| Chair(s): |
David GODDARD, United Kingdom |
Secretary: |
Alice DUFRESNE (alice.dufresne@oecd-nea.org) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vice-Chair(s): |
Michel FREYSS, France | ||
| Member(s): | All NEA member countries* | ||
| Russia (Suspended*) | |||
| *Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council. | |||
| EU participation: |
The European Union (EU) takes part in the work of the NEA, in accordance with the NEA Statute and the Supplementary Protocol to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. | ||
| Observer(s)(International Organisation): |
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) By agreement | ||
| Date of creation: | 15 January 2023 | ||
| End of mandate: | 31 December 2026 |
Mandate (Document reference):
Mandate (Document extract):
Extract of document NEA/NSC/WPFM(2024)3
Scope
Under the guidance of the NSC and under the mandate of the WPFM, the work of EGFM will cover materials science aspects of nuclear fuel. As such, it will advance multi-scale modelling and simulation together with experimental activities from the atomic to the engineering scale, with the aim to support the development of advanced fuels and improve understanding of the current fuel materials. The EGFM will address all fuel types, both fuel materials currently deployed in the nuclear fleet and envisaged for future fission reactors, as well as advanced fuels, such as oxide, metallic, nitride, carbide, silicide, composite fuels, and relevant cladding issues, etc.
The EGFM will also perform specific tasks associated with fuel performance aspects of present and future nuclear power systems, with a focus on normal operating conditions. The EGFM will focus on all fuel and reactor systems for inclusion of data within the International Fuel Performance Experiments (IFPE) database.
Objectives
The EGFM will:
Working methods
The EGFM is a forum for discussion and information exchange. By promoting joint activities at the international level, it fosters collaboration among experts involved in the experimental and computational studies by doing the following:
The EGFM will report its progress at the annual meeting of the WPFM. The EGFM will meet twice per year, with additional meetings in support of particular activities, such as task forces reporting to the EGFM.
Membership
The EGFM is both a forum for international exchanges between experts and a task-oriented expert group that is composed of a diverse range of specialists in the field of fuels. The expert group consists of specialists in multi-scale modelling and simulation of nuclear fuel as well as specialists in experiments at multiple scales that relate to nuclear fuel.
Interactions
The EGFM will liaise closely with other NSC subsidiary bodies in order to ensure coordination of their respective programmes of work and provide advice and support, where required, and undertake common activities, where appropriate. Information exchanges and collaborations will be established with the following working parties and expert groups:
For information exchange and mutual support through sharing of expertise and advice, the EGFM will liaise with materials science-related NEA joint undertakings such as the Second Framework for Irradiation Experiments (FIDES-II), the Thermodynamics of Advanced Fuels – International Database (TAF-ID), the Thermodynamic Characterisation of Fuel Debris and Fission Products Based on Scenario Analysis of Severe Accident Progression (TCOFF-2), the Accident Tolerant Fuel cladding bundle testing at QUENCH facility in KIT, Germany (QUENCH-ATF), and the Studsvik Cladding Integrity Project (SCIP).
The EGFM will exchange information with FIDES-II and support its activities (especially with respect to modelling and simulation of fuel material behaviour under irradiation) when relevant and in compliance with their data dissemination policy. The efforts will involve providing advice on the prioritisation of the data needs for the parameterisation and validation of nuclear materials modelling and simulation tools, and expertise on the analysis and interpretation of post irradiation experiments.
The EGFM will work closely with the NEA Data Bank on database and knowledge preservation activities, such as the data generated within the NEA Halden Reactor Project (HRP).
The EGFM will collaborate with industry representatives, as relevant, and international organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Commission (EC) and the Generation IV International Forum (GIF).
Deliverables
The deliverables of EGFM are technical reports, proceedings of seminars or workshops, state-of-the-art reports, and technical or collective opinion papers, databases, and comparison or benchmark studies. This work will be done in task forces or benchmark groups, whose work will be organised in a project-like manner with outcomes and milestones. The group will also organise specialist meetings and workshops to further its objectives. The detailed list of deliverables will be tracked in the semi-annual NSC progress reports.
