Heavy metal summer school 2023
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Boeretang 200
Mol
Overview
Heavy liquid metal (HLM) coolants offer new perspectives for the development of innovative nuclear systems for nuclear waste transmutation and energy production. The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) is working on the development of the HLM cooled MYRRHA accelerator driven system (ADS). MYRRHA will serve as an ADS demonstrator for transmutation, as an HLM reactor pilot plant and it will be used as an irradiation tool for research. With this, it is at the forefront of HLM nuclear technology worldwide.
During this summer school, participants will gain insight into the state-of-the-art research focused to the development of MYRRHA and other HLM-based nuclear systems. The summer school will cover several aspects of HLM technology that are essential for the engineering design and safety of nuclear systems.
Experts from SCK CEN and other internationally renowned research organizations will give the lectures. They will cover the most advanced HLM-based nuclear systems and deal with the neutronics, chemical, thermal hydraulic and materials issues and challenges in instrumentation, safety and design. Complementary to the lectures, visits are foreseen to various experimental facilities that were constructed at SCK CEN in support of the MYRRHA project.
Throughout the course week, participants will have the opportunity to brainstorm on best practices and selections of technologies for HLM cooled nuclear systems in interactive sessions with the experts.
As a research center specializing in heavy liquid metal technology, it seems more than a coincidence that SCK CEN is neighbor to one of the most successful Heavy Metal festivals in the world: the Graspop Metal Meeting (GMM). The GMM begins when the HLM summer school ends. Each participant receives an entrance ticket for Friday June 16, 2023 to enjoy metal and liquids at this unique festival.
The course is organized under the umbrella of the Euratom project Advanced Nuclear Safety Evaluation of Liquid Metal Using Systems. ANSELMUS' objective is to contribute significantly to the safety assessment of heavy-liquid-metal (HLM) systems, in particular ALFRED and MYRRHA as these are included in the roadmap for the development of advanced systems in Europe.
This event has been partially supported by the ENEN2plus project (HORIZON-EURATOM-2021-NRT-01-13 101061677) funded by the European Union.
Topics
To set the frame, the motivation for HLM-based nuclear systems and the design of several of the most developed HLM facilities will be introduced. In addition, the link with accelerator technology for ADS systems and partitioning and transmutation fuels is made.
In a module on chemistry you will be introduced to the various sources of impurities in HLM and to methods for their purification, to oxygen monitoring and control systems, and to the chemistry of radioactive impurities.
In the module on materials you will learn to select materials for structural and functional components of reactors and get acquainted with irradiation damage processes and with liquid metal induced corrosion and its mitigation strategies.
The thermal hydraulics module will start from the fundamentals of heat transfer in liquid metals to provide insight in the thermal hydraulic phenomena occurring in the fuel assembly and primary system. Experimental and numerical tools for the system safety analysis will also be covered.
In the instrumentation module you will get an overview of measurement techniques that can be used in liquid metals.
Audience
This summer school is aimed at PhD students, post-docs and professionals with a particular interest in the domain of HLM technologies.
Programme
The full programme can be downloaded here:
Required Knowledge
Participants should have obtained a Master degree in physics or engineering.
Preparation
Participants are invited to send in an abstract (max. one page) before May 22, 2023 for a poster presentation on their research activities.
Learning outcomes
After participation to this course, participants will be able to:
Related to the module on motivation and design:
- understand the motivation behind the use of HLM coolants in nuclear applications
- describe the basic design principles for HLM cooled nuclear systems
- understand the principles that define the requirements and design of an accelerator suited for ADS
- understand the principles and steps required for spent fuel partitioning and the conversion into transmutation fuel
Related to the module on coolant chemistry:
- identify different chemical processes occurring in HLM systems and explain their relation to operation and safety
- list the different sources of impurities in HLM systems
- describe by which theoretical and experimental methods the different sources of impurities can be quantified
- explain why and by which methods certain impurities are removed from heavy liquid metal coolants
- explicate why oxygen control and monitoring is essential for operation of HLM nuclear systems
- describe by which methods oxygen control can be achieved and explain their operation
- explain the working principle and different designs of oxygen sensors
- clarify which chemical processes govern the distribution of radionuclides in a system like MYRRHA
- explain the physic chemistry of radionuclide evaporation from heavy liquid metals and experimental methods to measure evaporation
Related to the module on thermal hydraulics:
- explain the general principles of liquid metal heat transfer
- identify the possibilities and shortcomings of different numerical approaches for liquid metal heat transfer
- select proper correlations for pressure loss and heat transfer coefficients in liquid metal cooled fuel assemblies
- estimate the effects of blockages and deformations in fuel assemblies
- explain the phenomena occurring in heavy liquid metal pools including mixing and stratification, sloshing etc.
- describe the approach to design and instrument a scaled pool experiment
- identify the possibilities and shortcomings of system analysis codes for heavy liquid metal cooled reactor systems
- explain the issues related to system safety in heavy liquid metal cooled reactor systems
Related to the module on materials issues:
- identify the general principles of selection and qualification of materials for structural and functional components of reactors
- differentiate between screening tests and characterization of materials properties for design
- list mechanical properties used for the design of structural and functional components
- name the degradation effects of heavy liquid metals and neutron irradiation on mechanical properties used in the development of reactor components
- describe the general principles of liquid metal corrosion and to give an example of mitigation approaches
Related to the module on instrumentation:
- give an overview of measurement techniques for diagnostics and process monitoring of liquid metal systems
Price
This training course is free of charge, but registration is mandatory (see Registration information).
Registration info
To register for this course, an application is mandatory. Your application needs to contain the following information:
- contact details;
- brief motivation to attend the school (max. 200 words);
- scientific CV with current position and field of research;
- abstract for a poster presentation on your research project.
The application should be sent by e-mail to academy [at] sckcen [dot] be (academy[at]sckcen[dot]be) before the deadline of May 22, 2023. We expect 1 pdf file containing all the requested information about the application.
The organising committee will let you know if your application for this training course is accepted.
Registration to the summer school includes:
- Participation to the course, interactive sessions and technical visits;
- Welcome reception on Monday evening June 12;
- Enjoy a typical Belgian evening meal on June 13;
- Coffee breaks & lunches during the course;
- Online training material and documentation;
- Certificate of attendance.
Cancellation is possible until May 22, 2023.
SCK CEN reserves the right to cancel a training course or event (e.g. in case of low number of registrations).
Accommodation
The course is held at the SCK CEN Lakehouse of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Boeretang 201, BE-2400 Mol, Belgium.
Rooms are pre-booked at Hotel Corsendonck Turnova, Kursaalpoort 10 at the city centre of Turnhout. Please inform the SCK CEN Academy as soon as possible in order to confirm your room reservation via academy [at] sckcencen [dot] be to the attention of Ms Kris Pennemans, as only 20 rooms are available. Daily transport between Hotel Turnova and the course venue will be provided by the course organizer.
The following mobility grants can be addressed in order to take part in the Heavy metal summer school:
ENEN2plus
The SCK CEN Academy has 10 ENEN2plus mobility grants available of 900 EUR (500 EUR for cross-border travel and 400 EUR for lodging for cross-border participants) to attend the Heavy metal summer school. If you want to apply for this grant, please submit your ‘Individual application to a group event’ on the ENEN2plus mobility portal https://mobility.enen.eu before May 22, 2023 (website will be updated accordingly in the shortest delay). If approved by the Committee, the amount of 900 EUR will be transferred directly to the bank account of the selected participant. The Committee will let you know if your application for this training course is accepted the very latest on May 30, 2023.
ANSELMUS
The ANSELMUS project has a total of 10.000 EUR available for travel and lodging to attend the Heavy metal summer school. To be eligible for an ANSELMUS grant, participants must submit the following information, clearly indicating that they want to be selected for an ANSELMUS grant:
- contact details;
- brief motivation to attend the school (max. 200 words);
- scientific CV with current position and field of research;
- abstract for a poster presentation on your research project.
These documents need to be submitted via mail to academy [at] sckcen [dot] be (academy[at]sckcen[dot]be) before May 22, 2023. As there is no fixed amount for this grant, a Committee will decide on a case-by-case basis to which student(s) a grant will be allocated and for which amount. This amount can vary and depends e.g. on the provenance of the student. The Committee will let you know if your application for this training course is accepted the very latest on May 30, 2023.
Applications can be submitted for both grants, but finally only one grant will be attributed per participant.