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Nuclear Energy and Safety (NES)

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Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Division

Brennstäbe

The Paul Scherrer Institute has a long tradition in energy research. With respect to nuclear energy, PSI has a unique position in Switzerland. This is due to its heavy infrastructure, namely the Hot Laboratory with so-called hot cells, well equipped and shielded zones for work and research on radioactive material. In addition, the nuclear energy division takes advantage of PSI's large facilities like the Swiss Light Source (SLS) and the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source (SINQ).

Based on this infrastructure and the know-how of its collaborators the Division is involved in three main topics of research: Safety of currently operating light-water reactors, safety characteristics of future reactor concepts and related fuel cycles, and long-term safety of deep geological repositories for nuclear wastes of all kind.

The work is being done on behalf of the Federal Government and in close cooperation with the Swiss nuclear utilities, the national waste management organization, Nagra, and the national regulatory authority, ENSI. It also includes scientific services for the nuclear power plants. Most of the research is connected with international projects on a multi- or bi-national cooperation basis.


Recent News from NES

9 décembre 2022
Teaser Figure

Evaluation of European electricity supply resilience

The increasing risk of extended electricity supply disruptions and severe electricity price fluctuations  strongly motivate an evaluation of electricity supply resilience. In this direction, this research proposes a multicriteria decision support framework to assess resilience at a country level, based on three major dimensions: Resist, Restabilize and Recover. In total, 35 European countries are ranked according to their performance on 17 indicators, through a synergy of MCDA methods, techniques and communication protocols. The assessment framework has been extended to incorporate the Choquet Integral method, in order to accommodate potentially interacting pairs of criteria and negate their arbitrary effects on the final evaluation results. The analysis incorporates country data from credible international databases, as well as the preference information of a European energy expert. The results are envisaged to support energy policymakers in Europe and provide guidelines and areas for improvement at a country level.

En savoir plus
1 décembre 2022
Fig.9: EBSD

A unique environment for research on highly radioactive materials

PSI has a unique (worldwide) environment for the investigation of highly radioactive / toxic materials:
> Materials (different fuel types, very high burn-up, different cladding materials, materials activated in SINQ).
> The hot lab with advanced tools for microsample analysis and preparation.
> The large-scale equipment for advanced material analysis.

This unique combination at PSI allows us to meet the needs of our industrial partners to improve plant safety / efficiency, up to fundamental research.
The quantitative distribution of fission products over the cross-section of a pellet with a shielded electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) used for verification analysis of the material behavior to validate the model. In this context, Xe behavior during transients/failure (LOCA, RIA) is an important safety parameter that can’t be measured with the EPMA at the periphery. Microstructural EBSD investigations on a microsample extend the information horizon, which is deepened at the microXAS beamline by detailed X-ray analyses.

En savoir plus
28 octobre 2022
ETSON Highlight Teaser

ETSON Workshop at PSI Towards Artificial Intelligence Informed Nuclear Safety Assessments

Data science (DS) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods opens up an immense range of new opportunities and challenges in the context of continuously enhancing the complex methodologies used as basis for nuclear safety assessments. To this aim, following discussions in the ETSON Technical Board on Reactor Safety, the PSI laboratory for reactor physics and thermal-hydraulics organized on October 20-21, 2022, an international workshop to review and discuss DS/AI within ETSON, the network of European research and expert organizations providing scientific support to national nuclear authorities. With close to 40 participants, the workshop, organized as a hybrid meeting, allowed to put in evidence that similarly as at PSI, a wide and growing range of developments with integration of DS/AI methods are currently taking place in order to complement and/or inform nuclear safety analysis methodologies.  

En savoir plus
27 octobre 2022
5232

«Objectiver le débat sur l’énergie»

Energie et climat Plateforme ESI Transition énergétique

Le débat sur l'énergie a besoin de plus de faits et de moins d'intuition - c'est ce que plaident l'expert en énergies renouvelables Thomas J. Schmidt et le chercheur en énergie nucléaire Andreas Pautz.

En savoir plus
25 octobre 2022
ECMFL NURETH Highlight Start GIF

Award winning work on high-resolution X-ray radiography methods for boiling experiments at high pressure.

Light Water Reactors (LWRs) such as the ones operating in Switzerland work at relatively high temperatures and pressures. As a consequence, thermal-hydraulics experiments investigating relevant LWRs phenomena at prototypical conditions require test sections with relatively thick steel walls. This poses significant challenges for the implementation of suitable instrumentation to capture phenomena of interest, such as the flow regimes during transition from liquid to steam. The characterization of flow regimes in the presence of boiling is rather complex, and their better understanding would allow to develop mathematical modeling tools that can be used to optimize equipment and better assess safety margins. To perform in-situ measurements of the boiling process under high-pressure conditions, the team of authors from PSI, ETH, and the University of Michigan has developed a new high-fidelity and high-speed imaging system based on x-ray radiography, which provides high-resolution details on the boiling process while being non-intrusive. Since the instrumentation is located outside of the test section, it has also the advantage that can be easily moved to take measurements in different region of the test sections. 

En savoir plus
7 septembre 2022
LES

CASH+ solid solution cement model

A new incrementally extendable thermodynamic model, CASH+, was developed, aimed at accurately describing equilibrium composition, solubility, and elemental uptake of C-A-S-H gel-like phases at varying chemical conditions in cement systems. Cement is widely used as matrix and backfill for low and intermediate level waste. Calcium-Aluminum-Silicate Hydrates (C-A-S-H) are the most important binding phases in cement. They are also responsible for the initial entrapment of radionuclides via sorption or solid solution formation mechanisms. Therefore, the thermodynamic modelling of C-A-S-H stability, solubility and interaction with radionuclides in cement porewater is crucial for understanding hydration, blending, degradation of cement-based materials and for the performance assessment of cementitious repositories.

En savoir plus
15 août 2022
Teaser Figure

Hydrogen-induced softening effect in zirconium alloys

The fuel used for nuclear energy production is normally enclosed in zirconium-based cladding tubes that constitute the first barrier between the radioactive material and the environment. In water-moderated reactors, cladding tubes tend to corrode, generating hydrogen as side product. The study of the hydrogen embrittlement in zirconium alloys is of high relevance for the industry.

Depending on temperature, local hydrogen concentration, and local stress conditions, different hydrogen-induced embrittlement mechanisms can be active in the cladding material: in certain conditions hydrogen in solid solution might cause material softening through a mechanism known as hydrogen enhanced localized plasticity (HELP).

With the goal of determining the conditions necessary to activate the HELP effect in zirconium alloys, samples have been evaluated by different micro-mechanical and macro-mechanical techniques. Results highlight the importance of the interplay between solid solution hydrogen and hydrides on the hardness and yield point of the tested materials.

En savoir plus
17 juin 2022
Figure 3

Synthesis of Metallic Lanthanide Thin Samples

This work aimed to produce intermetallic samples of platinoid metals (active metal matrix) and lanthanides (co-metal) and via the method of Coupled Reduction, i.e. a thermal treatment of the combination of the lanthanide oxide and noble metal at high temperature, as high as 1100 °C, under a constant flow of H2. We have demonstrated by means of several techniques, such as Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, Alpha Spectrometry and Radiographic Imaging, that this method, at defined experimental conditions (temperature, pressure and concentration) yields a metallic lanthanide thin film when using platinum as active metal matrix. Conversely, the formation of a bulk intermetallic compound was obtained when using Pd as matrix. Those systems will have applications in different nuclear physic and radiochemistry studies, such as irradiation targets for production of superheavy elements and for nuclear data determination.

En savoir plus
22 avril 2022
Fig.1

Blue hydrogen can help protect the climate

An international group of researchers led by the Paul Scherrer Institute has carried out in-depth analyses of the climate impact of blue hydrogen. This is produced from natural gas, with the CO2 resulting from the process captured and permanently stored. The study concludes that blue hydrogen can play a positive role in the energy transition – under certain conditions.

En savoir plus

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Contact

Research Division
Nuclear Energy and Safety
Paul Scherrer Institute
OHSA/E72
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland

 

Andreas


Division Head
Prof. Dr. Andreas Pautz
Telephone: +41 56 310 3497
E-mail: Andreas.Pautz@psi.ch


Didier


Deputy Division Head
Dr. Didier Gavillet
Telephone: +41 56 310 22 82
E-mail: didier.gavillet@psi.ch


Ute


Executive Assistant
Ute D. Mayer
Telephone: +41 56 310 2740
E-mail: Ute.Mayer@psi.ch


Ramona


Ramona Dreier
Telephone: +41 56 310 2741
E-mail: Ramona.Dreier@psi.ch

NES Open positions

Current job openings in the Research Division for Nuclear Energy and Safety


Itinéraire PSI

Comment nous trouver (l'itinéraire et plan d'accès)

Bevorstehende Veranstaltungen

20. février 2023, 13:30 - 15:00
OSGA/EG06

ALFRED infrastructure and Romania’s R&D Agenda on LFR

Research Division: NES Colloquium
Dr. Daniela Gugiu, RATEN INSTITUTE for NUCLEAR RESEARCH, Romania
En savoir plus
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