Advanced Reactor Design

In this reactor physics study, we examine the neutronic performance of accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) claddings -austenitic type 310 stainless steel (310SS), ferritic Fe-20Cr-5Al (FeCrAl), advanced powder metallurgic ferritic (APMT), and silicon carbide (SiC)-based materials -as alternative cladding materials compared with Zircaloy-4 (Zr) cladding. The cores considered use 18% 235 U enriched micro-heterogeneous ThO 2 -UO 2 duplex fuel and, for purposes of comparison, 15% 235 U enriched homogeneously mixed all-UO 2 fuel, loaded into 13×13 pin arrays. A constant cladding coating thickness of 655 μm is assumed. We use the WIMS reactor physics code to analyse the associated reactivity, achievable discharge burnup, spectral variations, rim effect and reactivity feedback parameters for the candidate cladding materials at the assembly level. The results show that candidate fuels with 310SS cladding exhibit a ∼13% discharge burnup penalty compared to Zr due to the presence of a very high nickel (Ni) concentration. The high neutron absorption cross-sections of iron (Fe) in the FeCrAl and APMT claddings also lead to a ∼10% discharge burnup penalty. The fuels with SiC cladding can achieve a ∼1% higher discharge burnup compared to Zr due to the low thermal neutron absorption cross-sections of its constituents and the softer neutron spectrum. The claddings with lower capture cross-sections (SiC and Zr) exhibit higher relative fission power at the pellet periphery. For both candidate fuels, the end-of-life 239 Pu (for UO 2 fuel) and 233 U (for duplex fuel) inventories are higher for the claddings (Fe-based: FeCrAl, APMT and steel-based: 310SS) with higher thermal capture cross-sections, unlike for SiC and Zr, where SiC provides higher end-of-life 239 Pu and 233 U inventories despite having lower capture cross-section than that of the Zr. Reactivity feedback parameter values (moderator and fuel temperature coefficients) are more negative for the duplex fuel than the UO 2 fuel for all the candidate claddings, with claddings with harder spectra exhibiting more negative values. The duplex fuel yields a softer spectrum than the UO 2 fuel with the candidate claddings, which improves neutron economy and thus discharge burnup.

Recursive Soil Bearing Architecture (RSBA) introduced a new framework for synthetic landmass engineering derived from the SEXA Recursive Energy Functional (SREF). In this formulation, soil is not treated as passive granular material but as a boundary-conditioned stress topology whose load-bearing capacity can be engineered through recursive energy minimization across a higher-dimensional manifold. By modifying admissible stress states rather than increasing material density, RSBA permits the stabilization of elevated soil masses and the formation of dynamically supported land structures.

“Using the reactor-cycle output stated in the present architecture, the implied energy magnitude would, on paper, exceed current average global power demand by many orders of magnitude; practical relevance would depend entirely on sustained, controllable, experimentally verified operation.”

📘 Modeling of Chemical Kinetics & Reactor Design — A Cornerstone for Modern Chemical Engineers
Modeling of Chemical Kinetics & Reactor Design by A. Kayode Coker continues to stand out as one of the most influential resources in reaction engineering since its publication in 2001. It remains widely referenced across academia and industry, consistently ranking among the top performing chemical engineering publications on ResearchGate.
This book offers a comprehensive and practice driven exploration of how chemical reactions behave and how reactors should be designed to achieve safe, efficient, and economically optimized operation. It guides readers from foundational kinetics and reaction mechanisms into advanced modeling of batch, CSTR, PFR, catalytic, and multiphase reactors. The text also provides clear methodologies for analyzing kinetic data, fitting parameters, validating mechanisms, and translating laboratory results into full scale industrial reactor designs.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its ability to bridge theory with real world engineering. The industrial case studies drawn from petroleum refining, petrochemicals, gas processing, polymerization, and environmental systems show how kinetic modeling directly informs design decisions, troubleshooting, optimization, and scale up. Engineers working in complex process environments often find these examples invaluable.
The book also anticipated the rise of computational modeling. Its algorithm friendly approach to solving differential equations, performing sensitivity analysis, and validating models makes it a natural companion for today’s engineers who rely on simulation tools and custom modeling workflows.
More than two decades later, the book continues to attract strong engagement from researchers and professionals. Its ResearchGate Research Interest Score places it above 98% of all chemical engineering items, underscoring its enduring relevance in graduate education, industrial practice, and advanced research.

Dalam memilih jantung untuk reaktor Small Modular Reactor (SMR) di Indonesia, kita harus mempertimbangkan aspek ketersediaan lokal, keamanan termal, dan resiliensi limbah. SMR membutuhkan bahan bakar yang stabil untuk mendukung fungsi Nuclear Cogeneration bagi industri daur ulang plastik.

In hydrotreating operations it is well known that the efficient removal of sulphur and nitrogen compounds from petroleum feedstocks is directly dependent to flow uniformity through the catalyst bed. The design and operation of the distributor tray is a key component to ensuring excellent initial liquid and vapour flow uniformity at the top of the catalyst bed.

Abstrak -Saat ini kapal perang belum dapat beroperasi secara optimal akibat permasalahan pasokan bahan bakar. Untuk mengatasi permasalahan kekurangan pasokan BBM dan ancaman kelangkaan minyak bumi dunia di masa depan, maka perlu dipikirkan strategi yang tepat dalam arah kebijakan pembangunan kapal perang TNI AL. Salah satu sumber EBT yang sudah digunakan sejak cukup lama dan kemungkinan akan menjadi pilihan menarik adalah energi nuklir sebagai sistem propulsi kapal perang. Pada penelitian ini dilakukan analisis konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir sebagai sistem propulsi yang tepat untuk diterapkan pada kapal LPD. Setelah studi literatur berbagai klasifikasi reaktor nuklir dan referensi desain reaktor nuklir yang telah ada, ditentukan konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir yang sesuai dengan standar kebutuhan tersebut sehingga dikerucutkan menjadi beberapa konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir yang dipilih, dan akhirnya ditentukan satu sebagai konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir dengan metode AHP, yaitu reaktor nuklir tipe MSR yang merupakan reaktor daya cepat pembiak modular kecil yang mampu menghasilkan daya termal sekurang-kurangnya 33 MWth, berbahan bakar Thorium-Uranium233 dan berpendingin garam cair sehingga memanfaatkan tekanan rendah serta mampu beroperasi pada suhu yang sangat tinggi.

Saat ini kapal perang belum dapat beroperasi secara optimal akibat permasalahan pasokan bahan bakar. Untuk mengatasi permasalahan kekurangan pasokan BBM dan ancaman kelangkaan minyak bumi dunia di masa depan, maka perlu dipikirkan strategi yang tepat dalam arah kebijakan pembangunan kapal perang TNI AL. Salah satu sumber EBT yang sudah digunakan sejak cukup lama dan kemungkinan akan menjadi pilihan menarik adalah energi nuklir sebagai sistem propulsi kapal perang. Pada penelitian ini dilakukan analisis konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir sebagai sistem propulsi yang tepat untuk diterapkan pada kapal LPD. Setelah studi literatur berbagai klasifikasi reaktor nuklir dan referensi desain reaktor nuklir yang telah ada, ditentukan konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir yang sesuai dengan standar kebutuhan tersebut sehingga dikerucutkan menjadi beberapa konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir yang dipilih, dan akhirnya ditentukan satu sebagai konsep teknologi reaktor nuklir dengan metode AHP, yaitu reaktor n...

Silicon carbide (SiC) fuel cladding has several primary advantages over zircaloy claddings. SiC cladding absorbs very low thermal neutrons, little corrosion, and no hydrogen pickup during normal operation, making it an attractive choice for use as cladding on PWR fuel. In this paper, AP1000 neutronic parameters are evaluated using SiC and ZIRLO (Westinghouse's zircaloy) cladding. The steady-state calculation for the fuel element was simulated by the PIJ module of SRAC2006 code as well as the core calculation using the NODAL3 code. The calculated kinf values are always higher for SiC cladding including all fuel temperature reactivity coefficient is negative same as ZIRLO cladding. The core calculation shows that the excess reactivity is higher 337 pcm using SiC cladding than ZIRLO cladding. It shows that the SiC cladding can be used in the AP1000 with some correction because of the quite higher excess reactivity.

In an attempt to allow nuclear power to reach its full economic potential, General Atomics is developing the Energy Multiplier Module (EM2), which is a compact gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR). The EM2augments its fissile fuel load with fertile materials to enhance an ultra-long fuel cycle based on a “convert-and-burn” core design which converts fertile material to fissile fuel and burns it in situ over a 30-year core life without fuel supplementation or shuffling. A series of reactor physics trade studies were conducted and a baseline core was developed under the specific physics design requirements of the long-life small reactor. The EM2core performance was assessed for operation time, fuel burnup, excess reactivity, peak power density, uranium utilization, etc., and it was confirmed that an ultra-long fuel cycle core is feasible if the conversion is enough to produce fissile material and maintain criticality, the amount of matrix material is minimized not to soften the neutron spect...

Research on Embedded Systems has become increasingly common and important in recent years. The successful implementation and design of such systems have recently gained notoriety given the common integration of Embedded Processors in commercial Electronics. Although these were traditionally found only in specialized usage, the development of high performance programmable microcontrollers and the parallel advances in Sensor Technology have brought their use to areas such as Electronics for Robotics, Telecommunication and Medical Electronics. In these areas, Embedded Processors have shifted from having only a supportive function in dedicated circuitry to a more controlling role in complex innovative solutions.The Medical Electronics field has made a rapid and broad move to the architecture of Smart Medical Equipment. The move from traditional Electro-Medical Equipment has led to changes in design philosophy. Devices now possess high information content and rely on sophisticated Software Algorithms that often enable the visualization and storage of data . The bundle of Electronics with other areas of knowledge in the design of a medical product may involve rehabilitation therapists, orthopedists, bio-mechanic engineers, dentists, physiologists, cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and neurologists, among other professionals. Interdisciplinary collaboration may lead to the successful completion of a medical product, or pieces of autonomous "high-tech" cure or diagnostic equipment can become available.An Embedded System is Computer Hardware and Software with a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electrical system or Product. Embedded Systems have been essential in designing Smart Medical Equipment.

Denmark has the ambition that in 2020 half of the country's electricity production should be derived from sustainable energy sources, mainly wind energy. This creates a new set of challenges since you cannot control when the wind blows the same way you decide when to burn fossil fuels. Instead the user has to become involved in managing the system by adjusting consumption to production. This situation creates the need for a new understanding of electricity as well as a new set of habits concerning the way we use it. This paper investigates the potential role of design in changing the conception and use of electricity. It takes its starting point in two design projects made on Kolding School of Design as part of the national Danish Smart-Grid Project iPower1, a video called 'Passing Through' and the 'e-watch' a tool for visualizing the relationship between time and energy and planning energy consuming activities. These projects investigate in different ways the relationship between science, aesthetic communication and social systems. They are used as examples in order to draw a general outline of the role of design in the sustainable transition of energy systems. The problems addressed are rooted in the Danish case but the overall problems concern every energy system that aims at incorporating fluctuating energy sources and may serve as inspiration for including these aspects in the global development of sustainable energy systems.

Il tema del Convegno "Reattori nucleari di nuova generazione" corriponde alla necessità di riferìrsi a una famiglia di reattori che rappresentano piuttosto un insieme continuo che non due gruppi separati e contrapposti.
Utilizzando quali parametri e' possibile classificare (mettere ordine) nelle prestazioni attese (soprattutto dal punto di vista sicurezza) dei diversi tipi di reattore?
Quali sono gli obiettiv?
Griglia di parametri rilevanti
In questo quadro i sistemi che hanno importanza per classificare le prestazioni dei diversi tipi di reattori nucleari sono:
- spegnimento
- asportazione del calore di decadimento generato anche a reattore spento)
- iniezione del refrigerante di emergenza
- struttura di contenimento.

THE FIRST CYCLE OPERATION OF AP1000. AP1000 reactor core was designed with nominal power of 1154 MWe (3415 MWth), operated within life time of 60 years and cycle length of 18 months. For the first cycle, the AP1000 core uses three kinds of UO 2 enrichment, they are 2.35 w/o, 3.40 w/o and 4.45 w/o. Absorber materials such as ZrB 2 , Pyrex and Boron solution are used to compensate the excess reactivity at the beginning of cycle. In the core, U-235 fuels are burned by fission reaction and produce energy, fission products and new neutron. Because of the U-238 neutron absoption reaction, the high level radioactive waste of heavy nuclide transuranic such as Pu, Am, Cm and Np are also generated. They have a very long half life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the result of fuel burn-up distribution and heavy nuclide transuranic contents produced by AP1000 at the end of first cycle operation (EOFC). Calculation of ¼ part of the AP1000 core in the 2 dimensional model has been done using SRAC2006 code with the module of COREBN/HIST. The input data called the table of macroscopic crossection, is calculated using module of PIJ. The result shows that the maximum fuel assembly (FA) burn-up is 27.04 GWD/MTU, that is still lower than allowed maximum burn-up of 62 GWD/MTU. Fuel loading position at the center/middle of the core will produce bigger burn-up and transuranic nuclide than one at the edges the of the core. The use of IFBA fuel just give a small effect to lessen the fuel burn-up and transuranic nuclide production.

The pioneer schematic ideas of Kimura and Levenspiel (Ind. Eng. Chem. Proc. Des. Dev., 16 (1977) 145-148) have been developed to find numerically the region of instability for adiabatic packed bed reactors. Three different cases of special industrial interest and complexity are presented. The highly exothermic gasphase reactions: ammonia synthesis, methanol production from syngas, and SO 2 oxidation. Equations were parameterized and solved according to a continuation homotopy numerical method. The results showed that concentration of inerts and total pressure influences the size of the instability region.

This chapter documents the technical development of different generations of nuclear power plants and provides an outlook for possible future concepts and their market prospects. The objective is to assess whether there is really significant technological progress on the horizon and whether these "new" concepts have prospects to become cost-effective. A major conclusion is that most of the so-called Generation IV concepts have already been discussed in the 1950s. At that time, they have not been pursued further due to problems such as costs, limiting factors in material properties and problems in appropriately controlling the fission processes. Yet, since about 2000 a modest revival of the discussion on these concepts is observed, obviously mainly motivated by securing the flow of public money for nuclear research and the broad recognition that with present reactor concepts the nuclear industry will not succeed.

The paper provides an insight into the International Design Business Management Program (IDBM), an attempt to educate T-shaped professionals who can combine design, business and technology knowledge. IDBM is creating a new master program, in which solid theoretical basis, delivery methods, and structure are being developed to improve both coherence and relevance within the curriculum. To contribute to the coherence of systemic competence development, a model of five major dimensions-tools, environment, management, process, organisation (TEMPO)-is proposed. To ensure the relevance of the program, four professional orientation tracks are built into the curriculum; research, management, consulting and entrepreneurship.

A parametric study of pressurized light water reactor cores was undertaken, in which "both heat transfer and nuclear influences of the basic parameters on the quantity and required enrichment of the uranium fuel were to be considered. Methods were developed for the following; 1. Computation of the minimum core size for a specified power output on the basis of heat transfer characteristics of the unit cell parameters. 2. Computation of the critical mass of U-235 required for a given reactor by an adaptation of a digital computer program written by J. R. Powell. This program, written for Whirlwind, is a Fourier solution for critical mass of a highly enriched, homogeneous, heavy water moderated reactor; methods were developed to adapt it to the low enrichment, heterogeneous, light water case, and to compute the necessary inputs. 3. Computation of the factor by which the critical enrichment of a given reactor would have to be increased in order to attain a specified core life. 83 F Nuclear Data 95 G. Computation of Core Radius ...10Ĥ. Correlation of the Powell Fourier Program with Experiment 113 J. Computation of the Additional Enrichment Required to Attain Specified Core Life .119 K. Bibliography 129 1. See (Jlasstone and Edlund, 3.49. 1. See Qlasstone and Edlund, 7.36 to 7«6l 2. See Glass tone and Edlund, 5.40 1. See Glasstone and Edlund, 8.25, and Appendix F. 2. See Glasstone and Edlund, 7»20 to ?.60.

Gas holdup and liquid circulation velocity were studied in a two-dimensional air lift reactor. A comparison was made between bubble column and air lift operation. Four different gas spargers were studied, and several different gases: He, CO,, Ar. air and Freon 114. No influence on the measured variables could be attributed to gas distribution. The nature of the gas had a strong influence in the case of bubble column operation. Helium does not exhibit the maximum in the holdup which is characteristic of the "transition regime", and in general gives lower values. In air lift operation, the differences due to the nature of the gases are much smaller, and can be neglected. The liquid recirculation velocity depends on the gas superficial velocity, J,, raised to the power 0.4. This concurs with published data obtained in large air lift devices. It is concluded that a two-dimensional air lift can be used for research and development, since it presents the same basic fluiddynamic characteristics as large air lift reactors. In addition, the two-dimensional device allows the examination of flow patterns and configuration, which are decisive in design and scale-up of this type of reactor.

Seismic shifts in 21st century market conditions-globalisation, immediate digital communications, rapidly developing technologies, an ever more sophisticated, knowledgeable consumer-create a new landscape for organisations seeking to create products of greater value, which better meet evolving needs and desires. While the marketing-led approach, dominant in the past half-century, focused on persuasion, design, with its specialised tools, is suggested to be more adept and flexible than marketing at understanding and providing relevant value for today's consumer. A literature review argues that, in history, design has endured periods of particular strength followed by decline. This thesis examines the proposition that design is moving into an era of ascendancy. The literature review considers notions of design and designers' involvement in the new product development (NPD) process, and suggests that they are having a wider input of increasing significance in NPD. This acts as a base for developing understanding of the role of designers, and their interface with business. Evidence was gathered in a case study approach at four industrial design consultancies creating products for a range of international clients, mostly in mature consumer product categories. Recorded interviews, observation and case diaries were analysed using an interpretivist approach, and themes were built from this data. Greater responsibilityleadership-on the part of design was manifest in numerous ways in the work of the designer and consultancy design studio. The findings suggest an overall transition from a marketing-led NPD approach to one of 'design leadership'. First, designers are taking greater responsibility in solving problems of greater weight and complexity than in previous generations. The role and remit of the designer has expanded to embrace some of the tasks traditionally associated with the marketer. Second, the nature of the relationship between designer and client is instrumental in determining how the designer is involved in NPD. A growing closeness means that designers are involved from the beginning, or even pre-project, and this allows greater input in realms beyond product function and aesthetics. Third, consultancies are reorienting their offering to one of involvement across the NPD project. Studios consult in the clients' overall business strategy, and become coordinators-leaders-in the product's realisation. There is a shift from designers following marketers' suggestions to designers acting as consultants in the purest sense. Design leadership denotes an approach whereby designers marry the sensibilities of business with the experiential approach of design. The findings of the study are synthesised in a series of models that act as a guide for consultancies and clients as they navigate the shift to greater design leadership. These models have considerable implications for design in practice, as well as for policy and design education. Chiefly, they become a substantive tool to enhancing the designer's empowerment in the business context, as they become involved in, and take decisions upon, a wider ranging breadth of activity of ever-increasing significance. ii with gratitude to … so many people have influenced this study-reviewers at the eaism and drs, design gurus i have met along the way, especially chris stringer whose products have made my life a million times easier, and my physiotherapist, owen, without whom i would not be able to type this now-but a few need extra-special thanks : aidan o driscoll for your supervision, and many golden moments of sudden clarity and wisdom brian stephens, tim mueller, turi mc kinley, dan formosa, and innumerable colleagues your openness, honesty and cooperation gave life to the study dit colleagues, chiefly katrina lawlor, seamus kelly, kate ui gallachoir, brendan o rourke for much valued guidance and assistance along the road sabine junginger for feedback at the time of transfer examination iseult o doherty your ideas allowed my lectures and conference presentations to flourish john you opened the floodgates of self-belief deirdre duffy your positive thoughts gave me the power to keep on a-goin' ! ann marie, gary, marty, carina, nicolas, kirsten great office-mates, great craic daire, teresa, christer, sandra, kevina, bill friends for life the city of dublin a perfect backdrop to four years graham, caroline & jonathan my soundboards and the source of all inspiration finally, to sally and murdo i owe you forever. thank you. iii declaration I hereby certify that the material which I now submit for examination for the award of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others, save to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. This thesis was prepared according to the regulations for postgraduate study by research of the Dublin Institute of Technology, and has not been submitted in whole or in part for an award at any other institute or university. The work reported on in this thesis conforms to the principles and requirements of the Institute's guidelines for ethics in research. The Institute has the permission to keep, to lend, or to copy this thesis in whole or in part, on condition that any such use of the material of the thesis be duly acknowledged.

Increasing smart phone penetration combined with the wide coverage of cellular infrastructures, renders smart phone based traffic information systems (TISs) an attractive option. The main purpose of such systems is to alleviate traffic congestion that exists in every major city. Nevertheless, to reap the benefits of smart phonebased TISs, we need to ensure their security and privacy and their effectiveness (e.g., accuracy). This is the motivation of this paper: We leverage state-of-theart cryptographic schemes and readily available telecommunication infrastructure. We present a comprehensive solution for smart phone-based traffic estimation that is proven to be secure and privacy preserving. We provide a full-blown implementation on actual smart phones, along with an extensive assessment of its accuracy and efficiency. Our results confirm that smart phone-based TISs can offer accurate traffic state estimation while being secure and privacy preserving. Traffic congestion deteriorates the quality of life of citizens and contributes significantly to environmental pollution and economic loss. Traffic information systems (TISs)aim at solving this problem by collecting traffic data, producing traffic estimates, and providing drivers with location-specific information. The increasing smart phone penetration, along with the wide coverage of cellular networks, defines an unprecedented large-scale network of sensors, with extensive spatial and temporal coverage, able to serve as traffic probes for TISs. This is a task that cannot be achieved only by relying on the security of the mobile-to-cellular infrastructure communication.

Increasing smart phone penetration combined with the wide coverage of cellular infrastructures, renders smart phone based traffic information systems (TISs) an attractive option. The main purpose of such systems is to alleviate traffic congestion that exists in every major city. Nevertheless, to reap the benefits of smart phonebased TISs, we need to ensure their security and privacy and their effectiveness (e.g., accuracy). This is the motivation of this paper: We leverage state-of-theart cryptographic schemes and readily available telecommunication infrastructure. We present a comprehensive solution for smart phone-based traffic estimation that is proven to be secure and privacy preserving. We provide a full-blown implementation on actual smart phones, along with an extensive assessment of its accuracy and efficiency. Our results confirm that smart phone-based TISs can offer accurate traffic state estimation while being secure and privacy preserving. Traffic congestion deteriorates the quality of life of citizens and contributes significantly to environmental pollution and economic loss. Traffic information systems (TISs)aim at solving this problem by collecting traffic data, producing traffic estimates, and providing drivers with location-specific information. The increasing smart phone penetration, along with the wide coverage of cellular networks, defines an unprecedented large-scale network of sensors, with extensive spatial and temporal coverage, able to serve as traffic probes for TISs. This is a task that cannot be achieved only by relying on the security of the mobile-to-cellular infrastructure communication.

Our aim is to study the neutronic behaviour of potential accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) claddings in a pressurised water reactor under normal operations. This work compares ATF silicon carbide composite (SiC/SiC) cladding to conventional ZIRLOTM cladding in APR-1400. Additionally, a “sandwich” cladding design developed by the CEA is used for SiC/SiC. The design structure includes a liner in between two layers of the composite to ensure leak tightness. The two proposed liners are Niobium (Nb) and Tantalum (Ta). Serpent 2, a Monte Carlo reactor physics lattice code, is employed to model both cladding materials in APR-1400 at three different levels: pin cell, fuel assembly, and core. The criticality, neutron spectrum, actinide inventory, and power distribution as a function of burnup are investigated. The simulations show that SiC/SiC with the Nb liner displays a far superior performance than the Ta liner across all examined characteristics. Ta leads to a harder neutron spectrum and increased Pu-239 content throughout the cycle, while Nb presents negligible effects. In fact, SiC/SiC with the Nb liner performs very similarly to ZIRLOTM at all model levels. The results indicate that, in terms of neutronics, the adoption of the SiC/SiC composite would entail little to no changes to current APR-1400 operations.

Zirconium-based cladding materials used in nuclear power plants have been shown to pose safety concerns due to their susceptibility to oxidation and hydrogen production during high-temperature conditions, such as loss-ofcoolant accidents. In order to address these concerns, alternative cladding materials that are more resistant to these conditions are being explored. This study investigates the potential of using silicon carbide (SiC) and iron chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) cladding materials to improve the safety and efficiency of nuclear power plants, particularly in the context of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) technology concepts. The study utilized Serpent Monte Carlo 2.31 to conduct neutronics analyses on the APR-1400 reactor, assessing the impact of SiC and FeCrAl cladding materials on fuel reactivity, neutron spectrum, Pu-239 inventory, and pin power distribution. A sensitivity analysis was conducted by adjusting parameters such as fuel enrichment, cladding thickness, and pellet diameter to determine the effects of the new materials on design parameters. Results of the analysis revealed that, by adjusting design parameters, SiC and FeCrAl materials could be used to meet the cycle length of the original fuel-cladding (zircalloy). Furthermore, using SiC cladding resulted in a hardening of the neutron spectrum, which increased the production of actinides such as plutonium. By analyzing the effects of changing parameters, including fuel enrichment, fuel geometry, and cladding material, the study concludes that SiC is a feasible substitute for conventional zirconium cladding. The findings of this study have practical implications for the safety and efficiency of nuclear power plants. The use of SiC and FeCrAl cladding materials could significantly reduce the risks associated with loss-of-coolant accidents and other high-temperature conditions, thereby improving the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) is currently funding research and development on a number of fuel technologies for light water reactors (LWRs) that could provide enhanced performance under accident scenarios relative to the current zirconium alloy-uranium dioxide (UO 2) fuel system. The overall mission of the accident tolerant fuel (ATF) research is to develop advanced fuels/cladding with improved performance, reliability and safety characteristics during normal operations and accident conditions, while minimizing waste generation. Evaluating the performance of candidate ATF concepts is a topic of significant discussion among researchers, fuel vendors and utilities to ensure that the developed concepts can meet minimum performance and economic requirements, can be developed within a reasonable time, and can be approved for insertion as a lead fuel rod in a commercial reactor by the 2022 goal established in the U.S. Characterizing the performance enhancements of candidate ATF first requires understanding the performance of the current Zr-UO 2 system under equivalent operations and accident scenarios. Proper evaluation of each concept is dependent on development of data through focused out-of-pile and in-core experiments to support modeling of the fuel and cladding behavior in fuel performance and systems analysis codes; complementary irradiation of ATF concepts will be discussed in a separate paper. This paper will provide an overview of the key evaluation tools and evaluation scenarios currently being considered within the LWR community for ATF. The evaluation toolset includes standard neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analysis for normal operating conditions and transient/accident conditions and analysis of severe accident behavior using modified versions of the MELCOR code for preliminary concept screening. Development of advanced fuel performance analysis using the BISON application based on the Multi-physics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has also been initiated. Evaluation scenarios (e.g. accident scenarios) currently being discussed for use across the international ATF development teams are also presented.

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are part of a new generation of nuclear reactor being developed worldwide. One of the advantages of SMR is the flexibility to adoptthe advanced design concepts and technology. SMART (System integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) is a small sized integral type PWR with a thermal power of 330 MW that has been developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). SMART core consists of 57 fuel assemblies which are based on the well proven 17x17 array that has been used in Korean commercial PWRs. SMART is soluble boron free, and the high initial reactivity is mainly controlled by burnable absorbers. The goal of this study is to perform neutronics evaluation of SMART core with UO 2 as main fuel. Neutronics calculation was performed by using SRAC 2006 code with JENDL 3.3 as nuclear data library.

Multi-objective optimization of nuclear engineering fuel assembly design problems is particularly difficult due to the highly non-linear interactions of a large number of possible variables. In addition, effective optimization algorithms are often highly problem-dependent and require extensive tuning, which reduces their applicability to the real world. To address this issue, Differential Evolution (DE) algorithms have been proposed as a new and effective method for heterogeneous fuel assembly optimization design problems. This paper presents the first complete study to investigate their applicability and performance. Firstly, two multi-objective DE algorithms have their performance compared against an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) from the literature in optimizing a CORAIL mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assembly for maximum plutonium content and minimum power peaking factor. Statistical analysis of the results shows the DE algorithms exhibit superior performance to the EA. The DE algorithms are then used to optimize a MOX fuel assembly with gadolinia poison, with results showing DE produces assembly designs comparable in performance to those in the literature. Finally, a sensitivity study is conducted on the control parameters of the better performing of the DE algorithms. Results indicate DE performance remains consistent for a wide range of values of both control parameters, suggesting the algorithm is able to perform effectively without requiring user expertise or effort to find the 'optimal' control parameter settings.

In this paper we explore and integrate ideas from three disciplines that influence design management: strategy as the organizational framework, innovation as the marketplace imperative, and design thinking as a way of approaching practical problems and problem solving. The discourse of strategy expanded in the 1980s and 1990s and continues to be a powerful force. Around the millennium, the discourse of innovation gained new prestige; it was linked to strategy and became the hallmark of companies in the forefront of the global economy. Design thinking has joined these executive discourses as a methodology that enables innovation. In this paper we first examine the three discourses and their epistemological underpinning and relation to each other. Thereafter we note that there seems to be an epistemological shift within both innovation and strategy-and that this shift is towards the central and enduring beliefs of design thinking. Finally we reflect on the implications for design management.

The fuel at high burnup has a complex behavior due to the resonance absorptions of the U 238 and the Pu 239 production especially at the rim zone of the fuel pin. For that reason, the radial dependence of the generated power and the corresponding burnup needs to be carefully studied. The resonance effects has a high dependence with temperature that depends on the generated power, hence, it needs to be properly evaluated. At the rim zone, the resonance effects dependence with fuel temperature becomes more significant than the inner zones. This fact requires a thermal-hydraulic model to take this effect into consideration as a function of burnup. Cladding temperature will be also evaluated to take care of the resonance cross section of the cladding material. In this work, a one dimensional steady state heat equation is used to formulate a set of finite difference equations to evaluate temperature distribution in fuel pin for a non-uniform power generation. Material properties such as thermal conductivity are considered to be a function of temperature and burnup. The model would solve pin by pin temperature distribution in a fuel assembly array for a nonuniform radial and potential azimuthal discretization. Verification against analytical solution and simple test cases are demonstrated. The application of this work would be for BWR, PWR, CANDU, ATUCHA and TRIGA fuel pin. Upon a successful implementation of this model, it would be in future integrated with CONDOR code.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of annealed Zircaloy-2 was investigated at 300 and 400°C at different strain amplitudes and strain rates of 10 À2 , 10 À3 , and 10 À4 s À1. Cyclic stress response showed initial hardening with decreasing rate of hardening, followed by linear cyclic hardening and finally secondary hardening with increasing rate of hardening for low strain amplitudes at both the temperatures. The rate as well the degree of linear hardening and secondary hardening decreased with decrease in strain rate at 300°C, however, there was inverse effect of strain rate on cyclic stress response at 400°C and cyclic stress was increased with decrease in strain rate. The fatigue life decreased with decrease in strain rate at both the temperatures. The occurrence of linear cyclic hardening, inverse effect of strain rate on cyclic stress response and deterioration in fatigue life with decrease in strain rate may be attributed to dynamic strain aging phenomena resulting from enhanced interaction of dislocations with solutes. Fracture surfaces revealed distinct striations, secondary cracking, and oxidation with decrease in strain rate. Deformation substructure showed parallel dislocation lines and dislocation band structure at 300°C. Persistent slip band wall structure and development of fine Corduroy structure was observed at 400°C.

Multi-objective optimization of nuclear engineering fuel assembly design problems is particularly difficult due to the highly non-linear interactions of a large number of possible variables. In addition, effective optimization algorithms are often highly problem-dependent and require extensive tuning, which reduces their applicability to the real world. To address this issue, Differential Evolution (DE) algorithms have been proposed as a new and effective method for heterogeneous fuel assembly optimization design problems. This paper presents the first complete study to investigate their applicability and performance. Firstly, two multi-objective DE algorithms have their performance compared against an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) from the literature in optimizing a CORAIL mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assembly for maximum plutonium content and minimum power peaking factor. Statistical analysis of the results shows the DE algorithms exhibit superior performance to the EA. The DE algorithms are then used to optimize a MOX fuel assembly with gadolinia poison, with results showing DE produces assembly designs comparable in performance to those in the literature. Finally, a sensitivity study is conducted on the control parameters of the better performing of the DE algorithms. Results indicate DE performance remains consistent for a wide range of values of both control parameters, suggesting the algorithm is able to perform effectively without requiring user expertise or effort to find the 'optimal' control parameter settings.

The interest in the development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) of different designs is increasing worldwide due to its economic attractiveness and unique safety features. At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), an investigation has started to optimize the Korean's soluble boron operated SMR core concept (SMART) to a boron-free simplified SMR core with enhanced inherent safety features. The optimized core is called Karlsruhe Small Modular Reactor (KSMR). The optimization process of the KSMR relied on using innovative burnable poison rods for short and mid-term reactivity control during depletion. In addition, many proven PWR technologies were adopted in the design of the KSMR core. In this paper, a zero power Beginning of Cycle (BOC) evaluation at cold and hot conditions was performed using the Monte Carlo code Serpent. The evaluation focused on predicting the inherent safety features of the KSMR core; including excess reactivity, shutdown margin, feedback coefficients, and power distribution. The performed analysis presented a remarkable performance of the KSMR core. Those inherent safety parameters were found to be: excess reactivity at CZP (15,490 ± 4 pcm); cold shutdown margin (-6,936 ± 7 pcm); FTC (-2.06 pcm/K); and MTC (-55.04 pcm/K). The detailed analysis and discussions are presented in the paper.

Flowchart representation of the dissertation ….…………………………… 2 Energy dependent radiative capture cross sections of 90 Sr..…..…………… 3 Transformation path for strontium isotopes in transmutation scenario …... 4 Energy dependent radiative capture cross sections of 93 Zr ……….………. 5 Transformation path for zirconium isotopes in transmutation scenario …… 6 Energy dependent radiative capture cross sections of 99 Tc ………………...

This book argues the business case for design excellence in organizationwhether your mission is to develop new products, services, or procedures or to change existing ones into something better. Although design thinking has reigned for some years now, design management has been left in the shadows. However, design thinking without design making-skillfully integrated and properly managed-easily becomes hollow and meaningless. Design excellence requires knowledge, as well as end-to-end management, of the resources and the creative energy that go into development and change processes. Design thinking-made up of the acknowledgment of design skills, of methodological choices, the right mindset, and a conducive culture-is dynamic and adaptable to the project itself and the people involved. Design thinking is a framework developed to ensure C-suite endorsement, strategic coherence, stakeholder engagement, and design excellence in all actions undertaken by the organization. Design management is a rigorous and strategically anchored mechanism to capitalize on the investment in design as intellectual capital. And design-as we've always known it-is the skills and methods and creative capabilities needed to embody ideas and direction. Design thinking inspires, design management enables, design embodies. Only when the three play together as a team, the result is design excellence. Design: A Business Case challenges you to stimulate innovation in your own organization, to make design a dialogue between complementary skills, to see design as a bridge between mind and matter, image and identity.

Analysis performance of uranium plutonium carbide (UC-PuC) as fuel in gas cooled fast reactor (GFR) with addition of protactinium as a burnable poisons has been done. Neutronic analysis in this research was carried out using the SRAC code from JAERI with a nuclear library based on JENDL 4.0. The calculation is carried out by two steps, the first step is the PIJ calculation which calculates the fuel cell and the second step is the CITATION calculation which calculates the various configurations of the reactor core. The first calculation determines the k-eff value in a homogeneous core configuration. The results obtained show that the percentage of 10% is the sloping result with a k-eff value of 1%. The second calculation determines the k-eff value in the heterogeneous core configuration. The results obtained indicate that the fuel variation 8% -10% -12% is the most critical percentage with a peak power density value of less than 100 Watt/cc. Furthermore, the addition of protactinium ...

Increasing smart phone penetration combined with the wide coverage of cellular infrastructures, renders smart phone based traffic information systems (TISs) an attractive option. The main purpose of such systems is to alleviate traffic congestion that exists in every major city. Nevertheless, to reap the benefits of smart phonebased TISs, we need to ensure their security and privacy and their effectiveness (e.g., accuracy). This is the motivation of this paper: We leverage state-of-theart cryptographic schemes and readily available telecommunication infrastructure. We present a comprehensive solution for smart phone-based traffic estimation that is proven to be secure and privacy preserving. We provide a full-blown implementation on actual smart phones, along with an extensive assessment of its accuracy and efficiency. Our results confirm that smart phone-based TISs can offer accurate traffic state estimation while being secure and privacy preserving. Traffic congestion deteriorates the quality of life of citizens and contributes significantly to environmental pollution and economic loss. Traffic information systems (TISs)aim at solving this problem by collecting traffic data, producing traffic estimates, and providing drivers with location-specific information. The increasing smart phone penetration, along with the wide coverage of cellular networks, defines an unprecedented large-scale network of sensors, with extensive spatial and temporal coverage, able to serve as traffic probes for TISs. This is a task that cannot be achieved only by relying on the security of the mobile-to-cellular infrastructure communication.

Potential diversion of nuclear materials is a major international concern. Fissile (e.g., U, Pu) and other nuclear materials (e.g., D, Be) can be detected using 6-7 MeV gamma rays produced in the '%(p,o#cO reaction. These gamma rays will induce neutron emission via the photoneutron and photofission processes in nuclear materials. However, they are not energetic enongh to generate significant numbers of neutrons horn most common benign materials, thereby reducing the false alarm rate. Neutrons are counted using an array of BF3 counters in a polyethylene mcderator. Experiments have shown a strong increase in neutron count rates for depleted uraniumj Be, D20, and%, and little or no increase for other materials (e.g., H20, SS, Cu, Al, C, 7Li). Gamma source measurements using solid targets of CaF2 and MgF2 and a SFCgas target show that proton accelerator of 3 MeV and 10-100 microampere average current could lead to acceptable detection sensitivity.

Worldwide, there is a permanent concern to maintain in operation all nuclear power plants that contribute to each state's nuclear power production independence and, at the same time, limiting the dependence on imported energetic resources. Thus, a distinctive importance should be given towards energetic security in the context of increased instability, reflecting ESA's best practice recommendations of the states of developing and maintaining uranium stocks of different types, according to the kind of the nuclear fuel used, sufficient for an approximately 1-5 years of reactor functioning. The present paper aims a review of the technological evolution of Nuclear Reactors and their influence on the demand for nuclear fuel, an analysis of the major suppliers on the market for the production and supply of natural uranium-based nuclear fuel, and also an overview of the supply price evolution for it.

This article presents a calculation procedure useful for the optimization and scaleup of batch sterilization cycles in large-scale fermentors. This technique determines the sterilization temperature and hold-time necessary t o minimize nutrient damage in a specific fermentor. The method can also be used for "scaledown" experiments to eliminate sterilization conditions as a scaleup parameter. A method for the systematic evaluation of different sterilization conditions on product yield is also presented. This procedure i s useful i n determining if scaleup of sterilization conditions is important for a given process. The validity of the techniques presented are supported by data showing significant yield improvements in a 1.2 x lo5 L antibiotic fermentation.

Ontology learning is the term used to encompass methods and techniques employed for the (semi-)automatic processing of knowledge resources that facilitate the acquisition of knowledge during ontology construction. This chapter focuses on ontology learning techniques using thesauri as input sources. Thesauri are one of the most promising sources for the creation of domain ontologies thanks to the richness of term definitions, the existence of a priori relationships between terms, and the consensus provided by their extensive use in the library context. Apart from reviewing the state of the art, this chapter shows how ontology learning techniques can be applied in the urban domain for the development of domain ontologies.

In an attempt to allow nuclear power to reach its full economic potential, General Atomics is developing the Energy Multiplier Module (EM2), which is a compact gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR). The EM2augments its fissile fuel load with fertile materials to enhance an ultra-long fuel cycle based on a “convert-and-burn” core design which converts fertile material to fissile fuel and burns it in situ over a 30-year core life without fuel supplementation or shuffling. A series of reactor physics trade studies were conducted and a baseline core was developed under the specific physics design requirements of the long-life small reactor. The EM2core performance was assessed for operation time, fuel burnup, excess reactivity, peak power density, uranium utilization, etc., and it was confirmed that an ultra-long fuel cycle core is feasible if the conversion is enough to produce fissile material and maintain criticality, the amount of matrix material is minimized not to soften the neutron spect...

Worldwide, there is a permanent concern to maintain in operation all nuclear power plants that contribute to each state's nuclear power production independence and, at the same time, limiting the dependence on imported energetic resources. Thus, a distinctive importance should be given towards energetic security in the context of increased instability, reflecting ESA's best practice recommendations of the states of developing and maintaining uranium stocks of different types, according to the kind of the nuclear fuel used, sufficient for an approximately 1-5 years of reactor functioning. The present paper aims a review of the technological evolution of Nuclear Reactors and their influence on the demand for nuclear fuel, an analysis of the major suppliers on the market for the production and supply of natural uranium-based nuclear fuel, and also an overview of the supply price evolution for it.