Applied Nuclear Physics
Reactor Engineering
Safety Analysis
Human Factors Engineering
Reactor Physics
Research work carried out in this area essentially consists of applications of different radiations, in the most varied fields, among which we highlight:
At the same time, other research works are developed, such as:
Research in the area of Applied Nuclear Physics is usually linked to other institutions in the nuclear area (e.g., Institute of Nuclear Engineering, Institute of Radioprotection and Dosimetry, Brazilian Center for Physics Research, Institute of Physics at UFRJ, Embrapa-CTAA, National Laboratory of Sincroton Radiation, etc.), but concentrates in the facilities of the Nuclear Instrumentation Laboratory (LIN / COPPE).
The area has been developing techniques for detecting and applying nuclear radiation for several years. Many research works result from master’s and doctoral theses dealing with radiography, image reconstruction, special detectors, etc., accumulating their own technology. Recent advances and multiple applications of computed tomography, together with several institutions and researches that have sought the LIN / COPPE, led us to launch a computerized tomography program, qualified to develop:
The major results of the project will be both the industrialization, by national companies, of high-tech equipment, but at a much lower cost than imported ones, as well as an elimination of chaos (technical and financial) resulting from its maintenance by multinational companies. In addition, the greatest triumphs will be the training of personnel in state-of-the-art technology and the interaction of research groups in related areas with the national industry, the final objective of the project: the prototype of an integral tomographic system.
The global project of the tomographic system is broken down into several subprojects, according to the following lines of research:
In recent years, the Reactor Engineering area has sought to gain knowledge in the development of computational codes applied to engineering problems. In this way, the following topics were prioritized.
With a deep knowledge of these topics today, the area of reactor engineering has developed for COPESP a first computational code for simulating the primary and secondary circuits of pressurized water reactors.
This code is a real-time thermohydraulic simulator of industrial facilities, with an emphasis on nuclear power plants, intrinsically possessing an intelligent control structure, which allows simulating the various transients, modifying the installation configuration when necessary. The primary phase is completed and has already allowed us to visualize the superiority of the product developed at PEN in relation to the existing similar ones.
In view of these results, a second version of this simulator is in progress, aiming at its application to other thermohydraulic processes of interest. It is also expected that this experience will give rise to the development of other codes in the area of structural analysis.
New mathematical and numerical methods are being researched for the development of robust algorithms for the solution of algebraic systems that result from the regularization of inverse problems within nuclear engineering, such as the source reconstruction and parameter identification problems related to material properties.
In summary, it can be said that research in the area of Reactor Engineering has sought:
The great importance of the implemented scheme is that, in addition to the basic training that masters and doctoral students are acquiring, the area hopes to train complete professionals who have the knowledge and know how to bridge the gap between basic sciences and their applications in engineering.
The Human Factors Engineering area of the Nuclear Engineering Program (PEN) at COPPE/UFRJ was approved at the collegiate meeting held on 05/18/95. This new area complements the research activities that fall within other areas of the Program.
The Human Factors Engineering area emerged as a result of a set of researches developed in the last three years, substantiated by the development and defense of some Master’s and Doctoral theses, in addition to several scientific publications.
The area has the direct participation of professors Aquilino Senra and Roberto Schirru, and currently has several lines of research at the level of master’s and doctoral theses.
The application of advanced systems engineering and computing techniques, such as expert systems, neural networks, fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms, to some problems in the operation of nuclear power plants has a potential objective to improve the safety and operating conditions of these plants. The aforementioned techniques emerged as computational systems development tools in the last two decades, from a relative period without significant applications to the rapid growth of information processing technology.
One of the main applications of advanced computer and systems engineering techniques is in the development of knowledge systems, and in particular in artificial intelligence. Such systems have a complementary character to engineering simulation systems, particularly in the solution of complex problems in which engineering simulations are prohibitive, either because of computational time, or because of difficulties in analytical modeling.
Several artificial intelligence applications have been made in the area of nuclear engineering, for example, to diagnose the shutdown of a PWR nuclear reactor through the technique of neural networks. Engineering simulation of such a problem would certainly require a long period of time to restart the nuclear reactor. Detection of abnormal conditions in the operation of a nuclear power plant, signal validation, monitoring and control of nuclear processes are other applications of artificial intelligence in nuclear engineering.
These research activities do not fall within the currently existing areas of the Nuclear Engineering Program. In fact, the creation of the Human Factors Engineering area reflects an international trend, particularly in most American universities, which have created new areas to adapt the new lines of research to the curriculum structure of the courses.
The area’s main objective is to train personnel capable of formulating and analyzing safety problems in industrial installations in general and in PWR-type reactors in particular.
Researches developed by the area aim to provide:
Lines of research currently underway in the area are as follows:
Due to the strong interaction that exists with other fields of Physics, the area of Reactor Physics has existed since the creation of the Program. In this long period of existence, it has generated human resources for the main institutions in the country's nuclear sector, with the training of researchers at both master's and doctoral levels, highly qualified for the analysis of the neutronic behavior of a nuclear reactor.
The area aims to provide theoretical support and fundamental physical knowledge of the neutron-nucleus interaction for the development of Nuclear Engineering. Within this spirit, mathematical methods and physical models of the interactions of low energy neutrons with the nuclei of isotopes that make up the materials of a nuclear reactor are studied. The effects of these interactions are analyzed in their smallest details, with the aim of enabling students to develop basic research work, according to the most recent progress in the chosen field of activity.
On the other hand, the area also has the purpose of developing applied research works, which are fundamentally based on the development of mathematical and numerical methods for applications in neutron analysis codes of nuclear reactors. In this context, the researcher in the area must get involved in studies motivated by requests from companies and institutions in the nuclear sector.
The lines of research under development in these areas are the following:
• Applications of perturbation theory methods (GPT and Pseudo-Harmonics) to reactor physics problems;
• Development of physical models for calculating neutron parameters in the energy range of nuclear resonances;
• Development of methods for determining the temporal variation of the neutron flux;
• Coarse mesh methods for calculating the spatial flux of neutrons in 2 or 3 dimensions and 2 energy groups in PWR reactors;
• Space-time calculation methods (transient to two energy groups for PWR type reactors);
• Nuclear fuel management (optimization of PWR reactor recharge models).
• Development of models for calculating the adjunct constants of multigroups.
