We congratulate Paul on his great Doctorate!
The working group congratulates Paul Fuchs
on the successful completion of his doctorate on 18.12.2024 with the title:
"Model development and numerical simulation of condensation induced water hammer events with the finite volume CFD code OpenFOAM."
Doctoral programme 2024 of the InnoPhase project
From 25 to 27 November, the doctoral students involved in the InnoPhase project from the University of Stuttgart and the PSS met for an intensive exchange at the Beckmannshof of the Ruhr Universität Bochum.
The aim of the meeting was to present the previous work, to discuss current work steps and to lay the foundations for closer collaboration.
The discussions were supported by two experienced post-docs from the PSS, who provided helpful input.
In a pleasant atmosphere and with excellent catering, the three days provided space for productive discussions and the consolidation of joint work.
Another meeting is already planned for next year in Stuttgart.
29th International QUENCH Workshop + 9th Meeting of the QUENCH-ATF PRG, KIT, Karlsruhe, 18.-22. November 2024
The 29th QUENCH Workshop provided a platform for exchange among international experts, including representatives from GRS, KIT, CEA, IRSN, Westinghouse, HUN-REN, and UJP.
Research results on the long-term storage of fuel elements, the behavior of advanced cladding materials (ATF) under accident conditions as well as modeling and code application were discussed.
During the preceding KTG event, Dr. Walter Tromm provided an overview of reactor safety research at KIT, while Dr. Martin Steinbrück and Dr. Juri Stuckert highlighted the 25-year history of the QUENCH program.
Gregor T. Stahlberg represented the Plant Simulation and Safety Group (RUB PSS) and also participated in the 9th meeting of the Program Review Group of the OECD/NEA project "QUENCH-ATF."
The latest results regarding the modeling of the oxidation behavior of ATF during postulated reactor accidents from the BMUV-funded joint project "ASUS" were presented.
These model developments also contributed to further research presented by Liviusz Lovasz (GRS). The studies titled "Current Progress and Testing of AC² at PSS focusing on ATF – Chromium Coating during Postulated SA within QUENCH facility and iPWR" will be published in the KIT proceedings.
Kick-off meeting of the EU project EASI-SMR, Paris
On September 24th and 25th, the kick-off meeting of the EU project EASI-SMR took place in Paris at the Research and Development Center of the coordinator EDF. 160 participants from 38 research and industrial organizations from 16 countries attended the event on site or remotely. As part of the project, the aim is to advance research on safety issues relating to light water Small Modular Reactors (SMR) over a period of 4 years.
PSS was represented by Prof. Koch and Miriam Müer and is looking forward to the exciting years ahead.
AI for Nuclear – Summer School AI 2024 in Halden, 01.-05.09.2024
From 01 to 05 September, the Summer School AI for Nuclear was hosted by the Halden HTO Project in Norway. The focus was on the use of AI in nuclear energy, covering a wide range of topics such as the basic principles of AI, regulatory and technical aspects, digital twins, physical modelling, collaboration between humans and AI, and AI and robotics in nuclear applications. In addition to the many interesting presentations and discussions among the more than 70 participants from 12 different countries, there was also the opportunity to visit the HTO laboratories in Halden on the last day and get an idea of the practical implementation of AI in nuclear energy. Nicole Richter from the PSS had the opportunity to take part in this exciting and well-organised summer school.
14th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Operation, and Safety (NUTHOS-14), Vancouver
The 14th NUTHOS conference took place from 25-28 August in Vancouver, Canada.
This was the first time NUTHOS had been hosted in North America. Several hundred experts from research institutes and industrial companies in 19 countries took part in the international symposium on thermal hydraulics, operation and safety of nuclear reactors to present and discuss their latest findings and results. PSS associates Florian Krist, Miriam Müer, Jonas Rehrmann and Gregor Stahlberg presented their current results from their projects and doctoral theses on the following topics:
Miriam Müer’s work was awarded the Best Student Paper Award.
Summer excursion to the Nachtigall colliery
On Friday 09.08.2024 our AG summer excursion took place!
We set off from the RUB along a hiking trail towards Nachtigall Colliery in the idyllic Muttental valley in Witten.
We made a short stop at Hardenstein Castle before taking part in a tour of the mine at Nachtigall Colliery.
Back at RUB, we rounded off the day with a barbecue together.
We congratulate Jan on his great Doctorate!
The working group congratulates Jan Peschel
on the successful completion of his doctorate on 01.08.2024 with the title:
"Extension of the late-phase model basis of the system code AC2 for the simulation of debris beds."
Doctoral student conference 2024 at the Ebernburg
With a view over the Nahe Valley, this year's doctoral conference of the Institute of Nuclear Energy and Energy Systems (IKE) of the University of Stuttgart and PSS took place at the Ebernburg in Bad Münster am Stein. From 15 to 18 July 2024, the doctoral students once again had the opportunity to present their current work and engage in interesting technical discussions. The joint organisation of the conference is intended to open up new perspectives on their own work and to support and strengthen the national nuclear technology network. Apart from the presentations, the conference was also characterised by a collaborative atmosphere with many exciting discussions. We look forward to next year and would like to thank IKE for the excellent collaboration!
KERNTECHNIK2024
The national conference KERNTECHNIK2024 took place this year from 10.06. - 13.06.2024 at the H4 Hotel in Leipzig. PSS was represented by the employees Nicole Richter, Juliane Neuhaus, Julia Krieger, Jan Peschel, Florian Krist and Maximilian Hoffmann and was able to make an essential contribution to the program with four specialist presentations. Prof. Koch was also on site due to his involvement in the KTG and KernD and was involved in the organization and implementation of the conference, especially in connection with the promotion of young talent.
KERNTECHNIK2024 was a meeting for professional exchange, for lively discussions, to meet old friends and colleagues and to make new contacts. The conference was characterized by an open-minded and positive atmosphere. We would like to thank you very much for the good organization and look forward to the next time!
European Industrial Alliance on SMRs
The first General Assembly of the "European Industrial Alliance on SMRs" took place from 29.05. - 30.05.2024 in Brussels, Belgium and was hosted by the European Commission. The 278 members of the Alliance were each represented by one representative on site. PSS was represented by employee Julia Krieger, which enabled important contacts to be made and information to be exchanged. The meeting focused on discussing the current situation, the future approach and the presentation of the eight Technical Working Groups (TWG). It became clear that progress should be made quickly, for which the active participation of all members is essential. Following the General Assembly, PSS registered for participation in two Technical Working Groups. The first meetings of the TWGs are already taking place in June. We are looking forward to the rapidly progressing developments and the exciting collaboration!
11th European Review Meeting on Severe Accidents Research (ERMSAR 2024), KTH Stockholm, Schweden, 13.-16. Mai 2024
At this year's ERMSAR, PSS was represented by employees Miriam Müer, Jonas Rehrmann and Gregor T. Stahlberg.
The conference enabled an intensive exchange with numerous international experts from research institutes, universities, industrial companies and government agencies to discuss research results in the field of severe accident analyses in existing and new reactor types. In two presentations and one poster, PSS presented the latest results from national and EU-funded projects on the following topics:
Research stay at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Between April and May, Miriam Müer had the opportunity to spend four weeks with one of the project partners as part of the EU-project AMHYCO. She stayed at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, in the research group of Prof. Gonzalo Jimenez and his team. The focus of the stay was on learning the thermohydraulic containment code GOTHIC and exchanging knowledge about current project work and results.
PSS is a member of the newly founded European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors
The development of small modular reactors (SMRs) is being driven forward rapidly worldwide and has a high chance of realization for new nuclear buildings, particularly in Europe.
The safety of the plants is therefore a high priority. For this reason, the PSS working group is actively involved in current research projects on the subject of SMR at national and European level.
The aim of the industrial alliance for SMR founded by the EU is to facilitate and accelerate the development, demonstration and use of SMR in Europe by the beginning of 2030.
To this end, cooperation between a wide range of institutions (e.g. project sponsors, financial institutions, regulatory authorities, developers and universities) is essential.
PSS has applied to participate in the industrial alliance due to its already established expertise in the field of reactor safety research.
This serves not only to follow current developments, but also to actively participate in the planning and creation of new structures and processes.
As a result of the successful application, PSS has officially been part of the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors since April 30, 2024.
The “1st General Assembly of the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs” will take place from 29.05. - 30.05.2024 in Brussels, Belgium.
PSS is looking forward to an active cooperation.
For further information:
to the external page!
Excursion as part of the lecture on nuclear power plant technology
Once again this year, students on the nuclear power plant technology course had the opportunity to experience the production of CASTOR© casks from the Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service first-hand as part of an excursion. After a lecture on the development and production as well as the special features of the transport and storage casks, the students were then allowed to visit the production facility. There, CASTOR© and MOSAIK© casks could be viewed from the raw state to the fully assembled product. At the end of the excursion, the unique ultrasonic testing station for the cast iron blanks was also visited. PSS would like to thank GNS for the opportunity to give the students this practical experience!
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Last update: Jan 07, 2025
