Academic Activities of NISA Members

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ورشة عمل في جامعة بغداد حول استدامة نظام الجودة

Flow Dynamics of pebble bed reactors for next generation Nuclear Energy:

Led by Dr. Muthanna Al-Dahhan, chair and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering and professor of nuclear engineering, Missouri S&T is developing new approaches to understanding how nuclear fuel pebbles would behave in what are called “fourth generation” pebble-bed nuclear reactors and how gas dynamics can effectively take the generated heat. These reactors would house uranium fuel in spheres the size of tennis balls (the “pebbles”) rather than rods, and the cores would cooled by helium gas instead of water. These reactors also are considered to be more efficient than water-cooled reactors and would operate at much higher temperatures.
Al-Dahhan is combining a broad array of approaches to measurement, but they fall into two categories:

• Techniques that are based on radioisotopes for imaging and visualization of opage multiphase flow systems which have been used to measure and track nuclear fuel pebbles and imaging the reactor structure of pebble bed reactors in addition to other types of multiphase reactors and flow systems. A radioisotope is the atom of a chemical that has an unstable nucleus and emits radiation as it decays.
• Sophisticated techniques to measure various hydrodynamics, heat, mass and kinetics parameters of multiphase reactors and flow systems. Some of these have been used to measure gas dynamics and heat transfer in pebble bed reactors.

“These techniques can show us what is going on inside the reactor and can be used to advance their knowledge and understanding,” says Al-Dahhan. “All of this is related to the design, operation, risk assessment and analysis of future pebble-bed reactors and other types of multiphase reactors and flow systems in general.”

Augmenting these techniques with sophisticated mathematical algorithms, Al-Dahhan creates computer-simulated visualizations that could help engineers plan future nuclear reactors. Using what he calls “gamma ray tomography and radioactive particle tracking,” Al-Dahhan is able to view what is going on inside a reactor core, in much the same way that a physician uses ultrasound equipment to view movement within the human body.
“We can visualize the reactor core and the dynamics of how the nuclear fuel particles behave,” Al-Dahhan says. From that data – and via computational fluid dynamics – Al-Dahhan can create models that predict how nuclear fuel pebbles would behave in a pebble-bed nuclear reactor, and how the helium would disperse heat through the process.

Using these measurement techniques could help the nuclear industry set benchmarks for determining how to build fourth-generation reactors, Al-Dahhan says. He adds that the techniques can also be used to set benchmarks for other energy-related projects, such as the design of conventional energy and chemical processes, coal/biomass gasification plants, bioenergy processes, waste treatment processes or conventional nuclear plants including small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).

In September 2012, Al-Dahhan presented his research at a conference in Cargese, Corsica, France, sponsored by Polytechnique Montreal, French nuclear research institutes, and several European universities and agencies. His presentation was titled “Benchmarking Multiphase CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Results via Sophisticated Experimental Measurement Techniques and Methodologies.”

While China and South Africa have started building small versions of pebble-bed reactors, the United States has yet to move forward with constructing such plants. In Missouri, Westinghouse Electric Co. announced last October that it would work with Missouri S&T, the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Missouri System to explore the feasibility of developing small modular nuclear reactors in the state. The effort also involves Ameren Missouri, which operates Missouri’s only nuclear power plant, the Callaway Energy Center.

In addition to leading the chemical and biochemical engineering department, Al-Dahhan is a member of Missouri S&T’s nuclear engineering faculty. The nuclear engineering department also manages S&T’s teaching reactor, which was the first built in Missouri, constructed in 1961. The University of Missouri-Columbia also has a nuclear reactor.

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Wayne State University, Michigan, USA and Iraqi Ministry of Health on Friday June 28, 2013. The aim is to train Iraqi physicians at Wayne State University to establish College of Public Health in Iraq for the first time in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Standing left: Boltri, J (Chair DFMPH); Ezzeddine, A (Associate Vice President, Educational Outreach and International Programs WSU); Arnetz, B (Vice Chair DFMPH); Jamil, H; Alsafi, A (Iraqi Consulate General in Detroit ); Malik, I( Executive Secretary of Iraqi Consul);

Sitting left: Al-Kazzaz,H (Representative of Iraqi Minister of Health; Gilmour, A (President of WSU); Parisi,V (Dean School of Medicine)

Article from DailyFusion.com reads:

One of the most important criticisms of pebble bed reactor design is that it is impossible to place standard measurement equipment in the pebble bed core. Dr. Muthanna Al-Dahhan at Missouri University of Science and Technology is working on solving that problem, finding a new ways to understand what is happening inside the reactor.

Led by Dr. Muthanna Al-Dahhan, chair and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering and professor of nuclear engineering, Missouri S&T is developing new approaches to understanding how nuclear fuelpebbles would behave in what are called “fourth generation” pebble-bed nuclear reactors. These reactors would house uranium fuel in spheres the size of tennis balls (the “pebbles”) rather than rods, and the cores would cooled by helium gas instead of water. These reactors also are considered to be more efficient than water-cooled reactors and would operate at much higher temperatures.

Al-Dahhan is combining a broad array of approaches to measurement, but they fall into two categories:

• Techniques related to measuring and tracking nuclear fuel pebbles and imaging the reactor structure via radioisotopes. A radioisotope is the atom of a chemical that has an unstable nucleus and emits radiation as it decays.
• Techniques that measure other physical properties, such as movement, heat transfer and gas dispersion.

“These techniques can show us what is going on inside the reactor and can be used to eliminate a lot of experimental work,” says Al-Dahhan. “All of this is related to the design, operation, risk assessment and analysis of future pebble-bed reactors.”

Augmenting these techniques with sophisticated mathematical algorithms, Al-Dahhan creates computer-simulated visualizations that could help engineers plan future nuclear reactors.

Using what he calls “gamma ray chromatography,” Al-Dahhan is able to view what is going on inside a reactor core, in much the same way that a physician uses ultrasound equipment to view movement within the human body.

“We can visualize the reactor core and the dynamics of how the nuclear fuel particles behave,” Al-Dahhan says. From that data—and via computational fluid dynamics—Al-Dahhan can create models that predict how nuclear fuel pebbles would behave in a pebble-bed nuclear reactor, and how the helium would disperse heat through the process.

Using these measurement techniques could help the nuclear industry set benchmarks for determining how to build fourth-generation reactors, Al-Dahhan says. He adds that the techniques could also be used to set benchmarks for other energy-related projects, such as the design of coal gasification plants, bioenergyprocesses or more conventional nuclear plants.

In September 2012, Al-Dahhan presented his research at a conference in Cargese, Corsica, France, sponsored by Polytechnique Montreal, French nuclear research institutes, and several European universities and agencies. His presentation was titled “Benchmarking Multiphase CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Results via Sophisticated Experimental Measurement Techniques and Methodologies.”

While China and South Africa have started building small versions of pebble-bed reactors, the United States has yet to move forward with constructing such plants. In Missouri, Westinghouse Electric Co. announced last October that it would work with Missouri S&T, the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Missouri System to explore the feasibility of developing small modular nuclear reactors in the state. The effort also involves Ameren Missouri, which operates Missouri’s only nuclear power plant, the Callaway Energy Center.

In addition to leading the chemical and biochemical engineering department, Al-Dahhan is a member of Missouri S&T’s nuclear engineering faculty. The nuclear engineering department also manages S&T’s reactor, which was the first built in Missouri, constructed in 1961. The University of Missouri-Columbia also has a nuclear reactor.

The pebble bed reactor (PBR) is a graphite-moderated, gas-cooled, nuclear reactor. It is a type of very high temperature reactor (VHTR), one of the six classes of nuclear reactors in the Generation IV initiative. The basic design of pebble bed reactors features spherical fuel elements called pebbles. These tennis ball-sized pebbles are made of pyrolytic graphite (which acts as the moderator), and they contain thousands of micro fuel particles called TRISO particles. These TRISO fuel particles consist of a fissile material (such as ²³⁵U) surrounded by a coated ceramic layer of silicon carbide for structural integrity and fission product containment. In the PBR, thousands of pebbles are amassed to create a reactor core, and are cooled by a gas, such as helium, nitrogen or carbon dioxide, which does not react chemically with the fuel elements.

The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), announced the winners of its Third Annual Plastics Innovations Awards, held at a gala dinner on the first day of GPCA PlastCon, which started from 7-9 April 2013.

The winners were selected by a seven member jury comprising the heads of plastics innovation and application centres of the GCC resin manufacturers, in addition to independent consultants.

For the Talent in Plastics- Academics category, Professor Nadir Ahmed from IDVAC Ltd was the winner for his study in the development of gold colour metallized packaging film from silver one without the use of wet chemicals. The process is environmentally friendly and a green technology with no effluent. Metallized films such as PET, OPP, BOPP, CPP as well as paper can be golden coloured in this new process .

The awards recognise the efforts in innovation and the achievements made by plastic converters which have had a positive impact on the growth of the winning organisation.

According to Professor Nadir Ahmed, the managing director of Idvac Ltd., this award recognise the efforts in product innovation and the continuous achievements made by Idvac for various market sectors including Holographic and Packaging.

Since its foundation in 2004, Idvac Ltd. has been a front runner in researching holographic and packaging market demands, developing processes and introducing innovative vacuum process know how and technologies for products such as HRI (ZnS), copper, chrome alloy, gold finish(dry process) and many other coatings to the security and holographic packaging markets. Many companies have benefited from idvac innovative products.

For further details, please contact Professor Nadir Ahmed

www.idvac.co.uk

Read news article at wayne.edu »

The centre for Osmosis Research and Applications, University of Surrey has been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize. The prize is given in acknowledgement of Prof. Adel Sharif’s outstanding work in water desalination. Click here to read more.

Professor Riadh Al-Mahaidi wins Chapman Medal from the Institution of Engineers Australia for best journal paper published in structural engineering in 2010.