The first international severe accident melt pool standard problem led by China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. has been officially approved

Recently, the annual meeting of the Working Group on Accident Analysis and Management (WGAMA) of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) reviewed and approved the International Standard Problem (ISP) in the field of severe accident research, which was led and submitted by China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. This approval marks the 54th International Standard Problem since the OECD established the ISP program half a century ago, the first International Standard Problem in the field of in-vessel melt pool research for reactor severe accidents, and the second International Standard Problem led by China.

 

The project entered the international promotion stage in 2024. The project team collaborated with multiple top research institutions from China, Sweden, Germany, and Canada, integrated scientific research resources in the field of in-vessel melt pool research, continuously improved the project organization and management plan, overcame various difficulties in international cooperation and exchange, actively communicated with international experts to advance the approval work, and ultimately achieved the successful approval of this International Standard Problem.

  International Standard Problems aim to verify and improve nuclear safety analysis tools (such as computational codes in the fields of thermal-hydraulics, neutron kinetics, severe accidents, and mechanical analysis) through comparison between experiments and calculations, thereby enhancing the reliability and standardization level of nuclear facility safety analysis. This mechanism began in 1973 and has issued 53 problems to date. It has become a recognized authoritative technical platform in the international nuclear energy community, effectively promoting the collaborative improvement of accident phenomenon understanding, code development, and safety standards.    

The successful approval of this melt pool International Standard Problem represents another important breakthrough in China's international discourse power in the field of severe accident safety, and is also a landmark achievement of the company in promoting high-quality development of basic scientific research. The company will actively promote the construction of a high-level basic scientific research support platform, deepen practical cooperation with top global research institutions, strive to create an open innovation ecosystem with global competitiveness, and contribute Chinese wisdom to the safe development of global nuclear energy.