Education and Training at Low
Power Research Reactor VR-1
for National and International
Students and Trainees
Lubomir Sklenka, Jan Rataj
Department of Nuclear Reactors
Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering
Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Republic
Outline
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Introduction
Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
Users for education and training at VR-1 Reactor
Building up educational course at VR-1 Reactor
Conclusions
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
2
Training Reactor VR-1
Reactor type
Pool, training reactor
Nominal power
1 kW (short time up to 5 kW)
Fuel
Concentric tubes, UO2, 19.7 %
Neutron flux
Up to 2.109 cm-2.s-1 (thermal)
Experimental
facilities
2 horizontal channels
10 vertical channels
pneumatic transfer system
neutron generator
devices for study of:
* delayed neutrons
* void coefficients
* temperature coefficients
* fast reactivity changes
* harmonic reactivity changes
Education and training
Neutron activation analysis
Research in neutron
applications
Applications
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Training Reactor VR-1
Availability
Utilization
A1
A2
O1
O2
2009
99 %
39 %
215
775
2010
98 %
47 %
242
834
2011
99 %
48 % 1
230
675
2012
99 %
49 % 2
245
680
99 %
3
4054
750
2013
52 %
A1 = Number of hours of scheduled operation / number of
hours of scheduled operation + number of hours
of unscheduled shutdown
A2 = Number of hours in operation/ 1880 hours of standard
reactor capacity
Standard reactor capacity = 8 hours a day/5 days a week &
4 weeks holiday in summer & 1 week holiday Christmas &
New Year
O1 = Number of students & professionals in education
& training
O2 = Number of students & visitors in visit
1
in 2011 in total 892 hours in operation / ≈ 170 days in operation
2 in 2012 in total 912 hours in operation / ≈ 180 days in operation
3 in 2013 in total 973 hours in operation / ≈ 195 days in operation
4 from total of 405 students & trainees – 298 national and 107 international
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 Education at research reactor is specific discipline,
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which is very different from scientific & research work
Education at research reactor is very expensive
compared with other laboratories at university
Effective education at reactor is needed, otherwise high
and needless reactor running costs are incurred
State-of-the-art experimental equipment and
methodologies for education are necessary to develop
Effective education at reactor involves adapting the
educational methodology to the initial students’
background level and using adequate instrumentation
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 Operating costs of the reactor are very high, and it is
necessary to use the operation time of the reactor as
efficiently as possible.
 Specific effort and specific educational instrumentation
is needed for bachelor’s and master’s students:
o Students usually do not have sufficient knowledge for
clear and deep understanding of phenomena
o Standard equipment is usually too complicated
o Simple instrumentation and instrumentation
demonstrating one specific phenomenon can only be
welcomed, and the best approach is therefore illustrative
or visual.
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
6
Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 The education of doctoral students is easier, students
have enough knowledge for studying complicated and
complex phenomena, standard equipment for research
can be used
 All experiments offered to customers for educating
students at VR-1 reactor, are prepared on three levels:
o Demonstration level
o Basic level
o Advanced level
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 For effective education at the VR-1reactor:
o Several parallel measurement lines with the same
measurement units are necessary which can be used for
students divided into to several independent groups
o Optimum number of students in one group is two
because there is lack of work for a third student resulting
in his or her becoming bored or disturbing other students
o Number of measurement lines is main limiting factor for
the number of students that reactor could accept
o More measurement lines need more space, and more
funds for investment and running costs of the reactor
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
8
Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 For effective education at the VR-1reactor:
o Small “lecture room”, where lecturer can briefly repeat
necessary theory and describe the experiment is needed
o The best solution is to establish a lecture room directly in
reactor hall because students are focused on education,
and they can start the experiment immediately
o For hands-on training in reactor operation and for several
experiments, mostly study of reactor kinetics & dynamics,
enough space at control room is needed
o Visual differentiation between students and staff is
warmly welcomed particularly in case of emergency
event
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
Reactor hall arrangement (left) and visual differentiation (right) at VR-1 Reactor
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 For effective education at the VR-1reactor:
o Tidy and clean reactor hall and professional routine
behaviour of lecturers and reactor staff is the best way
how to teach students in safety culture
o Educational textbook is necessary prepare before starting
the regular educational process at reactor
o It is said that “a student’s half-life is only one year”,
meaning that every academic year new students start
working at the reactor, and usually there is not sufficient
time to carry out too many experiments per student.
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
11
Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 For effective education at the VR-1reactor:
o Customers at reactor are usually requested to carry out
the same basic reactor experiments each year:
• 80-90 % of the time at the reactor dedicated to education is filled
with only a few basic experiments
• Rest of the time is devoted to students with special interests, e.g.
future reactor physicists or nuclear safety experts.
• This is important to clearly understand this fact when education is
under consideration as a new type of research reactor use
o Not number of educational experiments, but high quality
of educational experiments is essential for future
customers and for long-term, effective and sustainable
education at the VR-1 reactor
o
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Education and training at VR-1 Reactor
 Over more than 20 years of VR-1 reactor operation
effective procedure for implementing new experiments
and new experimental devices in the reactor operation
has been used
1
2
3
4
5
10
1 First idea
2 Project and funds
3 Device development
4 Functioning testing
5 Educational testing
6
7
8
9
6 Implementation for Czech students
7 Implementation for Czech trainees
8 Implementation for international students
9 Implementation for international trainees
10 Implementation for research activities
Experiment implementation phases at VR-1 Reactor
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Users for education and training at VR-1
National users for education at VR-1
Czech Technical University
• Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering
• Department of Nuclear Reactors
• Department of Dosimetry and Application of Ionizing Radiation
• Department of Nuclear Chemistry
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering - Department of Electrical Power Engineering
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - Institute of Energy Engineering
Institute of Chemical Technology Prague
• Faculty of Environmental Technology - Department of Power Engineering
Brno University of Technology
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering - Department of Electrical Power Engineering
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - Energy Institute
University of West Bohemia in Plzen
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering - Department of Electric Power Eng. and Ecology
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - Department of Power System Engineering
Technical University of Ostrava IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
• Faculty of Mechanical
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche,-Argentina,
November
Engineering
Department
of2014
Power
Engineering
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Users for education and training at VR-1
International users for education at VR-1
University of Tennessee, USA
• College of Engineering - Department of Nuclear Engineering
Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom
• College of Management & Technology - Nuclear Department
University of Manchester, United Kingdom
• Dalton Institute
Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Aachen, Germany
• Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Protection
Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology - Institute of Nuclear and
Physical Engineering
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Users for education and training at VR-1
National and international users for training at VR-1
National users:
• CEZ power company, Prague (NPP operators and reactor physicists)
• SUJB - State office for nuclear safety, Prague (inspectors from regulatory body)
• Research centre Rez, Rez (RR operators and reactor physicists)
International users:
• ENEL-Slovenske elektrarne power company, Bratislava, Slovakia (NPP reactor
physicists)
• International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria (various type of trainees)
• Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat, Kuwait (RR project managers)
Regional users & networking:
• International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria (EERRI course
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Building up course at VR-1
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Education at the reactor is based on of educational units
Standard duration of one educational unit is 3 hours
Educational unit consist of one or more experiments
Educational course at the reactor and consists of several
educational units and depends on:
o Customer's request
o Initial knowledge level of the students
o Curricula
 Building up effective educational course at reactor for
new university or for new curriculum is long and time
consuming process
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Building up course at VR-1
 Following topics should be discussed:
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o Course content
o Level of course and course methodology
o Terminology used during course
o Course training material
o Evaluation of course
o All logistics issues
The preparatory team consists of both parties must find
answers to following questions:
o Which experiments offered at the VR-1 reactor are
suitable and beneficial for specific groups of students?
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Building up course at VR-1
 The preparatory team consists of both parties must find
the answers to the following questions:
o What is the background level of the students?
o Is the training methodology used at research reactor
compatible and/or complementary to the educational
methodology of the whole students’ curriculum?
o Is the terminology used in the course and the textbooks in
line with the one used for the whole study programme?
o How do the research reactor educational materials fit
with the rest of the material used for the whole curricula?
o Who will evaluate the course and how will the course be
evaluated?
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Building up course at VR-1
Typical 5-days course for nuclear engineering students
Monday
9.00 – 12.00
13.00 – 16.00
Tuesday
9.00 – 12.00
13.00 – 16.00
Welcome meeting
Visit of the reactor
• Basic information about the reactor, visit in the reactor hall, design of
the reactor
Neutron detection
• Gas filled neutron detectors, dead-time and differential characteristic,
distribution of the neutron flux in the reactor
Delayed neutrons detection
• Determination of delayed neutrons properties, determination of
fissionable material mass using delayed neutrons detection
Study of the reactor kinetics and dynamics I
• Reactor behaviour in critical, supercritical and sub critical state with
and without the external neutron source, influence of void effects on
behaviour andIGORR
operation
ofTMnuclear
reactor - determination of reactor
2014 / IAEA
on Enhanced
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void coefficient
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
Building up course at VR-1
Typical 5-days course for nuclear engineering students
Wednesday
9.00 – 12.00
13.00 – 16.00
Thursday
9.00 – 12.00
13.00 – 16.00
Reactivity measurement
• Reactivity measurement by various methods: Source Jerk, Rod Drop,
Positive period and Source multiplication method
Study of the reactor kinetics and dynamics II
• Reactor responses to different reactivity changes, reactor behaviour to
the periodic reactivity changes, pulse, transient and oscillation
characteristics measurement
Control rod calibration
• Control rod calibration by inverse rate method, rod calibration by
digital reactimeter
Critical experiment – approaching critical state
• Prediction of the reactor critical state by inverse rate method,
approaching the
critical
state
atEnhanced
the reactor by changes of control rod
IGORR
2014 / IAEA
TM on
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
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position
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
Building up course at VR-1
Typical 5-days course for nuclear engineering students
Friday
9.00 – 12.00
13.00 – 16.00
Digital control and safety systems of the VR-1 reactor
• Demonstration of control system functions, hands-on training in
reactor control by students
Discussion and evaluation of the course
Typical 2-days course for environmental sciences students
Day 1
9.00 – 12.00
Welcome meeting, visit of the reactor
13.00 – 16.00
Neutron detection
Day 2
9.00 – 12.00
Neutron activation analysis in everyday life
13.00 – 16.00
Practical training IGORR
in radiation
2014 / IAEAmonitoring
TM on Enhanced
Utilization
of
Zero
Power
Reactors,
Discussion and evaluation of the course
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Building up course at VR-1
•
•
Experiment description
available at YouTube
channel of the reactor
Core building course in 2009
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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Conclusions
 Research reactors are suitable for education of students
at all academic levels not only in nuclear engineering,
but also in various non-nuclear engineering studies.
 Training activities at the VR-1 reactor cover wide range
of training for various users from future reactor
operators and reactor physicists of Czech and Slovak
NPPs through inspectors from Czech regulatory and
project managers from Kuwait to IAEA fellows.
 More than 22 years of operation of the VR-1 reactor
shown that the reactor plays the key role in the national
nuclear education system in the Czech Republic.
IGORR 2014 / IAEA TM on Enhanced
Utilization of Zero Power Reactors,
Bariloche, Argentina, November 2014
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