Head to the JSI team for the start-up zero power physics tests in the Nuclear Power Plant Krško; cycle 29 After each outage in the Krško NPP it is necessary, in accordance with the requirements of the SNSA, to perform the testing of the reactor on zero power before the increase of its power. In doing so, the responses to the insertion of the reactor control assemblies, temperature changes and the concentration of boric acid in the coolant are compared with the previously calculated values. Since 2004, with one exception for postdoctoral training abroad, I have led a group of experts from the Jožef Stefan Institute, to perform the said tests. Each time the tests were performed successfully and thus the permission for the operation for the next cycle could be obtained.
F.12 Improvements to an existing service
COBISS.SI-ID: 30181415At the Joint European Torus (JET) the ex-vessel fission chambers and in-vessel activation detectors are used as the neutron production rate and neutron yield monitors respectively. In order to ensure that these detectors produce accurate measurements they need to be experimentally calibrated. A new calibration of neutron detectors to 14 MeV neutrons, resulting from deuterium-tritium (DT) plasmas, is planned at JET using a compact accelerator based neutron generator (NG) in which a D/T beam impinges on a solid target containing T/D, producing neutrons by DT fusion reactions. This paper presents the analysis that was performed to model the neutron source characteristics in terms of energy spectrum, angle%energy distribution and the effect of the neutron generator geometry. Different codes capable of simulating the accelerator based DT neutron sources are compared and sensitivities to uncertainties in the generator's internal structure analysed. The analysis was performed to support preparation to the experimental measurements performed to characterize the NG as a calibration source. Further extensive neutronics analyses, performed with this model of the NG, will be needed to support the neutron calibration experiments and take into account various differences between the calibration experiment and experiments using the plasma as a source of neutrons.
F.02 Acquisition of new scientific knowledge
COBISS.SI-ID: 30206247Chairman of the organizing committee of the "International Conference Nuclear Energy for New Europe, Portorož, 2016", which was organized by members of the Reactor physics division and the Nuclear Society of Slovenia. The conference was held from 5 to 8 September 2016 in Portorož, and was attended by 165 experts and researchers from the nuclear field from Slovenia and abroad. I have been also editor of the proceedings of the conference.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 287973376A new Deuterium-Tritium (DT) campaign is planned at JET. An accurate calibration for the 14 MeV neutron yield monitors is necessary. In order to perform the calibration a 14 MeV Neutron Generator with suitable intensity (%108 n/s) will be used. Due to the intensity change during the Neutron Generator lifetime it would be necessary to monitor continuously the neutron emission intensity during the calibration using a compact detector attached to it. A high quality diamond detector has been chosen as one of the monitors. This detector has been fully characterized at the 14 MeV Frascati Neutron Generator facility. The characterization procedure and the resulting 14 MeV neutron response of the detector are described in this paper together with the obtained uncertainties.
F.04 Increase of the technological level
COBISS.SI-ID: 30155559Seminar at ORNL, Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division / Radiation Transport Group An overview of the work performed at the Reactor Physics Division of the Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia, was presented. The research is focused around the TRIGA reactor and the fusion reactors JET and ITER. The research in reactor physics is oriented mostly into new methods for power and research reactor calculations, where special attention is given to the calibration and benchmarking of nuclear data and computational methods. A power reactor core design package has been developed by Department's researchers and is being used to calculate fuel cycles for Krsko Nuclear Power Plant since its initial startup. We are intensively involved in transport calculations for JET – the Joint European Torus with neutron calibration support and transport calculations and for the future reactor ITER.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 29092391