On a Roadmap for Future Industrial Nuclear Reactor Core Simulation in the U.K. to Support the Nuclear Renaissance

Bruno Merk, Mark Bankhead, Dzianis Litskevich, Robert Gregg, Aiden Peakman and Craig Shearer
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Bruno Merk: School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK
Mark Bankhead: National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK
Dzianis Litskevich: School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH, UK
Robert Gregg: National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK
Aiden Peakman: National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK
Craig Shearer: National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: The U.K. has initiated the nuclear renaissance by contracting for the first two new plants and announcing further new build projects. The U.K. government has recently started to support this development with the announcement of a national programme of nuclear innovation. The aim of this programme with respect to modelling and simulation is foreseen to fulfil the demand in education and the build-up of a reasonably qualified workforce, as well as the development and application of a new state-of-the-art software environment for improved economics and safety. This document supports the ambition to define a new approach to the structured development of nuclear reactor core simulation that is based on oversight instead of looking at detail problems and the development of single tools for these specific detail problems. It is based on studying the industrial demand to bridge the gap in technical innovation that can be derived from basic research in order to create a tailored industry solution to set the new standard for reactor core modelling and simulation for the U.K. However, finally, a technical requirements specification has to be developed alongside the strategic approach to give code developers a functional specification that they can use to develop the tools for the future. Key points for a culture change to the application of modern technologies are identified in the use of DevOps in a double-strata approach to academic and industrial code development. The document provides a novel, strategic approach to achieve the most promising final product for industry, and to identify the most important points for improvement.

Keywords: Nuclear; nuclear reactors; modelling & simulation; strategic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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