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NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN CANADA Dr. John C. Luxat

NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN CANADA Dr. John C. Luxat Professor & NSERC/UNENE Senior Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis McMaster University Presentation to Canada’s Nuclear Industry Capabilities Seminar Santiago, Chile November 26, 2009. UNIVERSITIES. ONTARIO McMaster

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NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN CANADA Dr. John C. Luxat

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  1. NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN CANADA Dr. John C. Luxat Professor & NSERC/UNENE Senior Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis McMaster University Presentation to Canada’s Nuclear Industry Capabilities Seminar Santiago, Chile November 26, 2009

  2. UNIVERSITIES ONTARIO McMaster Queen’s, RMC, UOIT U of T, UWO Waterloo SASKATCHEWAN U Saskatchewan NEW BRUNSWICK UNB QUEBEC Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal NEW BRUNSWICK NB Power SASKATCHEWAN Cameco QUEBEC Hydro Quebec ONTARIO OPG, Bruce Power, AECL, COG, Cameco, AMEC-NSS, Kinectrics, CANDESCO, OCI, International Safety Research, Stern Labs, BC Instruments, NRCan Gen IV, NRCan CANMET-MTL, NRC-CNBC INDUSTRY / GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITIES WITH NUCLEAR PROGRAMS & INDUSTRY IN CANADA

  3. NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES

  4. UNIVERSITY NETWORK OF EXCELLENCE IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING (UNENE) • Formed in response to concerns with skilled nuclear work force • Consortia of industry • Primary Funding Sponsors • Utilities (OPG, BP), Designer and R&D (AECL) • Associate Members • Regulator (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission), Service providers (NSS, Candesco, Stern Laboratories). • Two major components • Education • M.Eng. Program • Research • NSERC IRC program • 7 university chairs spanning all aspects of nuclear engineering.

  5. UNENE Objectives • UNENE was established by industry to: • Develop nuclear research capabilities at key universities. • Ensure HQP in a vital economic area. • Develop university and industrial collaborations • Ensure technical expertise for industrial or public consultations.

  6. UNENE Structure

  7. UNENE UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS

  8. Unique Training Programs • Typical M.Eng • 3 courses • Research intensive • Graduate Diploma • 4 courses • Distance learning pilot • Focus on industry needs • UNENE M.Eng • 8-10 courses • Small research project • Distance learning pilot • Focus on industry needs

  9. Typical UNENE Grad Student • Funding from University and UNENE • ~900 / month from UNENE • ~900 / month from University (TA) • Some variations • 24 month Masters • 48 month PhD • Exchanges • Fund travel and continue graduate payments • Additional funds from host institution to cover accommodations/ additional cost of living • Summer exchanges (4 month) or longer. • Cost ~20k per year.

  10. UNENE Spin-off Successes • Grant Application Awards • ORF-RE “Nuclear Ontario” $ 4.9M [2008] • CFI-NIF / ORF-RI Centre for Advanced Nuclear Systems (CANS) - McMaster $23.4M [2009] • CFI-NIF / ORF-RI Testing of Nuclear Materials in a Simulated Reactor Environment– Queen’s U $14M [2009] ACRONYMS ORF-RE = Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence CFI-NIF =Canada Foundation for Innovation – New Initiatives Fund ORF-RI = Ontario Research Fund – Research Infrastructure

  11. ORF - Nuclear OntarioAdvanced Reactors • Focus 3 – examine key components and phenomena related to advanced nuclear reactors. • GEN-IV safety • Leverage existing AECL-NSERC contribution (McMaster) • GEN-IV thermalhydraulics • Leverage AECL contribution of SCW test facility (Carleton) • SCW small scale TH heat transfer testing • GEN III+ and GEN-IV • Core material analysis (Queens)

  12. COLLABORATIONS WITHIN UNIVERSITY(McMaster Example) • Collaborations include research projects, equipment sharing and co-supervision of students. • University departments • Engineering Physics, Material Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer and Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics. • Software certification (ORF-RE funded project: IRC is a collaborating researcher) • McMaster Nuclear Reactor and Accelerator Labs • Research Centers • Centre for Advanced Nuclear Systems (CANS) – CFI & ORF-RI • McMaster Institute for Applied Radiation Science (McIARS) • Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) • Canada Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM)

  13. COLLABORATIONS: NATIONAL • Industrial • Major collaboration with AECL-CRL on fuel cycle and physics and Gen IV thermal hydraulics. Led by Dr. J. Luxat (McMaster) and Dr. R. Duffey (AECL Chief Scientist). Linked to ORF-RE Nuclear Ontario research network award • Safety analysis codes and methods with OPG, Bruce Power, Amec NSS and AECL-CRL. • Universities • Collaborations between Royal Military College, Queen’s U, U of Western Ontario, U of Toronto and Carleton U.

  14. COLLABORATIONS: INTERNATIONAL • Collaborations established with IPNG-Grenoble, U of Pisa, Penn State. • Significant expansion of international collaborations: • Industrial • EdF, EPRI, TEPCo • Universities • Penn State, Purdue, Trinity College, Dalton Institute - Univ. of Manchester plus others.

  15. Interactions With Industry • Research • Technical Advisory Committee (AECL, BP, OPG) • Detailed discussion on research directions and opportunities. • Ensures industrial-university technical research objectives are met. • Very positive feedback. • Technical exchanges • Industrial “site-visits” initiated • Graduate student presentations to key industry personnel • Industrial intern placements • Industrial R&D • Student conference attendance and presentations • Opportunity to present/interact with external utilities and researchers.

  16. Benefits to Canada • Significant increase in HQP in a vitally needed area of expertise. • Research benefits • Resolution of regulatory issues • Methodology prototyping • Assist in power uprating • Safety improvements • Consultations • Leveraging industry government investment  expansion well beyond original UNENE vision. • Expansion of UNENE university partners/collaborators. • Expert support of the industry/public

  17. QUESTIONS?

  18. Example of Interactions With Industry • Consultations and Technical Activities • Luxat • AECL Board of Directors • Advisory Board – IASMiRT; Exec Committee ANS TH Division • Chair – ACR-1000 Independent Safety Review • AECL Nuclear Safety Committee reviewing ACR-1000 • Member External Licensing Advisory Group for ACR-1000 • Chair – Independent PIRT Panel BEAU analysis • Technical expert – Independent Expert Panels: High Temperature Fuel Behaviour; Fuel Element Deformation (Bowing) • Safety consultant – fuel channel integrity, high temperature fuel behaviour, ECCS performance, SG flow induced vibration, ageing in PSA, nuclear technology • IAEA expert missions assessing safety in Pakistan and Argentina

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