TVA a part of nuclear simulation project


CSA Z462 Arc Flash Training – Electrical Safety Compliance Course

Our customized live online or in‑person group training can be delivered to your staff at your location.

  • Live Online
  • 6 hours Instructor-led
  • Group Training Available
Regular Price:
$249
Coupon Price:
$199
Reserve Your Seat Today

CASL nuclear reactor simulation leverages ORNL supercomputers for predictive modeling of light water reactors, creating virtual reactors to optimize operations, extend lifetimes, and advance U.S. nuclear leadership with TVA, Westinghouse, and Los Alamos partners.

 

Main Details

DOE supercomputing program modeling light water reactors to improve safety, efficiency, and extend lifetimes.

  • Uses Jaguar, Kraken, and Roadrunner for high-fidelity simulations
  • Builds a validated virtual model of operating light water reactors
  • Targets materials aging, safety margins, and life extension
  • Partners: TVA, Westinghouse, ORNL, LANL, MIT, EPRI, universities
  • Five-year DOE program with potential five-year extension

 

A team that's headed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and includes TVA will receive up to $122 million over the next five years to establish and operate a Nuclear Energy Modeling and Simulation Hub, the U.S. Department of Energy announced recently.

 

The new program is supposed to use the world's most powerful computers to make "significant leaps" in the design and engineering of nuclear reactors, improve operations of existing reactors and help extend their lifetime, and ultimately re-establish U.S. leadership in nuclear energy as utilities eye revival across the country. If the five-year effort is successful, it could be extended for another five years.

"We're really honored and excited to have this opportunity. I can't wait to get started," Doug Kothe, scientific director at ORNL's National Center for Computational Sciences, said. Kothe, a nuclear engineer, headed the proposal team and will become director of what's being called the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors CASL, which builds on ORNL's work on small reactors for developing nations as well.

Besides TVA, renewed projects have benefited Areva and B&W and other major partners include the Westinghouse Electric Co. Los Alamos National Laboratory Electric Power Research Institute Idaho National Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sandia National Laboratories North Carolina State University and the University of Michigan.

The project will bring together experts from different disciplines and institutions, enabling engineers to create enhanced simulations of a currently operating nuclear reactor. That will serve as a "virtual model" of the reactor, and researchers can then validate their results with actual data from an operating reactor while informing designs for small modular reactors in the future as well.

ORNL Director Thom Mason said TVA has different types of reactors in its fleet, reflecting TVA's long-range nuclear plans and representing many of the designs currently used in operating U.S. reactors. "That diversity is actually helpful," he said.

A bonus aspect of the TVA partnership is that the Watts Bar 2 reactor, where the TVA plant's restoration signals a nuclear renaissance, is coming online shortly - in 2012, Mason said. "It will be a brand-new start, where all the initial conditions are known, so from a modeling point of view, that's attractive," the ORNL director said.

Mason said Jaguar, ORNL's Cray XT5 supercomputer that's currently rated as the world's fastest machine, will be used for the reactor simulation work. But other computers will be used as well, including the Kraken - a University of Tennessee/National Science Foundation machine, where professors help power the nuclear renaissance through research, that's also located at ORNL - and the IBM Roadrunner machine at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, he said.

"A predictive simulation tool is kind of like a time machine," Kothe said. "We can predict what's going to happen in 30 years."

Extending the life of a nuclear reactor usually boils down to dealing with material problems, Kothe said. By simulating how materials are going to age in the harsh environment of a nuclear core, engineers can better assess how long a reactor can safely operate or determine what changes can be made to allow the reactor to run longer, the ORNL official said.

 

Related News

Related News

Cheap material converts heat to electricity

Polycrystalline Tin Selenide Thermoelectrics enable waste heat recovery with ZT 3.1, matching single crystals while…
View more

TVA faces federal scrutiny over climate goals, electricity rates

TVA Rates and Renewable Energy Scrutiny spotlights electricity rates, distributed energy resources, solar and wind…
View more

Alberta shift from coal to cleaner energy

Alberta Coal-to-Gas Transition will retire coal units, convert plants to natural gas, boost renewables, and…
View more

Ontario prepares to extend disconnect moratoriums for residential electricity customers

Ontario Electricity Relief outlines an extended disconnect moratorium, potential time-of-use price changes, and Ontario Energy…
View more

Carbon capture: How can we remove CO2 from the atmosphere?

CO2 Removal Technologies address climate change via negative emissions, including carbon capture, reforestation, soil carbon,…
View more

Doug Ford's New Stance on Wind Power in Ontario

Ontario Wind Power Policy Shift signals renewed investment in renewable energy, wind farms, and grid…
View more

Sign Up for Electricity Forum’s Newsletter

Stay informed with our FREE Newsletter — get the latest news, breakthrough technologies, and expert insights, delivered straight to your inbox.

Electricity Today T&D Magazine Subscribe for FREE

Stay informed with the latest T&D policies and technologies.
  • Timely insights from industry experts
  • Practical solutions T&D engineers
  • Free access to every issue

Live Online & In-person Group Training

Advantages To Instructor-Led Training – Instructor-Led Course, Customized Training, Multiple Locations, Economical, CEU Credits, Course Discounts.

Request For Quotation

Whether you would prefer Live Online or In-Person instruction, our electrical training courses can be tailored to meet your company's specific requirements and delivered to your employees in one location or at various locations.