Criticality Experiments Performed in Saclay and Valduc Centers, France (1958-2002)

Since 1958, the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique and then the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (previously the Institut de Protection et de Sûreté Nucléaire) have carried out criticality experiments first in Saclay and then in the Valduc criticality laboratory. This paper is a survey of the programs conducted during the last 45 yr with the different apparatuses. This paper also gives information about plans for the future. Programs are presented following the chronology and the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project classification. Among the numerous series of experiments, now 22 series (corresponding to 407 configurations) have been included in the "International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments."