
University-National Lab Collaborations in Nuclear Engineering: From Research to Workforce

March 12, 2021
A former MEng Capstone project by Jay Lin was published as a paper last year, and now developed as a product at Los Alamos National Laboratory. It was renamed from RANHAM to SHERMAN (Sample Handling Environment for Radioactive Materials Analysis with Neutrons) and has a commissioning report due in September 2021.
It is planned to hold spend fuel rods for 3D tomography investigations at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) accelerator.
To read the published paper: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11837-019-03849-2.pdf
Looking forward to more excellent news from our Alumni!
March 10, 2021
UCBNE PhD student Lorenzo Vergari's work is featured in the Spring 2021 Issue of the ANS Magazine 'Radwaste Solutions.' Entitled "Packaging TRISO," the article was based on Vergari's presentation of the same topic at the 2020 ANS Virtual Winter Meeting on November 16-19, 2020. He discusses storage and transportation strategies for used Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor fuel and identifies the next steps in the investigation before the suggestions can be put into effect.
ANS members can check this article out here. Starting on Page 68
Keep up the Excellent work Lorenzo!
Metals and minerals remain at the basis of modern society and their affordable and
environmentally respectable extraction and recycling is required. A global population of 9 billion
people by 2050 and global issues such as greenhouse gas emissions provide unique opportunities
for the deployment of new technologies for metals extraction and processing. Anticipating
affordability and deployment of sustainable electric power generation [1], the electrification and
intensification of metals and mining industry processes is becoming a possibility. This seminar
starts with reporting a methodology and analysis of existing extraction processes (e.g., mining
and pyrometallurgy of copper sulfides, ironmaking, and aluminium electrolysis) from an
electricity and cost standpoint. In a second time, the results are used to put forth a set of metrics
for alternative technologies based on electricity [2,3,4]. Finally, results for process scale-up in
molten oxides [4] and sulfides [5,6] are reviewed, highlighting the recent acceleration toward
industrial demonstration.
[1] A. Allanore, Contribution of Electricity to Materials Processing: Historical and Current Perspectives, JOM,
65(2), 131, (2013)
[2] A. Allanore, Electrochemical Engineering for Commodity Metals Extraction, Electrochem. Soc. Interface, vol.
26, issue 2, 63-68, (2017)
[3] C. Stinn and A. Allanore, Estimating the Capital Costs of Electrowinning Process, Interface, vol. 29, 44-49,
(2020)
[4] A. Allanore, Features and Challenges of Molten Oxide Electrolytes for Metal Extraction, Journal of the
Electrochemical Society, 162(1), 13-22, (2015)
[5] A. Allanore, L. Yin & D. R. Sadoway, A New Anode Material for Oxygen Evolution in Molten Oxide
Electrolysis. Nature, 497(7449), 353–356, (2013)
[6] S. Sokhanvaran, S.-K. Lee, G. Lambotte & A. Allanore, Electrochemistry of Molten Sulfides: Copper Extraction
from BaS-Cu2S. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 163(3), 115–120, (2016)
[7] S. Sahu, B. Chmielowiec & A. Allanore, Electrolytic Extraction of Copper, Molybdenum and Rhenium from
Molten Sulfide Electrolyte, Electrochimica Acta, vol. 243, 382-389 (2017)
Dr. Kotlyar has established a sustainable research program in the field of advanced nuclear reactor design and multiphysics analysis. His Computational Reactor Engineering Laboratory (CoRE) focuses on developing the next generation production tools as well as designing advanced and low cost nuclear energy systems. In this talk he will cover the design aspects and modeling challenges associated with Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) systems. Nuclear thermal propulsion is a potential technology for future crewed missions to Mars due to its high thrust, and high specific impulse (Isp). This technology is expected to enable reduced interplanetary travel times, which could increase the crew's safety by reducing exposure to cosmic radiation and other hazards of deep space travel. BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) is working with NASA to develop critical reactor fuel technologies and mature the design of a low-enriched uranium engine. Dr. Dan Kotlyar’s research group is working with BWXT to support further research in NTP technology by developing a computational multiphysics framework that will allow a better understanding of the operational limits, reliability, and associated safety margins of the engine. Many of NTP design challenges are born from satisfying both the Isp and thrust to weight ratio requirements while ensuring adequate excess reactivity for the entire engine lifetime. In order to overcome these challenges multiphysics tools are required to accurately predict the core power distribution which is impacted through various phenomena.
Dr. Dan Kotlyar is an Assistant Professor in the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, G.W.W. School of Mechanical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Engineering in 2008, MSc in Nuclear Engineering in 2010, and PhD in Nuclear Engineering in 2013 from Ben-Gurion University, Israel. In 2014, he joined the University of Cambridge as a Research Associate in the Engineering Design Center. In 2014, he was elected as a Research Fellow at Jesus College. He is the recipient of the NRC Faculty Development Fellowship. Dr. Kotlyar’s research interests include development of numerical methods and algorithms for coupled Monte Carlo, fuel depletion and thermal hydraulic codes. In particular, he specializes in applying these methods to the analysis of advanced reactor systems. Dr. Kotlyar’s research also focuses on optimizing the performance of various fuel cycles in terms of fuel utilization, proliferation, and cost. Dr. Kotlyar’s group is actively engaged to support the nuclear industry with modeling and simulation challenges related to advanced concepts. Dr. Kotlyar profoundly believes in education through research and thus integrates practical reactor system design into his lectures.
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