Pebble bed packing in square cavities (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7631)

The dense packing of granular materials (pebble beds) in cavities is important in many technical applications. Results are presented from i) analyses of tomography investigations in the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, and ii) packing experiments with different types of spherical and non-spherical particles using Plexiglas containers dominated by flat walls

Experimental Thermal–Hydraulic Testing of a Mock-Up of the Fuel-Breeder Pin Concept for the EU-DEMO HCPB Breeding Blanket

The fusion program in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) leads the R&D of the DEMO helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) breeding blanket within the work package breeding blanket (WPBB) of the Eurofusion Consortium in the European Union (EU). A new design of the HCPB breeder zone, with a layout inspired by a nuclear reactor fuel rod arrangement, was developed recently and called the fuel-breeder pin concept. In addition, a mock-up (MU) of this fuel-breeder pin was designed and manufactured at KIT in order to test and validate its thermal–hydraulic performance. This paper reports on the results of the first experimental campaign dedicated to the fuel-breeder pin MU testing that was performed in the Helium Loop Karlsruhe (HELOKA) facility. The paper presents: (i) the integration of the fuel-breeder pin MU into the HELOKA loop including considerations of the experimental set-up, (ii) an overview of the plan for the experimental campaigns, and (iii) a discussion of the experimental results with a focus on aspects relevant for the validation of the thermal–hydraulic design of the HCPB breeder zone

Experimental thermal-hydraulic testing of a prototypical mock-up of the fuel-breeder pin concept for the EU-DEMO HCPB breeding blanket

The fusion program in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) leads the R&D of the DEMO helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) breeding blanket within the work package breeding blanket (WPBB) of the Eurofusion Consortium in the European Union (EU). A new design of the HCPB breeder zone, with a layout inspired by a nuclear reactor fuel rod arrangement, was developed recently and called the fuel-breeder pin concept. In addition, a mock-up (MU) of this fuel-breeder pin was designed and manufactured at KIT in order to test and validate its thermal–hydraulic performance. This paper reports on the results of the first experimental campaign dedicated to the fuel-breeder pin MU testing that was performed in the Helium Loop Karlsruhe (HELOKA) facility. The paper presents: (i) the integration of the fuel-breeder pin MU into the HELOKA loop including considerations of the experimental set-up, (ii) an overview of the plan for the experimental campaigns, and (iii) a discussion of the experimental results with a focus on aspects relevant for the validation of the thermal–hydraulic design of the HCPB breeder zone

Engineering Design of the European DEMO HCPB Breeding Blanket Breeder Zone Mockup

The Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) breeding blanket is one of the two driver-blanket candidates for the European fusion demonstration power plant (EU DEMO) within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium. As the EU DEMO program is going, testing of mockups becomes increasingly important. In this article, the engineering design of a first-ever breeder zone mockup of the EU DEMO HCPB breeding blanket is reported. The mockup will be tested in the high-pressure, high temperature, helium facility (HELOKA) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. This mockup will act as a test rig to validate heat transfer correlations, CFD software, and thermal hydraulics systems codes. As pressure equipment, the mockup shall conform to the latest European Union Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU. The design description, rationale and test matrix, and corresponding analyses are discussed and presented

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised