Living up to our students’ expectations – using student voice to influence the way academics think about their undergraduates learning and their own teaching

Understanding the student learning experience is essential if Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are to provide an education for the 21st century. This study investigated students’ perspectives on their learning experiences and offered undergraduates a chance to influence the way academics think about learning and teaching.Participants were drawn from two UK HEIs and a semi structured focus group approach was adopted. A total of nine focus groups consisting of 3-7 participants were drawn from across all Sport degree year groups in both institutions. Assessment, pedagogy and teacher characteristics emerged as primary concerns across both institutions. Assessment was appreciated by all students as key to their learning but was exposed as being overly traditional and rigid in its application. Students were unanimous in their support for small group pedagogies, rejecting traditional powerpoint dominated lecturing styles. The emphasis on the behaviour of, and delivery by, tutors was noteworthy.Students appraised the development of their academic skills and confidence, linking these to motivation, knowledge, self-awareness and critical reflection. In doing so they understood the impact of inconsistencies in tutors’ teaching practices. The onus is on every tutor to combine imaginative assessment with dynamic and relational experiences in order to provide a strong foundation for flexible, reflective and creative graduates

GRAPHITE OXIDATION AND DAMAGE UNDER IRRADIATION AT HIGH TEMPERATURES IN AN IMPURE HELIUM ENVIRONMENT

The High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) is a Generation IV reactor concept that uses a graphite-moderated nuclear reactor with a once-through uranium fuel cycle. In order to investigate the mechanism for corrosion of graphite in HTGRs, the graphite was placed in a similar environment in order to evaluate its resistance to corrosion and oxidation. While the effects of radiation on graphite have been studied in the past, the properties of graphite are largely dependent on the coke used in manufacturing the graphite. There are no longer any of the previously studied graphite types available for use in the HTGR. There are various types of graphite being considered for different uses in the HTGR and all of these graphite types need to be analyzed to determine how radiation will affect them. Extensive characterization of samples of five different types of graphite was conducted. The irradiated samples were analyzed with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and gas chromatography. The results prove a knowledge base for considering the graphite types best suited for use in HTGRs. In my dissertation work graphite samples were gamma irradiated and also irradiated in a mixed field, in order to study the effects of neutron as well as gamma irradiation. Thermal effects on the graphite were also investigated by irradiating the samples at room temperature and at 1000 °C. From the analysi of the samples in this study there is no evidence of substantial damage to the grades of graphite analyzed. This is significant in approving the use of these graphites in nuclear reactors. Should significant damage had occurred to the samples, the use of these grades of graphite would need to be reconsidered. This information can be used to further characterize other grades of nuclear graphite as they become available

Older people’s participation and engagement in falls prevention interventions: Comparing rates and settings

Objective: Falls among older people remain a major public health issue. The purpose of this article was to facilitate accurate interpretation of the existing evidence-base and facilitate robust planning of future fall prevention randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Method: Two systematic reviews were further developed that evaluated older people’s participation and engagement in RCTs to prevent falls in both community and institutional settings. It is argued that there is a need to differentiate between: 1) Acceptance rates versus recruitment rates, i.e. respectively the proportion of older people willing to participate in the RCTs versus those willing and included; 2) Rates of recruitment and participation in institutional settings distinguishing between nursing care facilities versus hospitals. Results: For community settings (n = 78), the median rates were 41.3% (22.0 - 63.5%) for recruitment and 70.7% (64.2 - 81.7%) for acceptance. For institutional settings (n = 25), the median rates were 48.5% (38.9 - 84.5%) for recruitment and 88.7% (81.2 - 95.4%) for acceptance. In comparing trials from nursing care facilities and hospitals, recruitment and acceptance rates were remarkably similar, though the remaining data - attrition, adherence, and whether adherence acted as a moderator on the effectiveness of the intervention on trial outcomes - was only available from trials from nursing care facilities. Conclusion: Researchers are encouraged to be more inclusive in trials and to conduct more RCTs in hospitals to prevent falls. A consensus on how to define successful engagement with trials and uptake and adherence to trial interventions remains desired

Parametric neutronics analyses of lattice geometry and coolant candidates for a soluble-boron-free civil marine SMR core using micro-heterogeneous duplex fuel

Civilian marine reactors face a unique set of design challenges in addition to the usual irradiation and thermal-hydraulic limits affecting all reactors. These include requirements for a small core size, long core lifetime, a 20% cap on fissile loading, and limitations on the use of soluble boron. One way to achieve higher burnup/longer core life is to alter the neutron spectrum by changing the hydrogen-to-heavy-metal ratio, thus increasing the conversion of fertile isotopes in the fuel. In this reactor physics study, we optimize the two-dimensional lattice geometry of a 333 MWth soluble-boron-free marine PWR for 18% 235U enriched micro-heterogeneous ThO2-UO2 duplex fuel and 15% 235U enriched homogeneously mixed all-UO2 fuel. We consider two types of coolant: H2O and mixed 80% D2O + 20% H2O. We aim to observe in which spectrum discharge burnup is maximized in order to improve uranium utilization, while satisfying the constraint on moderator temperature coefficient. It is observed that higher discharge burnup for the candidate fuels is achievable by using either a wetter lattice or a much drier lattice than normal, while epithermal lattices are distinctly inferior performers. The thorium-rich duplex fuel exhibits higher discharge burnup potential than the all-UO2 fuel for all moderation regimes for both coolants. The candidate fuels exhibit higher initial reactivity and discharge burnup with the mixed D2O-H2O coolant than with the H2O coolant in the under-moderated regime, whereas these values are lower for the D2O-H2O coolant in the over-moderated regime

Coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic hot channel analysis of high power density civil marine SMR cores

Core average power density of standard small modular reactors (SMR) are generally limited to 60–65 MW/m3, which is 40% lower than for a standard civil PWR in order to accommodate better thermal margins. While designing a SMR core for civil marine propulsion systems, it is required to increase its power density to make more attractive for future deployment. However, there are obvious thermal-hydraulic (TH) concerns regarding a high power density (HPD) core, which needs to be satisfied in order to ensure safe operation through accurate prediction of the TH parameters. This paper presents a coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic (TH) hot channel analysis of a HPD 375 MWth soluble-boron-free PWR core using 19.25% 235U enriched micro- heterogeneous ThO2-UO2 duplex fuel and 16% 235U enriched homogeneously mixed all-UO2 fuel with a 15 effective full-power-years (EFPY) core life. To perform this analysis the hybrid Monte Carlo reactor physics code MONK is coupled with sub-channel analysis TH code COBRA-EN. This approach is used to investigate the feasibility of different HPD marine PWR concepts and to identify the main TH challenges characterising these designs. To design HPD cores of between 82 and 111 MW/m3, three cases were chosen by optimizing the fuel pin diameter, pin pitch and pitch-to-diameter ratio. These cases have been studied to determine whether TH safety limits are satisfied by evaluating key parameters, such as minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio, surface heat flux, critical heat flux, cladding inner surface and fuel centreline temperatures, and pressure drop. The results show that it is possible to achieve a core power density of 100 MW/m3 for both the candidate fuels, a ∼50% improvement on the reference design (63 MW/m3), while meeting the target core lifetime of 15 EFPY and remaining within TH limits. The size of the pressure vessel can therefore be reduced substantially and the economic competitiveness of the proposed civil marine PWR reactor core significantly improved

Experimental Evaluation of the Deadtime Phenomenon for GM Detector: Deadtime Dependence on Operating Voltages

A detailed analysis of Geiger Mueller counter deadtime dependence on operating voltage is presented in the manuscript using four pairs of radiation sources. Based on two-source method, detector deadtime is calculated for a wide range of operating voltages which revealed a peculiar relationship between the operating voltage and the detector deadtime. In the low voltage range, a distinct drop in deadtime was observed where deadtime reached a value as low as a few microseconds (22 µs for 204Tl, 26 µs for 137Cs, 9 µs for 22Na). This sharp drop in the deadtime is possibly due to reduced recombination with increasing voltage. After the lowest point, the deadtime generally increased rapidly to reach a maximum (292 µs for 204Tl, 277 µs for 137Cs, 258 µs for 22Na). This rapid increase in the deadtime is mainly due to the on-set of charge multiplication. After the maximum deadtime values, there was an exponential decrease in the deadtime reaching an asymptotic low where the manufacturer recommended voltage for operation falls. This pattern of deadtime voltage dependence was repeated for all sources tested with the exception of 54Mn. Low count rates leading to a negative deadtime suggested poor statistical nature of the data collected for 54Mn and the data while being presented here is not used for any inference

Simultaneous Experimental Evaluation of Pulse Shape and Deadtime Phenomenon of GM Detector

Analysis of several pulse shape properties generated by a Geiger Mueller (GM) detector and its dependence on applied voltage was performed. The two-source method was utilized to measure deadtime while simultaneously capturing pulse shape parameters on an oscilloscope. A wide range of operating voltages (600-1200 V) beyond the recommended operating voltage of 900 V was investigated using three radioactive sources (204Tl, 137Cs, 22Na). This study investigates the relationship between operating voltage, pulse shape properties, and deadtime of the detector. Based on the data, it is found that deadtime decreases with increasing voltage from 600 to 650 V. At these low voltages (600–650 V), the collection time was long, allowing sufficient time for some recombination to take place. Increasing the voltage in this range decreased the collection time, and hence deadtime decreased. It is also observed that rise and fall time were at their highest at these applied voltages. Increasing the voltage further would result in gas multiplication, where deadtime and pulse width are observed to be increasing. After reaching the maximum point of deadtime (~ 250 µs at ~ 700 V), deadtime started to exponentially decrease until a plateau was reached. In this region, it is observed that detector deadtime and operating voltage show a strong correlation with positive pulse width, rise and fall time, cycle mean, and area. Therefore, this study confirms a correlation between detector deadtime, operating voltage, and pulse shape properties. The results will validate our hypothesis that deadtime phenomena at different operating voltages are phenomenologically different

Determinants of adults' intention to vaccinate against pandemic swine flu

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Vaccination is one of the cornerstones of controlling an influenza pandemic. To optimise vaccination rates in the general population, ways of identifying determinants that influence decisions to have or not to have a vaccination need to be understood. Therefore, this study aimed to predict intention to have a swine influenza vaccination in an adult population in the UK. An extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour provided the theoretical framework for the study. Methods: Three hundred and sixty two adults from the UK, who were not in vaccination priority groups, completed either an online (n = 306) or pen and paper (n = 56) questionnaire. Data were collected from 30th October 2009, just after swine flu vaccination became available in the UK, and concluded on 31st December 2009. The main outcome of interest was future swine flu vaccination intentions. Results: The extended Theory of Planned Behaviour predicted 60% of adults’ intention to have a swine flu vaccination with attitude, subjective norm, perceived control, anticipating feelings of regret (the impact of missing a vaccination opportunity), intention to have a seasonal vaccine this year, one perceived barrier: “I cannot be bothered to get a swine flu vaccination” and two perceived benefits: “vaccination decreases my chance of getting swine flu or its complications” and “if I get vaccinated for swine flu, I will decrease the frequency of having to consult my doctor,” being significant predictors of intention. Black British were less likely to intend to have a vaccination compared to Asian or White respondents. Conclusions: Theoretical frameworks which identify determinants that influence decisions to have a pandemic influenza vaccination are useful. The implications of this research are discussed with a view to maximising any future pandemic influenza vaccination uptake using theoretically-driven applications.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund

Neutronic Investigation of Alternative & Composite Burnable Poisons for the Soluble-Boron-Free and Long Life Civil Marine Small Modular Reactor Cores

Concerns about the effects of global warming provide a strong case to consider how best nuclear power could be applied to marine propulsion. Currently, there are persistent efforts worldwide to combat global warming, and that also includes the commercial freight shipping sector. In an effort to decarbonize the marine sector, there are growing interests in replacing the contemporary, traditional propulsion systems with nuclear propulsion systems. The latter system allows freight ships to have longer intervals before refueling; subsequently, lower fuel costs, and minimal carbon emissions. Nonetheless, nuclear propulsion systems have remained largely confined to military vessels. It is highly desirable that a civil marine core not use soluble boron for reactivity control, but it is then a challenge to achieve an adequate shutdown margin throughout the core life while maintaining reactivity control and acceptable power distributions in the core. High-thickness ZrB2 150 μm Integral Fuel Burnable Absorber (IFBA) is an excellent burnable poison (BP) candidate for long life soluble-boron-free core. However, in this study, we want to minimize the use of 150 μm IFBA since B-10 undergoes an (n, α) capture reaction, and the resulting helium raises the pressure within the plenum and in the cladding. Therefore, we have considered several alternative and novel burnable BP design strategies to minimize the use of IFBA for reactivity control in this study: (Case 1) a composite BP: gadolinia (Gd2O3) or erbia (Er2O3) with 150 μm thickness ZrB2 IFBA; (Case 2) Pu-240 or Am-241 mixed homogeneously with the fuel; and (Case 3) another composite BP: Pu-240 or Am-241 with 150 μm thickness ZrB2 IFBA. The results are compared against those for a high-thickness 150 μm 25 IFBA pins design from a previous study. The high-thickness 150 μm 25 IFBA pins design is termed the IFBA-only BP design throughout this study. We arrive at a design using 15% U-235 fuel loaded into 13 x 13 assemblies with Case 3 BPs (IFBA+Pu-240 or IFBA+Am-241) for reactivity control while reducing 20% IFBA use. This design exhibits lower assembly reactivity swing and minimal burnup penalty due to the self-shielding effect. Case 3 provides ~10% more initial (beginning-of-life) reactivity suppression with ~70% less reactivity swing compared to the IFBA-only design for UO2 fuel while achieving almost the same core lifetime. Finally, optimized Case 3 assemblies were loaded in 3D nodal diffusion and reactor model code. The results obtained from the 3D reactor model confirmed that the designed core with the proposed Case 3 BPs can achieve the target lifetime of 15 years while contributing to ~10% higher BOL reactivity suppression, ~70% lower reactivity swings, ~30% lower radial form factor and ~28% lower total peaking factor compared to the IFBA-only core