2018 RCC-MRx Code Edition: Context, Overview, On-Going Developments

Abstract

The 2018 edition of the RCC-MRx Code (1) will be issued, by the end of the 2018, in French and English versions by AFCEN (Association Française pour les règles de Conception et de Construction des Matériels des Chaudières Electro-nucléaires). This Code set up rules applicable to research reactor components (coming from the RCC-MX 2008 developed in the context of the Jules Horowitz Reactor project), to reactor components operating at high temperature (coming from the RCC-MR 2007) and to the Vacuum Vessel of ITER (also coming from the RCC-MR 2007). This edition takes the benefits of an important feedback of the users, such as Jules Horowitz Reactor or ASTRID project, but also from ITER and MYRRHA projects. In parallel, in compliance with the EC’s objectives and its own policy of openness, AFCEN proposes to make its codes evolve, taking into account the needs and expectations of European stakeholders (operators, designers, constructors, suppliers ...) through a workshop called CEN Workshop 64 phase 2. The end of the workshop, planned for 2018, will allow to integrate recommendations issued from this work in the code. This paper gives an overview of the performed work and also identifies the work to be done for a development of a standard such as RCC-MRx code.