel performance experiments (IFPE) for the purpose of code development and validation. ANS International Topical Meeting on Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance, Park City, Utah, USA.
• Chantoin, P. M., Sartori, E., & Turnbull, J. A. (1998). The compilation of a public domain database on nuclear fuel performance for the purpose of code development and validation. Thermal Performance of High Burn-Up LWR Fuel - Seminar Proceedings, Cadarache, France, March 1998.

Validation of codes using IFPE

• (new!) Rozzia, D., Del Nevo, A., Adorni, M., & D’Auria, F. (2011). Assessment of FGR by TRANSURANUS Code in LWR Fuels Subjected to Power Ramps, From the IFPE Database. 20th International Conference NUCLEAR ENERGY for NEW EUROPE.
• (new!) Kulacsy, K., Griger, A., Keresztúri, A., Molnár, A., Panka, I., Slonszki, E., & Somfai, B. (2009). Extensive validation of the code FUROM based on the IFPE database. International Conference on WWER Fuel Performance, Modelling and Experimental Support; Bulgaria; Sep - Oct 2009.
• Soba, A., & Denis, A. (2006). Simulation of PHWR fuel rods behavior with the code DIONISIO 1.0. Technical Meeting on Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Fuel Modelling.
• Likhanskii V.V., Evdokimov I.A., Sorokin A.A., K. V.D. (2006). Verification of the RTOP-CA code against the OECD/NEA/IAEA IFPE database on activity release from defective fuel rods.
• Schubert, A., Gyori, C., Elenkov, D., Lassmann, K., & de Laar, J. (2003). Analysis of fuel centre temperatures with the TRANSURANUS code. ATW-Internationale Zeitschrift Fur Kernenergie, 48(12), 756–761.
• (new!) Schubert, A., Lassmann, K., Van Uffelen, P., de Laar, J., Elenkov, D., Asenov, S., Boneva, S., Djourelov, N., & Georgieva, M. (2003). Analysis of fuel centre temperatures and fission gas release data from the IFPE database.

IAEA exercises

• INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Fuel Modelling in Accident Conditions (FUMAC), IAEA-TECDOC-1889, IAEA, Vienna (2019).
• INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Improvement of Computer Codes Used for Fuel Behaviour Simulation (FUMEX-III), IAEA-TECDOC-1697, IAEA, Vienna (2013).
• INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Fuel Modelling at Extended Burnup (FUMEX-II), IAEA-TECDOC-1687, IAEA, Vienna (2012).
• INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Fuel Modelling at Extended Burnup (FUMEX), IAEA-TECDOC-998, IAEA, Vienna (1998).

General fuel performance references

• Van Uffelen, P. (2002). Contribution to the Modelling of Fission Gas Release in Light Water Reactor Fuel, PhD Thesis, Université de Liège, January 2002, BLG-907
• Evdokimov, I., Sorokin, A., Kanukova, V., & Likhanskii, V. (2009). A mechanistic approach to develop the secondary hydriding criteria.
  
• A Motta. Processes occurring during normal operation leading to initial conditions at high burnup (Motta (PSU)'s diagram) and Phenomena during RIA leading to cladding failure (Motta (PSU)'s revised diagram) .

Contact

For any information related to IFPE (database request, feedback, submission of new data), please contact cps-ifpe@oecd-nea.org.