Low Temperature Heat Capacity of PuPO4

PuPO4 was prepared successfully by coprecipitation and its heat capacity measured between 5 K and 300 K by a hybrid adiabatic relaxation calorimeter. The standard entropy S0 (298.15 K) of PuPO4 was derived and a semiempirical method was used to describe the total entropy as the sum of the lattice entropy Slat and the excess entropy Sexs as verified for the iso-electronic lanthanide orthophosphates. Thus the standard entropies of some actinide (III) orthophosphates were estimated.JRC.E.6-Actinides researc

Horizon Scanning for Nuclear Safety, Security & Safeguards Yearly Report - 2019

Horizon Scanning (HS) is a systematic outlook to detect early signs of potentially important developments. JRC.I.2 unit has created and, with the help of partner JRC Knowledge Management Units, has tested a methodology for a horizon scanning process at JRC level. Benefiting from this support and following this methodology, JRC.G.10 unit has collected throughout the year 2019 a number of ideas related to nuclear technology, later on filtered and clustered in the so called 'sense-making workshops'. This report presents the outcome of this exercise.JRC.G.10-Knowledge for Nuclear Security and Safet

Role of self-irradiation defects on the ageing of 239PuCoGa5

6 pages, 18 referencesInternational audienceLow-temperature accumulation and annealing experiments, in conjunction with electrical resistivity and critical current density measurements, were used to study the ageing of the actinide superconductor PuCoGa5. These measurements reveal that 2-nm sized non-superconducting point-like regions are the main damage formed during room temperature ageing; smaller point-like defect were irrelevant to transport properties. Defect sizes and densities deduced from experiment agree with Transmission Electron Micoscopy observations

Continued safe operation of nuclear power generation plants during the Covid-19 pandemic

An important goal of any pandemic response strategy is to assure the continued reliability of the electricity grid. Electricity production and delivery, two of the most important elements of economic and social infrastructure, must remain reliable during a pandemic because many parts of the infrastructure (e.g. food supply, water, transportation, public health) cannot function without a stable, reliable supply of electricity. More than 100 nuclear power reactor units are currently in operation in the EU and their continued operation during a pandemic is essential to maintain grid stability and ensure the needed power supplies in combination with the other sources of power generation. This report provides an overview of the findings of an investigation into the pandemic preparedness and response actions of nuclear power plant operating organisations in EU and some third countries operating nuclear power reactors. The investigation has been performed by means of media monitoring and information gathering during approximately three weeks, from 16 March – 3 April 2020.JRC.G.10-Knowledge for Nuclear Security and Safet

Knowledge Management for Policy: Stocktaking of one year of JRC activities

Improving knowledge management and collaborative working is a priority for overcoming silos mentalities and connecting synergies between portfolios, as envisaged in the Commission Communication C(2016)6626. In its 2030 Strategy, the JRC took up this challenge by 1) introducing a horizontal ‘knowledge management’ layer in the organigram, to mobilise scientific competences from different Directorates around the Commission’s policy goals 2) championing the implementation of new collaboration practices and platforms as well as the development of a knowledge management professionalisation programme; 3) starting to transform itself from a traditional research-producing organisation into a world-leading manager of knowledge for EU policy-making. One year after the reorganisation carried out on the 1st of July 2016 to align the JRC organigram with the new strategy, this report reviews the progress made and describes the main achievements.JRC.H-Knowledge Management (Ispra

China: Challenges and Prospects from an Industrial and Innovation Powerhouse

China is rapidly becoming a major industrial competitor in high tech and growth sectors. Its economic success and related industrial policies have received a high degree of attention, especially in light of its capacity to challenge the leading position of advanced economies in several fields. China aims, through the 'Made in China 2025' strategy, to become a world leader in key industrial sectors. In these sectors, it strives to strengthen its domestic innovation capacity, to reduce its reliance on foreign technologies while moving up in global value chains. This report analyses China's approach to attain a dominant position in international markets through a combination of industrial, R&I, trade and foreign direct investment policies. It offers an assessment of China's current position compared to the EU and US innovation systems across a range of dimensions. It concludes that China has become a major industrial competitor in several rapidly expanding high tech sectors, which may well result in attaining China's goal of becoming an innovation leader in specific areas. As a response, the EU will need to boost its industrial and R&I performance and develop a trade policy that can ensure a level playing field for EU companies in China and for Chinese companies in the EU.JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt

From Qualification Design to Training Design Using ECVET Principles

The Joint Research Centre of European Commission was designated in 2009 as Operating agent of European Human Resources Observatory – in Nuclear (EHRO-N). EHRO-N identified the nuclear sector’s major challenges: to fill-in the 30 % gap between HR demand and supply in decommissioning and to adapt nuclear E&T system to comply more to the labour market demands. The process of nuclear training system adaptation to the labour market needs is based on the design of the flexible qualifications (unit based qualifications) using European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) principles. The process of ECVET implementation in the nuclear energy sector is ongoing since 2011 and is based on the strategy and road map developed by EHRO-N. The current paper presents the latest developments on the designing of training programs based on exit outcomes.JRC.G.10-Knowledge for Nuclear Security and Safet

Magnetic Anisotropy in NpRhGa5

Abstract is not availableJRC.E.6-Actinides researc

Superconductivity in the Isostructural Heavy-Fermion Compounds CeMIn5 and PuMGa5

The crystalographic structure of CeMIns and PuMGas appears to be important for their superconductivity as well as their magnetic properties. Substantial evidence suggests that su¬perconductivity in CeMIns compounds is unconventional and mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fiuctuations. The common structure-property relationships in CeMIns and PuMGag im-ply that superconductivity in PuMGas also may be spin-mediated.JRC.E.6-Actinides researc