Increase of nuclear installations safety by better understanding of materials performance and new testing techniques development (MEACTOS, INCEFA-SCALE, and FRACTESUS H2020 projects)

Research to better understand the phenomena influencing materials and components’ performance is important for increasing the safety of Generation II and III nuclear plants. A crucial step for improving nuclear safety is the development of new experimental techniques that can provide the necessary data. The three H2020 projects presented in this paper, MEACTOS (2017–2022), INCEFA-SCALE (2020–2025), and FRACTESUS (2020–2024), cover the steps needed to realize those safety improvements. The goal of the MEACTOS project is to improve the resistance of critical locations, including welds, to environmentally-assisted cracking through optimizing surface machining and treatments. The project is currently in its final stage, and the complete analysis of the data is finished. The objective of INCEFA-SCALE is to improve predictions of component fatigue lifetime when subjected to Environmentally-Assisted Fatigue (EAF). The strategy consists of producing guidance on how to appropriately accommodate variable amplitude and plant-relevant loading in EAF assessments. Increasing the understanding of the EAF mechanism based on substantial testing, characterization, and analysis program will support the INCEFA-SCALE strategy. The FRACTESUS project will validate the use of miniaturized compact tension specimens by comparing the results of master curve-oriented fracture toughness tests performed with small and large specimens. The round-robin exercises will use irradiated and non-irradiated Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) materials. The material selection process is complete in time for the project to enter the testing phase. The output of the project will be beneficial from a long-term operation perspective and a saving in the material amount needed for RPV surveillance programs. Even though each project is devoted to different research areas, common aspects are clearly visible. All three projects investigate phenomena that are relevant to the performance and safe operation of the nuclear plant. Moreover, each project will provide valuable databases and analyses of test results for materials relevant to components in the nuclear plant. The output of these projects will be of great value to the nuclear industry. This paper presents the current progress for each project, emphasizing the common research domains between the projects

Using Direct Current Potential Drop Technique to Estimate Fatigue Crack Growth Rates in Solid Bar Specimens under Environmental Assisted Fatigue in Simulated Pressurized Water Reactor Conditions

ABSTRACT: The direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique may be used in crack propagation tests to measure the crack growth rate (CGR). Potential probes attached to the specimen allow the variation of the crack length to be estimated. In this research, the DCPD technique using one single potential probe was applied to solid bar specimens (i.e., without any initial notch or crack) subjected to low-cycle fatigue testing in a simulated pressurized water reactor (PWR) environment. This particular analysis had two associated difficulties, the first one being the fact that crack initiation sites are not known beforehand, and the second one consisting in the experimental difficulties and conditioning factors associated with the simulation of the PWR environment. Nine solid bar specimens were tested to fatigue failure under different strain amplitudes and frequencies, while also measuring the corresponding DCPD signal during the fatigue process. It was observed that the initiation of multiple cracks was detected by the DCPD measurements. Moreover, as fatigue continued, one of the cracks became dominant and progressed to cause the specimen failure. The DCPD technique allowed the average CGR of the dominant crack to be estimated. Finally, the obtained average CGRs were validated by comparing them with average CGRs derived from striation spacing measurements, obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and from literature values gathered in the NUREG/CR-6909 document.This project received funding from the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 662320 (INCEFA-PLUS) and Euratom Research & Training Programme 2019–2020 under grant agreement No. 945300 (INCEFA-SCALE)

Aversión vs. Aceptación, dos caras de la misma moneda: un estudio empírico de encuadres noticiosos sobre inmigración en la prensa regional de Castilla y León

Este estudio, elaborado bajo un enfoque empírico-conceptual, tiene como objetivo el análisis de los encuadres noticiosos de la inmigración que permite examinar el tratamiento informativo de la inmigración planteado desde la teoría de framing. También se pretende presentar una propuesta metodológica que pueda revelar los significados latentes de los mensajes en las noticias que utilizan ciertos encuadres en el tratamiento. Para ello se analizan artículos sobre la inmigración e inmigrantes procedentes de diarios regionales con mayor difusión y audiencia de Castilla y León (7).; This study aims to analyze immigration news frames from an empiric-conceptual perspective in order to verify some propositions put forward by the theory of framing. In doing so, it also presents a methodological proposal for frame device designing that can effectively reveals latent messages in media information about immigration and immigrants in the regional press of Castilla and Leon in Spain.; Ikuspegi enpiriko-kontzeptualetik abiatuta, artikulu honen helburua inmigrazioari buruzko albiste-enkoadraketa aztertzea da, framing delako teoria kontuan hartuz inmigrazioari buruzko informazio-tratamendua ikertzeko asmoz. Era berean, beren trataeran enkoadraketa jakinak erabiltzen dituzten albisteetako mezuen ezkutuko esangurak agertuko dituen proposamen metodologikoa aurkeztu nahi da. Horretarako, inmigrazio eta inmigranteei buruz Gaztela eta Leon-go eskualdeko prentsarik hedatuen eta irakurrienean argitaratutako artikuluak aztertzen dira

Mejorando del rendimiento académico y las competencias investigadoras de los alumnos del Grado en Comunicación y Creación Audiovisual y el Máster Universitario en Comunicación Audiovisual: Investigación e Innovación (MUCAII) a través de seminarios, testimoniales y prácticas reales de investigación

Memoria ID2022-... Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2022-2023

The representation of the inmigrant characters in the programs of fiction

[EN] This article presents the results of a research study into the image of immigration as presented in television fiction after realizing an analysis of content to more than 2.000 characters and more than 100 programs of prime-time fictional programming broadcast in 2011 on six television channel. The results have allowed to conclude that there exists an infrarepresentación of the immigrant characters, as well as a construction based on the use of stereotypes.[ES] En la presente investigación se ha analizado la imagen de la inmigración en la ficción televisiva, tomando como referencia la Teoría del Cultivo y la investigación previa sobre el análisis de la representación de las minorías étnicas e inmigrantes en la ficción televisiva (Greenberg, Mastro y Brand, 2002). El presente artículo presenta los resultados a los que se ha llegado tras realizar un análisis de contenido a más de 2.000 personajes y más de 100 programas emitidos en horario de prime time en seis cadenas televisivas. Los resultados han permitido concluir que existe una infrarepresentación de los personajes inmigrantes, así como una construcción basada en el uso de estereotipos

Stress corrosion crack initiation testing with tapered specimens in high-temperature water – results of a collaborative research project

The applicability of an accelerated test technique using tapered tensile specimens for investigating thestress corrosion crack (SCC) initiation behaviour of structural materials in high-temperature water wasassessed in the framework of a European collaborative research project (MICRIN – MItigation of CRackINitiation). The main advantage of using a tapered geometry is, that in a single test a stress gradient isobtained through the gauge length, and therefore a stress threshold for SCC initiation can bedetermined in a reasonable timeframe. This method was used to investigate two different materialsthat were known to be susceptible to SCC in light water reactor environment: a high-Si stainlesssteel and a Ni-base weld metal (Alloy 182). The results of the international test programmeconfirmed that the tapered specimen test methodology could be used to identify a SCC initiation stress threshold, albeit that significant scatter was present in the data

Proyecto orla 2.0. La construcción de la identidad a través del retrato fotográfico

Memoria ID-0269. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2014-2015

Gestión de la identidad digital del investigador como medio de coordinación y seguimiento en el Programa de Doctorado de Formación en la Sociedad del Conocimiento

Memoria ID-0129. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2013-2014

Ciencia de Datos en España

Existe un creciente interés de los ciudadanos en el impacto que tiene la Ciencia de Datos en su vida diaria, principalmente debido a la enorme atención que los medios prestan a temas relacionados con el Big Data o la Inteligencia Artificial. Este interés se traduce en grandes expectativas sobre las potenciales aplicaciones de estas tecnologías, pero también en serias preocupaciones, como el uso de datos personales, los procesos de toma de decisiones dirigidos por máquinas o la desaparición de empleos. Junto a esas preocupaciones, también existe una falta de comprensión pública sobre unas tecnologías aún nuevas y cambiantes. La comunicación de la Ciencia de Datos, y particularmente del Big Data y la Inteligencia Artificial, se lleva a cabo en un momento en que los medios no son los únicos encargados de transmitir información sobre la ciencia, sino que otros actores entran en juego para comunicarse directamente con la sociedad a través de canales digitales, de manera que se hace más necesario garantizar la calidad de los procesos de comunicación científica