International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook
KRUSTY set up. Photo court. Los Alamos National Laboratory, US

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook contains criticality safety benchmark specifications that have been derived from experiments that were performed at various critical facilities around the world. The benchmark specifications are intended for use by criticality and safety analysts as well as nuclear data evaluators to validate calculational techniques and data. The handbook is produced by the ICSBEP working group, under the aegis of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). While co-ordination and administration of the ICSBEP is undertaken by the NEA, each participating country is responsible for the administration, technical direction, and priorities of the project within their respective countries. Access to some of the information and data included in this handbook may be restricted.

The evaluated criticality safety benchmark data in the 2021 edition are presented in nine volumes. These volumes span over 80 000 pages and contain 587 evaluations with benchmark specifications for 5 121 critical, near-critical or subcritical configurations, 45 criticality alarm placement/shielding configurations with multiple dose points for each, and 237 configurations which have been categorised as fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications.

New to the handbook are experiments from the Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) and Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) programs performed at the National Critical Experiments Reserach Center (NCERC) in the United States; Highly Enriched Uraniums experiments with Lucite at NCERC; pitch variation experiments at Sandia National Laboratory in the United States; and structural material experiments at Valduc facility in France.

Requesting the ICSBEP Handbook

Even if you have had access to the online version of the Handbook in previous years, the request must be renewed for each new edition.

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Access the ICSBEP Handbook online

If you have already been authorised access to the 2021 edition, you can access it through the link below:

Access the 2021 ICSBEP Handbook online  (password protected | reminder)

If you have already been authorised access to the 2020 edition, you can access it through the link below:

Access the 2020 ICSBEP Handbook online  (password protected | reminder)

If you have already been authorised access to the 2019 edition, you can access it through the link below:

Access the 2019 ICSBEP Handbook online  (password protected | reminder)

If you have already been authorised access to the 2018 edition, you can access it through the link below:

Access the 2018 ICSBEP Handbook online  (password protected | reminder)

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CPS-ICSBEP