Abstract Existing licensing criteria express what damage shall be assumed for various pipe sizes as a consequence of a postulated break in a high energy system. The criteria are contained in Section 3.6.2 of the Standard Review Plan, and the purpose of the program described with this paper is to evaluate the impact criteria by means of a combined experimental and analytical approach. A series of tests has been completed. Evaluation of the tests showed a deficiency in the range of test parameters. These deficiencies are being remedied by a second series of tests and a more powerful impact machine. A parallel analysis capability has been developed. This capability has been used to predict the damage for the first test series. The quality of predictions has been improved by tests that establish post-crush and bending relationships. Two outputs are expected from this project: • - data that may, or may not, necessitate changes to the criteria after appropriate value impact evaluations. • - an analytic capability for rapidly evaluating the potential for pipe whip damage after a postulated break. These outputs are to be contained in a value-impact document and a program final report.