Supercritical-Water Experimental Setup for In-Pile Operation

Author(s):  
M. Miletić ◽  
M. Růžičková ◽  
R. Fukač ◽  
I. Pioro ◽  
W. Peiman

The main goal of the Generation-IV nuclear-energy systems is to address the fundamental research and development issues necessary for establishing the viability of next-generation reactor concepts to meet future needs for clean and reliable energy production. Generation-IV reactor concepts are being developed to use more advanced materials, coolants and higher burn-ups fuels, while keeping a nuclear reactor safe and reliable. One of the six Generation-IV concepts is a SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR), which continues the utilization of well-known light-water-reactor technologies. Research Centre Rez Ltd. has taken part in a large European joint-research project dedicated to Generation-IV light-water reactors with objectives to contribute to the fundamental research and development of the SCWRs by designing and building a test facility called “SuperCritical Water Loop (SCWL)”. The main objective of this loop is to serve as an experimental facility for in-core and out-of-core corrosion studies of structural materials, testing and optimization of suitable water chemistry for future SCWRs, studies of water radiolysis at supercritical conditions and nuclear fuels. This paper summarizes the concept of the SCWL, its design, utilization and first results obtained from non-active tests already performed within the supercritical-water conditions.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmelo Addabbo ◽  
Alessandro Annunziato

The LOBI project has been carried out in the framework of the European Commission Reactor Safety Research Programme in close collaboration with institutional and/or industrial research organizations of EC member countries. The primary objective of the research programme was the generation of an experimental data base for the assessment of the predictive capabilities of thermal-hydraulic system codes used in pressurised water reactor safety analysis. Within this context, experiments have been conducted in the LOBI integral system test facility designed, constructed, and operated (1979–1991) at the Ispra Site of the Joint Research Centre. This paper provides a historical perspective and summarizes major achievements of the research programme which has represented an effective approach to international collaboration in the field of reactor safety research and development. Emphasis is also placed on knowledge management aspects of the acquired experimental data base and on related online open access/retrieval user functionalities.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Masaru Ogura ◽  
Yumiko Shimada ◽  
Takeshi Ohnishi ◽  
Naoto Nakazawa ◽  
Yoshihiro Kubota ◽  
...  

This paper introduces a joint industries–academia–academia research project started by researchers in several automobile companies and universities working on a single theme. Our first target was to find a zeolite for NH3-SCR, that is, zeolite mining. Zeolite AFX, having the same topology of SSZ-16, was found to be the one of the zeolites. SSZ-16 can be synthesized by using an organic structure-directing agent such as 1,1′-tetramethylenebis(1-azonia-4-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane; Dab-4, resulting in the formation of Al-rich SSZ-16 with Si/Al below five. We found that AFX crystallized by use of N,N,N′,N′-tetraethylbicyclo[2.2.2]oct-7-ene-2,3:5,6-dipyrrolidinium ion, called TEBOP in this study, had the same analog as SSZ-16 having Si/Al around six and a smaller particle size than SSZ-16. The AFX demonstrated a high performance for NH3-SCR as the zeolitic support to load a large number of divalent Cu ionic species with high hydrothermal stability.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095042222199406
Author(s):  
Eva Sormani ◽  
Thomas Baaken ◽  
Peter van der Sijde

The pressure on higher education institutions (HEIs) to realize third mission activities continues to grow, intensifying the search for incentives to motivate academics to engage with stakeholders outside their HEI. Previous studies have found limitations in intrinsically motivating academic engagement; therefore, this study investigates the extrinsic regulation of motivations via incentives. The authors identified a broad range of incentives for third mission activities, belonging to four motivation categories: pecuniary incentives, career advancement, appreciation and research support. Drawing on self-determination theory, incentives (nudges and rewards) are empirically compared in a between-subject design with a sample of 324 academics from the business and economics disciplines. The analysis showed that nudges affect business and economics academics’ intention to engage with society in a joint research project. Furthermore, these academics responded well to incentives concerned with the research support motivation category. The findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the relevance of marginal incentives—nudges—in implementing appropriate incentives in HEIs.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Keshavan ◽  
Fernando Torres Andón ◽  
Audrey Gallud ◽  
Wei Chen ◽  
Knut Reinert ◽  
...  

Engineered nanomaterials are potentially very useful for a variety of applications, but studies are needed to ascertain whether these materials pose a risk to human health. Here, we studied three benchmark nanomaterials (Ag nanoparticles, TiO2 nanoparticles, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, MWCNTs) procured from the nanomaterial repository at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Having established a sub-lethal concentration of these materials using two human cell lines representative of the immune system and the lungs, respectively, we performed RNA sequencing of the macrophage-like cell line after exposure for 6, 12, and 24 h. Downstream analysis of the transcriptomics data revealed significant effects on chemokine signaling pathways. CCR2 was identified as the most significantly upregulated gene in MWCNT-exposed cells. Using multiplex assays to evaluate cytokine and chemokine secretion, we could show significant effects of MWCNTs on several chemokines, including CCL2, a ligand of CCR2. The results demonstrate the importance of evaluating sub-lethal concentrations of nanomaterials in relevant target cells.


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