28th International QUENCH Workshop
The 28th International QUENCH Workshop took place from December 5 to 7, 2023 at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
The main focus was on presentations on the high-temperature behavior of ATF (Accident Tolerant Fuel) materials and the behavior of cladding tubes during long-term interim storage.
The participants of the workshop from various areas of research and industry contributed to a successful exchange through their active participation.
From the PSS side, Gregor Stahlberg presented current research results regarding the development of a preliminary model for Cr-coated cladding tubes for system codes.
In collaboration with Thorsten Hollands (GRS) and Fabrizio Gabrielli (KIT), comparative simulations of QUENCH experiments with the code AC² and ASTEC modified for Cr-coated cladding tubes were also presented.
We will incorporate the results of the workshop into our work and further advance our research.
We would like to thank the organizers of the QUENCH workshop and the outstanding QUENCH team for the event and look forward to participating next year.
AC² User Meeting 2023
This year, the AC² User Meeting (November 27 - 29) was an important meeting for the exchange between the code developer GRS gGmbH and the users of its simulation software AC².
AC² consists of the codes ATHLET, ATHLET-CD and COCOSYS, which are used by PSS in the context of development and validation projects.
The main aim of the meeting is to create a common platform for the exchange of experience between users and developers.
PSS was represented at the user meeting by Florian Krist, who presented the working group's current work with AC².
The event offered the opportunity to engage in in-depth technical discussions with the developers and to provide feedback on the existing functionalities of the code package.
KTG Young Talent Conference 2023
This year's Young Generation Conference of the KTG e. V. took place on 14 and 15 November at GRS gGmbH in Garching near Munich.
In his welcoming speech, Florian Krist, Chair of the Young Generation, introduced the central theme of the conference: Showing young, interested people from all over Germany the prospects that exist in both research and industry, even after the last power reactors are shut down in April. This year's focus was on nuclear fusion and research reactors in Germany.
During technical presentations, discussions and excursions, the participants had the opportunity to meet a wide range of speakers from different areas of nuclear technology and gain an insight into their fields of activity.
The excursions led to the Centre for Advanced Laser Applications (CALA), the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) and the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II).
4th Consortium Meeting of the EU-project AMHYCO>
The fourth project meeting and the first workshop of the EU project "AMHYCO" took place in Orléans, France, from October 16th to 19th.
Under the title "H2/CO safety for nuclear power plants", the two-day workshop was attended by both project participants and interested external guests.
In the following project meeting, current project results, progress and challenges were discussed. In this context, all PhD students involved in the project, from PSS Miriam Müer, also had the opportunity to present their current research work and receive feedback from experienced project partners.
Project meeting of the EU project SASPAM-SA
After a successful year, the second annual project meeting of the EU project SASPAM-SA took place from 10.10.2023 - 12.10.2023 in Bologna, Italy. All of the 23 project partners were represented by one or more local representatives. The hybrid meeting also allowed other partners and interested parties to take part in the project meeting or individual meetings. This made it possible to present the results achieved so far and to engage in lively discussions.
PSS was represented on site by Gregor Stahlberg and Julia Krieger. Prof. Koch also took part in the meeting online.
As always, the meeting was characterized by good organization and cooperation. We would like to thank the project coordinator Fulvio Mascari and his team!
Rising Stars Workshop
The Rising Stars Workshop, organized for the first time by the OECD NEA, took place from 21.9. - 22.9. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA. It is aimed specifically at women in the field of nuclear technology in order to promote and network young female scientists as well as women already established in the community. This project is to be continued and further strengthened with the help of an annual workshop at international level.
This year's workshop was characterized by a wide variety of participating countries as well as the topics presented. Not only the technical side of nuclear facilities was considered, but also social and medical aspects.
Due to the successful application of PSS employee Julia Krieger, she was given the opportunity to take part in this workshop and present her work as a poster. In addition to interesting discussions with talented researchers and mentors, valuable insights into the interdisciplinary fields of nuclear technology were gained and new international contacts were made.
ICCHMT 2023 – 14. International Conference on Computational Heat and Mass Transfer, Düsseldorf
From September 4th to 8th, the 14th International Conference on Computational Heat and Mass Transfer took place at Hochschule Düsseldorf (HSD).
The conference provided a platform for exchanging ideas with international colleagues from industry and research in various areas of computer-aided simulation of heat and mass transfer processes.
PSS was represented on-site by Jan Peschel, who presented work on the development of a fast-running model for simulating debris beds for the system code AC², which is part of his ongoing doctoral thesis.
A discussion session following the presentation provided valuable feedback that could already be taken into account in the further development of the topic.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to HSD, Prof. Dr. Benim, and his team for organizing and hosting the conference.
EAC2023 - European Aerosol Conference 2023, Malaga Spanien
This September, scientific contributions from the Plant Simulation and Safety (PSS) working group were successfully discussed at EAC 2023, one of the world's largest scientific conferences in the field of aerosol research, where more than 1000 abstracts were submitted.
From September 3 to 8, René Vennemann presented selected current research work in Malaga, including results from the research project "Analytical and Experimental Studies on Particle Retention in Liquid Reservoirs (APVOR)" with the
Topic: "Pool Scrubbing experiments with elevated pool temperature".
The conference was attended by various research institutes and universities from around the world, as well as various industrial companies and government institutions.
20th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-20), Washington D.C.
Once again, scientific contributions from the Plant Simulation and Safety working group were successfully discussed with international experts at this year's NURETH-20. Selected current research work was presented by Julia Krieger, Maximilian Hoffmann and Gregor Stahlberg from August 20-25 in Washington D.C.. Among them were results on the further development of the system code package AC², developed by GRS gGmbH, regarding phenomena in helical heat exchangers, melt-concrete interaction (MCCI) and Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF). Parts of the research work of René Vennemann, who is listed as co-author in each case, were presented by Michael Klauck (FZJ) and Hans-Josef Allelein (RWTH Aachen).
Participants at the meeting included various research institutes and universities from around the world, as well as diverse industrial companies, government institutions and NGOs.
The following conference papers from PSS are published as part of the Proceedings of the 20th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics:
• Analysis of a Selected Experiment of the OSU-MASLWR Test Facility Regarding the Heat Transfer in Helically Coiled Steam Generators Using AC²-ATHLET (Julia Krieger)
• Determination of Effective Heat Transfer Coefficients Using the Decomposition Parameters of Silicate Concrete, the Melt Composition and the Heating Power with AC²-COCOSYS (Maximilian Hoffmann)
• Comparative Analyses of the QUENCH Experiments L3HT and ATF-1 on High Temperature Oxidation Mechanisms using AC² (Gregor Stahlberg)
PhD Student Conference 2023 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße
This year, for the first time, a collaborative PhD student conference of the Institute of Nuclear Energetics and Energy Systems (IKE) of the University of Stuttgart and PSS took place. The conference was hosted in Neustadt an der Weinstraße at the Neustadt Monastery from 31.07.2023 - 03.08.2023. The aim was not only to present the work currently being carried out and planned in the doctoral project or in the project, but also to exchange information on specialist topics and to consolidate the doctoral student network. Through lively discussions of the professors and doctoral students, important suggestions for further work could be given.
The meeting should give the starting signal for following PhD student meetings of IKE and PSS with alternating location. Next year we will (probably) welcome IKE in the Ruhr area.
PSS thanks very much for the valuable exchange and cooperation!
Invitation to the OECD NEA Rising Stars Workshop at MIT in Cambridge, USA
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is an intergovernmental body that promotes cooperation among countries with advanced nuclear infrastructure.
It has long sought to strengthen cooperation with academic institutions as well as to improve gender balance in the nuclear field.
In this context, the Rising Stars program was launched. The goal is to bring female Rising Stars/young scientists into the international nuclear community within the nuclear field, in related disciplines, and beyond.
With the help of an annual workshop, these goals are to be achieved and the opportunity to network and further educate themselves internationally is to be offered. PSS research associate Julia Krieger was nominated as a candidate by Prof. Koch and was successful with a strong application.
Ms. Krieger was invited to the Rising Stars Workshop at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA, to present her work with the help of a poster presentation.
The workshop will take place from 20.09.2023 - 21.09.2023 and will be hosted by the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT.
Participation in meetings of international projects
On July 3 and 4, the fifth meeting of the Program Review Group of the OECD/NEA project THEMIS took place in Frankfurt am Main. Participants from 14 nations discussed and analyzed new experimental findings from the research project.
PSS staff member Johannes Hoffrichter participated as a technical expert. Core topics of the fifth meeting were pool scrubbing, hydrogen/carbon monoxide deflagration and the planned extension of the THAI experimental plant.
Subsequently, the meeting of the international project IPRESCA took place on July 5 and 6, in which PSS was represented by Miriam Müer, Jonas Rehrmann and René Vennemann.
The aim of this project is to pool worldwide research on pool scrubbing in order to contribute to a better understanding and to advance model development.
Mr. René Vennemann presented to the participants recent experimental findings of PSS, which were obtained using the SAAB experimental facility of the Research Center Jülich.
Short course on Severe Accident Phenomenology, University of Madrid, 19.-23.06.2023
The eleventh edition of the Severe Accident Phenomenology short course took place from 19th to 23rd of June.
It was organized by the European Project SEAKNOT (Severe Accident Research and Knowledgement Management for LWRs) and held at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spanien.
For PSS, Miriam Müer, Florian Krist and Gregor Stahlberg attended the workshop and had the opportunity to listen to lectures from international reactor safety research experts in severe accident phenomenology, mitigation and modelling for current and future advanced water reactors and to also exchange with several international participants.
PSS moves back to the campus
Due to the termination of the lease at the branch office "Trimonte-Park - Wasserstraße" we moved back to the campus.
You can now find us in building IC / floor 2 / room 129 (secretary's office)!
30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) 21.05.2023 – 26.05.2023
At the 30th ICONE (International Conference on Nuclear Engineering) in Kyoto, Japan, PSS was represented by Julia Krieger.
The conference is one of the most important meetings of experts and young scientists in the field of nuclear engineering in an international context and has been held on different continents for several decades.
Overall, a large number of interesting research projects were presented, which are currently being carried out internationally. In addition, the current situation as well as future plans regarding the energy policy of various countries were presented. In this context, an increased orientation towards the development and expansion of small modular reactors (SMRs) is evident.
The title of the submitted paper with accompanying presentation is: Simulation of the Experiment OSU-002 Regarding the Behavior of a Helically Coiled Steam Generator using AC²-ATHLET.
Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform Forum (SNETP Forum) 2023 15.05.2023 – 17.05.2023
Also this year, PSS was represented by Julia Krieger at the SNETP Forum 2023 in Götheborg, Sweden.
In addition to interesting presentations on the current situation in Sweden and the presentation of new start-ups, the focus was on the current developments in the field of Small Modular Reactors.
Due to the overlap of the topic with the currently running EU project SASPAM-SA, in which PSS is significantly involved, a poster was created to present the project by the coordinator.
By participating, current research as well as developments can be followed and beneficially applied at PSS.
The SNETP Forum also provided a suitable framework for making new contacts and enabled active participation in discussions on future projects.
KERNthemen 2023
On 3 and 4 May the KERNthemen 2023 took place at the Börse Dresden.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) invited participants from current BMBF-funded projects in nuclear safety and radiation research, young scientists and the interested professional community to an interdisciplinary exchange.An intensive and successful exchange took place in several sessions. In addition to interesting presentations on current research topics, future topics in reactor safety, radiation and disposal research were also discussed, and many points of intersection between the three main topics were found.
Furthermore, young scientists had the opportunity to participate in workshops and to network with each other. In the context of a job exchange, initial contacts could also be made with companies in the field of nuclear technology.
As part of the moderation team, Prof. Marco K. Koch led the sessions on future research topics in reactor safety at KERNthemen 2023.
As part of the joint project "InnoPhase", Juliane Neuhaus and Nicole Richter participated in the workshops as junior scientists.
High Performance Computing (HPC)
In addition to the numerous Windows and Linux workstations for simple simulations as well as pre- and post-processing, parallelized calculations are performed on our high-performance computer.
The available computing power has now been extended by four additional compute nodes.
Therefore, the cluster now consists of 704 cores and 2816 GB RAM, which are also available for the computation of high-resolution flow simulations for student theses.
New job offers
PSS is looking for new dedicated employees.
Under the tab "Job Offers" you can find job offers for student and research assistants as well as research assistants.
Excursions within the framework of the lecture power plant technology
This year, three interesting excursions took place as part of the lecture on nuclear power plant technology.
The first excursion led to the Gesellschaft für Simulatorschulung in Essen. At the simulator center, students were able to simulate incidents in a full-scale reconstruction of the control room of the nuclear power plant Grohnde and control the "power plant" themselves. In addition, the students were able to take a close look at the structure of the primary system on a glass model of a pressurized water reactor.
During the second excursion, the students had once again the opportunity to visit the Emsland nuclear power plant in power operation due to the extension of the operating period until the end of April 2023. In addition to an interesting presentation on the past and development of one of the world's highest performance nuclear power plants and the future prospects of the Lingen power plant region, the dimensions of the power plant became visible during a following tour of the site and through the machine building.
During the last excursion of the lecture period, a group of students was able to visit the asseembling plant of the Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service in Mühlheim an der Ruhr, where CASTOR® and MOSAIK® containers for the transport and storage of radioactive materials are assembled. In addition to viewing the impressive CASTOR® casks, it was also possible to visit the unique ultrasonic testing facility for the cast iron blanks.
PSS sincerely thanks the staff of the simulator center, RWE at the Emsland power plant and GNS for their efforts and the opportunity to provide the students with such exciting insights outside the lecture hall.
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Last update: Jan 31, 2024
