Foreword

There is a risk to lose expertise and “vision” in the area of thermal-hydraulic experimental investigations, and a presidium should be maintained to avoid that. It is important that the experimentalists somewhat join together and constitute a “system”, while large budgets available in the past cannot be replicated.

In addition, efforts should be made to propose definitions (or revise the existing ones) for some relevant terms and expressions such as: experiment; experimental data; qualification/quality of the data; phenomena; scaling; extrapolation of experimental data; verification and validation; counterpart vs. similar tests; significance; etc.

This is what SILENCE would aim to.

The scope of SILENCE covers DBA and beyond-DBA scenarios, without entering the severe accident domain. As regards reactor types, reference is particularly made to water cooled reactors of existing technologies, although possible future extension to other technologies/generations might be open.

SILENCE accounts for, makes reference to and, whenever possible, finds a connection with either existing of forthcoming relevant tools, projects and initiatives in the international framework, such as the NEA databank, CERTA network, STRESA database, NUGENIA etc.

One of the key issues to focus on is the scaling, along with its relation to quality of data and to extrapolation of data, and with reference to the different approaches available.

SILENCE aims at all those who are (or ought to be) committed to nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulic significant experiments, and in particular Embarking Countries – e.g. Poland, Malaysia, Jordan, Algeria, UAE) and Developing Countries with active nuclear programs, but lacking adequate research infrastructure (e.g. China, Brazil, Argentina).

The Network strengths lie in its actuation of synergy on an international scale and its combination of expertise.

With similar motivations, GRNSPG and UNIPI successfully established in 2010 a network in the domain of thermal-hydraulic system codes, FONESYS.