Scientists from all over the world attend the 2011 Frédéric Joliot/Otto Hahn Summer School course on Nuclear Reactor  Physics, Fuels and Systems, in Karlsruhe

Since 1995, the Frédéric Joliot/Otto Hahn Summer School has been organised jointly by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA)/Cadarache, with the location alternating between the two sites. On this occasion the summer school took place in Karlsruhe’s Akademiehotel, from 25 August to 3 September.

This year’s focus was on High-Fidelity Modeling for Nuclear Reactors: Challenges and Prospects. Experts from internationally renowned research institutes and universities in America, Europe, and Germany presented the findings of their state of the art research and development programmes. The topics covered supported the main objective of the school, namely to present to young scientists from all over the world the full scope of nuclear engineering skills available. More specifically, the following issues were addressed:

Status and Perspectives of Modeling and its Role in Design, Operation and Safety (Prof. Turinsky); Thermo-hydraulics of Nuclear Reactors and Simulation of Two-phase Flow (Prof. Giot and Dr. M. Wörner); Structural Mechanics, Structure-fluid Interaction, and Earthquake Safety (Dr. Collard and Dr. Voldoire), Advanced Simulations in Neutronics and Reactor Physics (Prof. P. Ravetto, Dr. Leppänen, Dr. Hogenbirk, Prof. Larsen, and Prof. Mund), Progress in the Simulation of Fuel and Material Behavior (Dr. Vladimirov, Dr. Becquart, Dr. Van Uffelen, Dr. Bertolus), and Multiphysics and Uncertainty Analysis Methods (Prof. K. Ivanov, Prof. R. Macian and Prof. T. Downar).

In an extraordinary seminar, Prof. Dr. Ch. Kottmeier, Director of the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, explained the use of supercomputers in detailed climate modeling and weather forecasting. He drew parallels with the role of numerical simulation in nuclear engineering.

A total of 59 participants from 19 countries attended this year’s Summer School. During the ten days that it lasted participants had an opportunity to discuss and exchange information and views with the lecturers. This typifies the spirit of the School and supports the main objective of the directors, Prof. Dr. R. Stieglitz and Dr. R. Jacqmin, which is to enhance direct contact between lecturers and participants. Indeed, both participants and lecturers were able to exchange information on both a scientific and personal level both within and beyond the scope of the event itself.

The Summer School’s accompanying programme included a visit of AREVA’s experimental test facilities in Karlstein, where the participants were given an impressive insight into thermo-hydraulic experiments relevant to the safety of boiling and pressurized water reactors, their instrumentation and measurement technology.

The social programme included a hike through the beautiful landscapes of the Black Forest on the “Karlsruher Grat,” a guided visit to the town of Baden-Baden and a subsequent banquet at the “Molkenkur Baden-Baden,” where the guests enjoyed the typical pleasures offered by the local cuisine and regional wines.

In 2012, the Frédéric Joliot/Otto Hahn Summer School will again be co-organised by the CEA, and KIT, and will take place in Aix en Provence, France.

Dr. V. Sanchez /KIT-INR
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