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 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 3 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 4 Education and training at VR-1 Reactor Education at research reactor is specific discipline, 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 5 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 7 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 9 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 10 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 12 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 13 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 14 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 15 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 16 Building up course at VR-1 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 17 Building up course at VR-1 Following topics should be discussed: 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 18 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 19 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 Utilization of Zero Power Reactors, 20 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, 21 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 22 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 23 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 24
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