Department of Nuclear Engineering RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS STRATEGIC VISION

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Department of Nuclear Engineering RESEARCH
HIGHLIGHTS - STRATEGIC VISION

• Jasmina Vujic
• Professor and Chair
• May 16, 2006
• North American Young Generation in Nuclear
• Annual Workshop

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Strategic Vision Objective

• Our objective is to be the preeminent provider of
  nuclear engineering education at the
  undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level
  and to perform world-class research across all
  nuclear engineering disciplines, utilizing the
  resources available within the University and
  through our unique National Laboratory
  partnerships.
• Our scientific and technical research competency
  ensures continual enhancement of our educational
  ability and serves the University of California,
  the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nation,
  with the knowledge base required for management
  and technical oversight of the national security
  laboratories and advanced nuclear energy research.

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NE DEPARTMENT HISTORY

• Established in 1959 by Prof. Thomas Pigford
  (suggestion came from Glean Seaborg and Edward
  Teller)
• 1959 - 1964, Prof. Pigford served as the first
  Chairman of the NE Department (he has two more
  terms as Department Chair 1974-1979, and
  1984-1988)
• Former Department Chairs Prof. Hans Mark
  (1964-69), Prof. Lawrence Grossman (1969-74),
  Prof. Don Olander (1980-84), Prof. T. Kenneth
  Fowler (1988-94), Prof. William Kastenberg
  (1995-2000), and Prof. Per Peterson (2000-2005)
• Current Chair
• Prof. Jasmina Vujic (2005- )

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U.C. Berkeley Dept. of Nuclear Engineering 1967
TRIGA Mark III pool-type reactor

• Department operated 1 MW TRIGA Mark III pool-type
  research reactor from early 1960s until 1991.
• Currently NE Department operates the Rotating
  Target Neutron Source (RTNS) - the largest D-T
  source of 14 MeV neutrons (2E11 n/s/mA).
• In addition, we have a subcritical assembly - to
  be upgraded to accelerator driven subcritical
  assembly.

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Vacuum Hydraulics Experiment (VHEX) 2005
UCB

• Fusion energy chamber research at UC Berkeley

Impulse load calibration underway
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Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley (the only NE
program in the UC system)

• UCB Nuclear Engineering Faculty
• Joonhong Ahn (radioactive waste management)
• Ehud Greenspan (fission and fusion advanced
  reactor design)
• Bruce Hasegawa (medical imaging instrumentation
  computed tomography nuclear medicine small
  animal imaging)
• Daniel Kammen (renewable energy,
  technology/energy policy)
• William Kastenberg (risk assessment, risk
  management, reactor design)
• Ka-Ngo Leung (plasma source and ion beam
  development)
• Ed Morse (applied plasma physics fusion
  technology microwaves)
• Donald Olander (nuclear fuels and materials)
• Per Peterson (heat transfer, fluid mechanics,
  inertial fusion)
• Stan Prussin (nuclear chemistry, bionuclear
  engineering)
• John P. Verboncoeur (computational plasma
  physics)
• Jasmina Vujic (neutronics, nuclear reactor core
  analysis and
  design, bionuclear applications)
• Brian Wirth (Radiation damage in structural
  metals
  and alloys computational materials science)

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NE DEPARTMENT RESEARCH AREAS

• Applied Nuclear Physics
• Bionuclear and Radiological Physics
• Energy Systems and the Environment
• Ethics and the Impact of Technology on Society
• Fission Reactor Analysis
• Fuel Cycles and Radioactive waste

• Fusion Science and Technology
• Laser, Particle Beam, and Plasma Technologies
• Nuclear Materials and Chemistry
• Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics
• Risk, Safety, and Large-Scale Systems Analysis

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Student Data 1995-2005

• NE Majors-increase in number of undergraduate
  (58) grad majors (55)
• Steady growth in of women, (28 female
  students)
• Rise in of applications, rise in of US
  applicants (89 freshman app for F06)
• 100 funding for graduate students - fellowship,
  research, labs
• Currently 11 PhD students supported by LBNL, 8
  PhD students supported by LLNL

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The next decade holds promise for finding
solutions of major, grand-challenge problems
UCBNE Students at Yucca Mountain, January 2001
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Workshops for High School Science Teachers

• The workshops are hosted by the NE department and
  sponsored by the Northern California Chapter of
  the Health Physics Society and the Northern
  California Section of the American Nuclear
  Society.
• Its goals, are to enhance the teachers
  understanding and provide them with hands-on
  activities for their classrooms. Each teacher
  received a Geiger counter.
• One day, six hour workshop has been organized for
  last 6 years with over 150 high school science
  teachers attending.
• Visits to LBNL and LLNL are also provided!

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Workshops for High School Science Teachers

• Science teachers from California high schools
  learn how to use Geiger counters by measuring
  radiation from different objects.
• It was definitely worthwhile, concluded one
  participant from St. Francis High School in
  Mountain View.

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Unified Efforts for Nuclear Energy Futures

• WHO Government, national laboratories, industry,
  universities, public
• HOW Need to coordinate efforts, establish
  centers of excellence strategically placed across
  the country, close to national laboratories and
  universities
• Flexibility in Collaboration sharing expertise,
  researchers, experimental facilities, computing
  resources, graduate students
• Flexibility in assembling multidisciplinary teams
  for short- and long-term team work

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Center for Innovative Nuclear Science and
Technology (West Coast)

• Multi-disciplinary multi-institutional
  collaboration UCB, LBNL, LLNL, LANL, industry
  (?)
• Global Nuclear Energy Partnership/National
  Security
• Energy independence and security
• National security and non-proliferation
• Basic nuclear science (nuclear physics and
  chemistry, improvement of nuclear data,
  determination of precise actinide cross sections)
• Advanced nuclear reactor systems design and
  analysis
• New materials development for extreme
  environments
• Advanced fuel cycle research with impact on
  repository design and performance (focus on ONE
  repository)
• High performance computing and modeling for
  nuclear applications
• Safety assessment and licensing procedures for
  future passively safe NPPs
• Safeguards, Security, Regulations
• Flexibility in Collaboration
• Sharing expertise, experimental facilities,
  computing resources, researchers
• Educational emphasis - educating new generation
  of researchers

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Long-term Strategic Research Areas

• Advanced Reactor Design, Large Systems Analysis,
  Simulation Methods Development, Safety and Risk
  Assessment
• Nuclear Materials, Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle,
  Repository Performance and Design
• Nuclear Chemistry and Applied Nuclear Physics,
  Radiation Detection, Issues Related to National
  Security

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POSSIBLE COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

• Design of an ENHS demonstration plant
• Design of a LS-VHTR pilot plant
• System analysis of the ultimate sustainable
  nuclear energy system consisting of Generation-IV
  fuel-self-sufficient reactors and non-chemical
  fission products separation process that cannot
  partition Pu or other TRU
• Unbiased comprehensive comparison of Na, Pb alloy
  and Liquid Salt coolants for the ultimate
  fuel-self-sufficient reactors
• Assessment of feasibility of physical separation
  of fission products, making it impossible to
  partition Pu (e.g., AIROX or Archimedes
  Technologies process)
• Assess feasibility of hydride fuel for LWR (SCWR)
• Development of a very compact, ever-safe critical
  reactor for national security and other
  applications
• Development of multi-dimensional intelligent
  nuclear design optimization methods.

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SELECTED RESEARCH PROJECTS

• (CURRENT)

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DOE adopted ENHS type reactors as one of 6 types
of GEN-IV reactors

• underground silo
• no pumps
• no pipes
• no valves
• factory fueled
• weld-sealed
• gt20 years core
• no fueling on site
• Module is replaced
• shipping cask
• Pb or Pb-Bi cooled, 125MWt /50MWe

Replaceable Reactor module
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Fuel-self-sufficient core
Chose P/D 1.36 Pu w/o 12.2
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Nearly constant core power shape
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(No Transcript)
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Point defect transport ? solute impurity
diffusion
Vacancy, SIA point defect cluster migration
to annihilation at extended microstructural
defects (sinks) enhances the diffusion of solutes
impurity species - leading to
nano/microstructural changes (precipitation,
segregation)
Kinetic lattice Monte Carlo simulation of Cu
diffusion and precipitation
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NE RESEARCH

• FUTURE DIRECTIONS

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Reactor Design and Fuel Cycle Analysis

• Development of sustainable, proliferation-resista
  nt nuclear energy system
• Based on passively safe GEN-IV reactors
• Close of the nuclear fuel cycle in an economical
  and proliferation-resistant way
• Eliminate need for HLW repositories other than
  YMR
• Offer developing countries nuclear energy with
  energy security and proliferation resistance
• Development of high-temperature nuclear reactors
  for
• Generation of hydrogen
• High energy conversion efficiency and improved
  economics
• Development of improved computational capability
• Multi-dimensional coupled neutronics thermal
  hydraulics core design codes
• Intelligent multi-dimensional nuclear design
  optimization methods and codes
• Coupled Large Systems Analysis - advanced fuel
  cycle/reactor/repository

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Thermal Hydraulics

• Shift toward Generation IV technologies (ESBWR
  and AP-1000 represent fully mature, water-cooled
  reactors)
• Key long-term strategic directions for fission
  energy
• Low-pressure containment/confinement structures
• Gas-cooled reactors--vented confinements
• Low volatility coolants-- liquid salts, liquid
  metals
• Long thermal time constant for reactor core heat
  up
• Large thermal inertia from fuel and coolant
• Large temperature margins to fuel damage
• Elimination of complex and expensive active
  safety equipment
• Highly efficient, high power density energy
  conversion
• High coolant temperatures
• Compact closed gas cycles
• Direct thermo-chemical production of hydrogen
• Flexibility to evolve rapidly
• Risk-informed licensing
• Flexibility to evolve to begin full recycle of
  actinides
• Future U.S. activity in Fusion Technology is
  currently not predictable

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Risk, Safety and Systems Analysis

• Development of licensing bases for Generation IV
  Nuclear Energy Systems.
• Very large scale system optimization methods for
  integrated nuclear energy systems
  (sustainability, economics, safety and
  security/non-proliferation).
• Risk analysis methods for reactors with
  inherently safe features.
• Integration of fuel cycle analysis with reactor
  safety, economics and nonproliferation potential.
• Development of deterministic models and the
  acquisition of experimental data for
  understanding severe accidents in NPRs
• Experimental support and testing programs.

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Nuclear Materials and Chemistry, Fuel Cycle

• Push towards higher operating temperatures in Gen
  IV fission and fusion reactor designs place an
  increasing emphasis on advanced materials with
  improved high temperature mechanical properties,
  including irradiation creep and fatigue behavior
  in structural materials (piping, pressure
  vessels, cladding, heat exchangers, ).
• Fusion environment, along with radioactive alpha
  decay in nuclear fuels and national security
  stockpile materials, place an increasing emphasis
  on understanding the damaging effects of helium
  on materials performance and long-term (geologic
  repository) aging behavior.
• The use of alternate coolants demands improved
  knowledge and qualification of corrosion and
  stress-corrosion cracking behavior of current and
  advanced materials.
• High-temperature gas cooled reactor (NGNP)
  requires qualification and determination of
  design limits for a new generation of
  nuclear-grade graphite core material and
  high-temperature, large volume pressure vessel.

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Why concern about radiation effects?
  Materials aging and degradation is the major
issue for structural alloys used in intense
neutron environments in fission, fusion and
accelerator based nuclear systems   Objective
to predict the performance and lifetime of
existing materials in neutron service and to
develop higher performance longer-lived new
materials  Radiation effects on properties
are controlled by the combination of many
material and irradiation variables -
combinatorial complexity precludes purely
empirical approaches (also must extrapolate to
long time behavior) Use a multiscale
approach to understanding
the production of defects in materials
during irradiation, their subsequent
evolution in the material and effects on
materials properties
VHTR (NGNP)
High burnup nuclear fuel cladding
Reactor pressure vessel embrittlement
Fusion energy
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Multiscale modeling approach
Approach apply multiple complementary modeling,
experimental and theoretical techniques at
appropriate scales to determine underlying
mechanisms
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Nuclear Chemistry, Applied Nuclear Physics,
Radiation Detection

• The low-energy nuclear physics and interaction of
  radiation with matter important to nuclear
  chemistry, nuclear technology and applications.
• Fundamental nuclear physics measurements for
  applied purposes and the development of advanced
  detectors and methodologies, in addition to the
  application of nuclear techniques in a wide range
  of studies.
• Design of methodologies and detection systems to
  counter the possible transport of special nuclear
  materials (national security issues) and for
  applications in the biomedical and radiological
  sciences.

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Fast Neutrons High-Energy Resolution Spectrometers
Fast-Neutron Spectrometers in the MeV energy
range
Data from F. D. Brooks, H. Klein, Nucl. Inst.
Meth. A 476 1-11 (2002)