Secondary implantation of 51Cr and 48V radioisotopes into plastic surfaces for nano‑TLA study

Indirect recoil implantation following a nuclear reaction is a technique used to activate the surface of materials that cannot be directly activated by a charged particle beam. This research focuses on the indirect activation of Kapton® foils, which serves as a model of plastic or plastic coated surface activation. The alpha particle primary beam, produced by a cyclotron accelerator hits a stack of titanium and Kapton® interlaced foils. The implanted activity in the Kapton® foils is presented as a function of the primary beam energy for two separate implanted radioisotopes 51Cr and 48V, having suitable nuclear parameters for tracing in engineering experiments

MULTIMEDIA TOOL FOR WWER TRAINING

The Institute for Energy and Transport of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, jointly with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have developed an innovative multimedia knowledge package which is based on systematically collected and consolidated knowledge of top-experts in WWER (i.e. the Russian version of a pressurised water reactor) Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) Embrittlement and is meant to support training in the field. The tool is addressed to nuclear engineers and researcher who need to be trained on WWER RPV Embrittlement issues. The modules provide very compact knowledge; an expert is recorded while giving a lecture (usually composed of 10-20 topic related questions answered) and his speech is subtitled. The presentation is powered with eye-catching animations that make simpler the learning process and that attract the user attention. At the end of each lecture the trainee can test his understanding on the topic with a multiple-choice questionnaire and receives a score based on his performance. A powerful search engine is built in the package to ensure the easy navigation across all Modules in, text, video and sound. These multimedia modules are designed as an on-line resource and include the possibility to easily share and discuss on social medias (i.e. twitter, Facebook, etc.) the selected presentation/slide. The package is completed and programmed in HTML 5 language to allow high flexibility and make the content browsable also on tablets and phones. For classroom training an offline version can be generated.JRC.F.4-Nuclear Reactor Integrity Assessment and Knowledge Managemen

Study of secondary implantation of radioisotopes during alpha-particle irradiation

This work presents the recoil and secondary implantation of radioisotopes at different bombarding energies in the range of ~ 13 to ~ 40 MeV by using an α-particle beam of 50 MeV irradiating a stack of Ag, Ni and Ti metal foils. Activation crosssections for the produce radioisotopes were calculated and confronted with literature data. The implanted activity is presented as a function of the primary beam energy for six produced radioisotopes 57Ni, 57Co, 65Zn, 51Cr, 48V and 46Sc. The use of each of these radioisotopes in engineering experiments based on the nano-thin layer activation is discussed

Autonomous wireless sensor network for structural health monitoring of aerostructures

In this work we demonstrate the feasibility of an embedded, cheap, miniaturized active sensor node for detection of damages on laminate composite or metallic structures by means of ultrasonic guided waves (GWs). The device is meant as the basic building block of an autonomous wireless sensor network (AWSN) able to monitor the integrity of the aerostructure and locate possible damages. Each node is permanently mounted on the surface and wirelessly powered by electromagnetic (EM) waves, which are also used for communication with the base station. The electronic circuit is interfaced with an innovative, patent-pending piezoelectric transducer (piezo) capable of generating and sensing directional ultrasonic GWs in the inspected structure. Elastic waves propagating through the structure and reflected back to the piezo are recorded and processed by each individual node thanks to embedded processing functionalities to detect and locate defects. The information is then sent back to the base station for further analysis and evaluation. The results highlight that a small, lightweight and low power system can be designed with off-the-shelf hardware. The proposed system provides good reliability and accuracy and brings many advantages over current systems

VVER Knowledge Preservation and Transfer within the Frame of CORONA Project Activities

The CORONA project is funded by the European Commission under the FP7 programme with overall objective to establish a Regional Centre of Competence for VVER Technology and Nuclear Applications. The Centre will provide support and services for preservation and transfer of VVER-related nuclear knowledge as well as know-how and capacity building. Specific training schemes aimed at nuclear professionals and researchers, non-nuclear professionals and students are developed and implemented in cooperation with local, national and international training and educational institutions. Pilot trainings are executed for each specific target group to assess the applicability of the training materials. The training scheme implemented for nuclear professionals and researchers is focussed on the NPP Lifetime Management. The available knowledge on enhancing safety and performance of nuclear installations with VVER technology is used in the preparation of the training materials. The Online Multimedia Training Course on VVER Reactor Pressure Vessel Embrittlement and Integrity Assessment, developed by the joint effort of JRC-IET and IAEA is used in the training. The outcome collected from the trainees showed that the tool meets its primary goal of consolidating the existing knowledge on the VVER RPV Embrittlement and Integrity Assessment, provides adequate ground for transfer of this knowledge

VVER Knowledge Preservation and Transfer within the Frame of CORONA Project Activities

The CORONA project is funded by the European Commission under the FP7 programme with overall objective to establish a Regional Centre of Competence for VVER Technology and Nuclear Applications. The Centre will provide support and services for preservation and transfer of VVER-related nuclear knowledge as well as know-how and capacity building. Specific training schemes aimed at nuclear professionals and researchers, non-nuclear professionals and students are developed and implemented in cooperation with local, national and international training and educational institutions. Pilot trainings are executed for each specific target group to assess the applicability of the training materials. The training scheme implemented for nuclear professionals and researchers is focussed on the NPP Lifetime Management. The available knowledge on enhancing safety and performance of nuclear installations with VVER technology is used in the preparation of the training materials. The Online Multimedia Training Course on VVER Reactor Pressure Vessel Embrittlement and Integrity Assessment, developed by the joint effort of JRC-IET and IAEA is used in the training. The outcome collected from the trainees showed that the tool meets its primary goal of consolidating the existing knowledge on the VVER RPV Embrittlement and Integrity Assessment, provides adequate ground for transfer of this knowledge