NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN CANADA

Dr. John C. Luxat Professor & NSERC/UNENE Senior Industrial Research Chair in

Nuclear Safety Analysis

McMaster University

Presentation to Canada’s Nuclear Industry Capabilities SeminarSantiago, Chile

November 26, 2009

UNIVERSITIES WITH NUCLEAR PROGRAMS & INDUSTRY IN CANADA

NEW BRUNSWICKUNBNEW BRUNSWICK

UNB

QUEBECEcole Polytechnique de Montreal

QUEBECEcole Polytechnique de Montreal

ONTARIOMcMasterQueen’s, RMC, UOITU of T, UWOWaterloo

ONTARIOMcMasterQueen’s, RMC, UOITU of T, UWOWaterloo

SASKATCHEWANU SaskatchewanSASKATCHEWAN

U Saskatchewan

ONTARIOOPG, Bruce Power, AECL, COG, Cameco, AMEC-NSS, Kinectrics, CANDESCO, OCI, International Safety Research, Stern Labs, BC Instruments, NRCan Gen IV, NRCan CANMET-MTL, NRC-CNBC

ONTARIOOPG, Bruce Power, AECL, COG, Cameco, AMEC-NSS, Kinectrics, CANDESCO, OCI, International Safety Research, Stern Labs, BC Instruments, NRCan Gen IV, NRCan CANMET-MTL, NRC-CNBC

NEW BRUNSWICKNB Power

NEW BRUNSWICKNB Power

QUEBECHydro Quebec

QUEBECHydro Quebec

SASKATCHEWANCameco

SASKATCHEWANCameco

UNIVERSITIES

INDUSTRY / GOVERNMENT

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES

NUCLEAR FIELD DISCIPLINE

Reactor Physics Nuclear Engineering; Engineering Physics; Physics

Thermal Hydraulics (Heat Transfer, Fluid Dynamics)

Nuclear Engineering, Engineering Physics, Mechanical Engineering

Nuclear Fuel Design and Performance Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science, Engineering Physics

Reactor Materials Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science

Containment Design and Performance Nuclear Engineering, Civil Engineering

Reactor Control Electrical & Computer Engineering; Reactor Physics

Nuclear Safety All of the above nuclear fields + Mathematics

UNIVERSITY NETWORK OF EXCELLENCE IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING (UNENE)

Formed in response to concerns with skilled nuclear work force Consortia of industry

Primary Funding Sponsors• Utilities (OPG, BP), Designer and R&D (AECL)

Associate Members• Regulator (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission), Service providers

(NSS, Candesco, Stern Laboratories).

Two major components Education

• M.Eng. Program Research

• NSERC IRC program • 7 university chairs spanning all aspects of nuclear engineering.

UNENE Objectives

UNENE was established by industry to: Develop nuclear research capabilities at key universities. Ensure HQP in a vital economic area. Develop university and industrial collaborations Ensure technical expertise for industrial or public consultations.

UNENE Structure

UNENE UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS

Unique Training Programs

Typical M.Eng 3 courses Research intensive

Graduate Diploma 4 courses Distance learning

pilot Focus on industry

needs

UNENE M.Eng 8-10 courses Small research

project Distance learning

pilot Focus on industry

needs

Typical UNENE Grad Student

Funding from University and UNENE ~900 / month from

UNENE ~900 / month from

University (TA) Some variations

24 month Masters 48 month PhD

Exchanges Fund travel and

continue graduate payments

Additional funds from host institution to cover accommodations/ additional cost of living

Summer exchanges (4 month) or longer.

Cost ~20k per year.

UNENE Spin-off Successes

Grant Application Awards ORF-RE “Nuclear Ontario” $ 4.9M [2008] CFI-NIF / ORF-RI Centre for Advanced Nuclear Systems (CANS) -

McMaster $23.4M [2009] CFI-NIF / ORF-RI Testing of Nuclear Materials in a Simulated

Reactor Environment – Queen’s U $14M [2009]

ACRONYMS

ORF-RE = Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence

CFI-NIF =Canada Foundation for Innovation – New Initiatives Fund

ORF-RI = Ontario Research Fund – Research Infrastructure

ORF - Nuclear OntarioAdvanced Reactors

Focus 3 – examine key components and phenomena related to advanced nuclear reactors.

GEN-IV safety Leverage existing AECL-NSERC contribution (McMaster)

GEN-IV thermalhydraulics Leverage AECL contribution of SCW test facility (Carleton) SCW small scale TH heat transfer testing

GEN III+ and GEN-IV• Core material analysis (Queens)

COLLABORATIONS WITHIN UNIVERSITY(McMaster Example)

Collaborations include research projects, equipment sharing and co-supervision of students.

University departments Engineering Physics, Material Science and Engineering,

Mechanical Engineering, Computer and Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics.

Software certification (ORF-RE funded project: IRC is a collaborating researcher)

McMaster Nuclear Reactor and Accelerator Labs Research Centers

Centre for Advanced Nuclear Systems (CANS) – CFI & ORF-RI McMaster Institute for Applied Radiation Science (McIARS) Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) Canada Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM)

COLLABORATIONS: NATIONAL

Industrial Major collaboration with AECL-CRL on fuel cycle and

physics and Gen IV thermal hydraulics. Led by Dr. J. Luxat (McMaster) and Dr. R. Duffey (AECL Chief Scientist). Linked to ORF-RE Nuclear Ontario research network award

Safety analysis codes and methods with OPG, Bruce Power, Amec NSS and AECL-CRL.

Universities Collaborations between Royal Military College,

Queen’s U, U of Western Ontario, U of Toronto and Carleton U.

COLLABORATIONS: INTERNATIONAL

Collaborations established with IPNG-Grenoble, U of Pisa, Penn State.

Significant expansion of international collaborations: Industrial

• EdF, EPRI, TEPCo Universities

• Penn State, Purdue, Trinity College, Dalton Institute - Univ. of Manchester plus others.

Interactions With Industry

Research Technical Advisory Committee (AECL, BP, OPG)

• Detailed discussion on research directions and opportunities.• Ensures industrial-university technical research objectives are met.• Very positive feedback.

Technical exchanges• Industrial “site-visits” initiated

Graduate student presentations to key industry personnel• Industrial intern placements

Industrial R&D Student conference attendance and presentations Opportunity to present/interact with external utilities and

researchers.

Benefits to Canada

Significant increase in HQP in a vitally needed area of expertise. Research benefits

Resolution of regulatory issues Methodology prototyping Assist in power uprating Safety improvements

Consultations Leveraging industry government investment expansion well

beyond original UNENE vision. Expansion of UNENE university partners/collaborators. Expert support of the industry/public

QUESTIONS?

Example of Interactions With Industry Consultations and Technical Activities

Luxat• AECL Board of Directors• Advisory Board – IASMiRT; Exec Committee ANS TH Division• Chair – ACR-1000 Independent Safety Review• AECL Nuclear Safety Committee reviewing ACR-1000• Member External Licensing Advisory Group for ACR-1000• Chair – Independent PIRT Panel BEAU analysis• Technical expert – Independent Expert Panels: High Temperature Fuel Behaviour;

Fuel Element Deformation (Bowing)• Safety consultant – fuel channel integrity, high temperature fuel behaviour, ECCS

performance, SG flow induced vibration, ageing in PSA, nuclear technology• IAEA expert missions assessing safety in Pakistan and Argentina