ML20214L270
| ML20214L270 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/01/1986 |
| From: | Gorn J NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA) |
| To: | Sheron B NRC |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20214K845 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-86-335 NUDOCS 8705290258 | |
| Download: ML20214L270 (7) | |
Text
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5 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION f WASHINGTON.O.C. 3 0W
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NOTE T0: Brian Sheron FRON:
Janet Corn, OCA Enclosed is a list of University of Wisconsin personnel for the Nuclear .
Safety Research Center. Professor Michael l ,
Corradini requested that these names be sent to the proper EPA office for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant List of Volunteers.
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Professor Corradini said the Executive Committee consists of
! Michael L. Corradint William F. Vogelsang
- Paul M. DeLuca j Gregory A. Moses 1 MaA W. Carbon Seymour Abrahamson Al L. Wiley (Radiation Therapy) ,
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l UNA0!$03 ' NUCLEAR SAFETY RE5EARCH CENTER i
!NTR000CT!0N f
i The Nuclear safety Research Center is being created in the College of i
! Eng'ineering to carry out research, education, and public service related to i l techntca) issues of nuclear safety wiu specific emphasis on advanced reactor technology applications, t Over the past two decades, nuclear energy has become a vital source of . i power in the US and the world. In the former, there are now about 40 power ,
plants on line and another 50 or so scheduled for cospletion soon. These 130
- plants will produce about tot of the nation's electricity, represent an !
investment on tne order of 5300-400,000,000,000, ano employ several thousand
< professional engineers. France and Ja i i snetr electricity from nuclear energy,and pandeveloping will soon generate perhaps countries sugh 50-40s of as China, !
l Korea. Taiwan, and India expect to depend heavily on this form of energy also. Further, tne importance and use of nuclear power are almost certain to .
increase in ue future as the environmental restrictions associated with the burning of fossil fuels become more severe. !
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! The safety record of the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity in j sne US and the world has been truly phenomenal. Not a single worker nor !
member of tne public has been killed by radiation in a commercial nuclear !'
power plant accident in the U5, and the same statement applies worldwide as l' far as is known. Neversneless, safety will always be a major consideration, j i and during me last few years, emphasis in ue nuclear fission reactor i i industry (i.e.11gns water reactors) has turned from the design of new and '
unique plants to me safe and reliable operation of those plants currently on '
line and the plants coming into service before Igg 0. This shift in emphasis has aise caused the design effort.t in ne advanced nuclear reactor concepta j such as advanced converter reactors, the fast breeder reactor, and fusion l power reactors to consider inherent safety and reliability'within the context of the engineering design. This new emphasis on a 'better new product and an i ' improved current product based on leproved reliable operation and inherent l safety, resolu in the need for research efforts in this area of high
, technology to be better focused.
1 The proposed Nuclear Safety Research Center would be a useful mechanism j to help focus the research work that is currently underway at the University i by a number of faculty. The Center would promete effective communication of the research vert that is done in a number of specific engineering and .
scientific discipliness e.g. health physics, two-phase flow and heat transfer, materials science, reactor physics. This communication would be within the University community to help participating faculty genefit from technical )
information on a cosmon goal. The Center will also aid in communication with '
groups outside the University that may desire the results of such research or would like to financially contribute to its continuance. In addition the l Center will help focus the research efforts in specific areas of safety and I ennance the opportunity for collegial cooperation. This is especially I important in a research area such as this where the interdisciplinary aspects j of the work are quite important. Examples of some of the current research '
areas involving a variety of disciplines are l
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. .4 a) Pressurized Thermal Shock: This phenomena involves the sudden addition of colder water to a pressure vessel at relatively high
' temperatures resulting in possiele structural failure by brittle
' fracture; this involves fluid dynamics and heat transfer expertise as well as structural mechanics and material science.
b) Radiological source Ters: In certain postulated accidenta it is important to understand tne amount of radionuclides that might be released to the environment and their impact; this research again involves fluid dynamics and heat transfer expertise as well as chemistry, seteorology, health physics, and human oncology, c) Liquid-Metal / Water Interactions: In certain power plant designs use is made of Ifquid metals in consination with waters the potential for temperature excursions and explosions must be considered and this involves expertise again in heat and mass transfer, chemistry and structural mechanics. . '
d) Emergency Pressure Relief: In many plant designs high pressure is utillaed to optimize the thermodynamic efficiency of a power cycle or process; this requires the design and evaluation of systems with emergency pressure relief involving expertise in two phase flow and heat transfer, structural mechanics and material science.
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The functions of the Center can be divided into three categories:
research, education, and public service, although the orfmary effort will be on research.
Research.
issues.
The Center's research activities will initially focus on nuclear safety It is espected that the research programs will provide opportunities for cooperation witn a number of industrial companies within the state of Wisconsin and nationally as well as state and federal government agencies. *1t is these groups that will provide the financial support for the research activities for the Center. Examples of industrial companies and government agencies that currently have given grants to faculty in the reactor safety area and who would potentially be interested in interaction with the Center include Wisconsin Puolic Service Corp. Madison Gas & Electric Company Northern States Power Compan Wisconsin Electric Pouer Corp.
Westinghouse Electric Corp. y
!$pAA Joint Research Center Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center (Germany)
(European Conson Market)
Sandia National Laboratories Argonne National Laboratory Hanford Engr Development Laboratory Idahe National Engineering Lab Nuclear Regulatcry Commission Electric Power Research Institute -
Departoent ef Energy Hatten41 Science Foundation It is expected that the Center will also seek research support from other international groups that have benefited in the past free some of the efforts
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. of specific faculty; e.g. Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute. Taiwan Institute for Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy of Canada, and United Kipgdom Atomic Energy Agency.
Education ,
Although me Center will not offer courses, it will support instruction of undergraduate and graduate students. For eaaaple, Center research progress will provide financia' support for graduate students, and research results w111 ne incorporated in formal courses. Several entsting courses already benefit from safet research on the campus (e.g., NE/Mt 520 *Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer,{ Med Phys /NE 56g " Health Physics.* and NE 571 *tconomics and Environmental Aspects of Nuclear Energy"), and new courses in the future will also benefit. -
Researen at the Center will provide bases for offering continuing education short courses involving safety issues. Professor Michael Corradini is currently preparing one such course based on his research. The Center facilities will make possible additional courses of wider scope.
While the Center will facilitate educational activities, all courses will be developed by faculty as a part of their responsibilities in their academic departments. The Center is not to assume the characteristics of an academic department.
Public Service The Center will have access to equipment for experiments and theoretical calculations in the area of safety, and will have staff trained in the use of such equipment. This will enable the Center te assist any individual principal investigators not having the necessary expertise for a particular I diagnostic test or usage of some specific type of computing equipment. The abtLity of the Center to address current safety issues will be of value to industry and to state and federal agencies as well as to University researca investigators. Some of the prospective faculty seabers for the Center have researca grants from Wisconsin industries dealing with specific issues in -
reacter safety. The Center will allow them to focus these efforts and derive tne most benefit from the researchers for the particular industry.
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FACULTY RELAftD TO CENTER The initial seatership in the Center will include said I. Abdel-Khalik, Nuclear Enginuring * ., .
Seymour Abrahanson, Genetics 4 Zoology Man W. Carben, Nuclear Engineering Richard J. Cashwell, Nuclear Engineering Ke11y N. Clif ton, Human Oncolog Michael L. Corradini,' Nuclearnginu f.y &ring Radiology Paul M. DeLuca, Jr., Medical Physics, Human Oncology, a Radiology M.M. El-Waki), Mechanical 4 Nuclear Engineering James C. Nickman, lusteess & Statistics .
Joy R. Jeyspelan, Civil and Environmenta), Engineering .
David I. Joenson, Economics , ,
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Gerald L. Kulcinski, nuclear Engineering i Edwin M. Larsen, Cheatstry , y James B. MacDonald, Law Edward G. Lovell, Engineering MechanicsJ ii Charles W. Maynard, Nuclear Engineering
. Gary L. M11ho111n, Law Gregory A. Moses Nuclear Engineering William F. Vogelsang, Nuclear Engineering * -.
W11 helm G. Wol.for, Nuclear Engineering .
Other faculty wishing to participate actively in the Center w151 De asked to join. The Center will have close ties with sne Nuclear Engineering Department. ,
ADMIN!5TRATION i
_creanization .
The Center will be organized as a subunit of the Engineering Emperiment Station in me College of Engineering. Faculty participating in me ;
activities of the Center will be asked to serve as messers of a Faculty !
Advisory Committee. A Faculty taecutive Advi ary cammittee will be salggsed from the Advisory Committee and tne Center wC have a director and any tecnnical and clerical staff as asemed necessary. The director and committees i of me Center will be appointed by tne Dean of the College of Engineering wita l the concurrence of other academic deans as appropriate in the case of faculty i from outside tne College of Enqineering. Any additional specific guidelines for operation of the Center wiL1 De determined by the dizassg and tne Faculty Executive Advisory Committee. This organizational structure is me same as
. that used for otner Centers administered in the Engineering Emperiment ,
Station. l Facilities !
The Nuclear safety Research Center will initially be housed wipin the I Engineering Research luilding using me current space of me separate safety l laboratories within ne Nuclear Engineering Department. A plan for consolidation of our space needs has been considered and will evolve ever the next couple of years. Any plans for expansion will be subsitted to the Dean of me College of Engineering arough the Engineering Emperiment Station to j ensure that It is unified and focused. , i The current facilities for the Center include equipment for both experimental and theoretical work. For fundamental experiments some of the equipeset includes the scanning electron microscope, a CO, continuous beam 300 watt laser, the Nuclear Engineering research reactor, realter het cell facilities, me Medical physics 15 MeV neuetron source, a liquid metal heat transfer and corrosion loop as well as the most up-to-date diagnostic and instrumentation equipment (e.g. notwire anemometer, micro-computer data acquisition systems). The computing fact 11 ties available for use by tne center include the IBM and Apple micro computers within the emperimental laboratories (e.g. three llM XTs), the Nuclear Engineering sicro-computer ' .
laboratory (IBM XTs and Afs), the MACC VAX, HARR!g, and UNIVAC computers, long distance links to supercomputers (CDC, CYttA and CRAY machines), and the pSL s't A -664 V
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I VAX 8600 and VAX 780. It is expected that additional equipment needs will be purchased with grant funds.
Financial Supeert Financial support for the Center 'will be obtained from outside sources.
Individual research grants and contracts by specific faculty associated with
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the Center will be handled in the usual manner. Any minor amounts of clerical support that may be initially needed will be provided by reallocation of
. resources witnin the Engineering Experiment Station.
I I RELATION TO ACADEMIC OEPARTMENTS Faculty me2ers involved with the Center wl11 continue to carry on their
, usual activities tnrough their own academic departments. The Center will l
allow the faculty tne opportunity to conduct research in the area of reactor safety and benefit from the common focus of other colleagues. The Center will not become an academic department and will not serve as the primary base for any faculty.
I Final Proposal
! February 21, 1985 l
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