NSERC / UNENE Research

NSERC and UNENE are sponsoring Industrial Research Chairs (IRC) at the following universities:

• McMaster: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Nuclear Safety Analyses and Thermal Hydraulics
  Dr. John Luxat (IRC), Associate Chair Dr. David Novog - abstract
• Queen’s: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Advanced Nuclear Materials
  Prof. Rick Holt (IRC), Associate Chair Dr. M. Daymond - abstract
• RMC: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Nuclear Fuels
  Dr. Brent Lewis (IRC) - abstract
• Toronto: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Nano-Engineering of Alloys
  Dr. Roger Newman ( IRC) - abstract
• UOIT: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Health Physics and Environmental Safety
  Dr. Tony Waker (IRC) - abstract
• Waterloo: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Risk-based Life Cycle Management
  Dr. Mahesh Pandey (IRC) - abstract
• Western: NSERC/UNENE IRC in Control, Instrumentation and Electrical Systems:
  (Dr. Jin Jiang (IRC) - abstract

UNENE collaborates with the following IRC's:

• Western: Nuclear Chemistry
  (Dr. David Shoesmith)
• Ecole Polytechnique:
  (Dr. Jean Koclas)
• New Brunswick:
  (Dr. Derek Lister)

International Collaborations

• UK-Canada Joint Workshop on Nuclear Skills 6 - 7 March 2006 Toronto
• The Nuclear Energy Working Group, North American Security and Prosperity Partnership Initiative
• China (SJTU, XJTU, NCEPU, Tsinghua U)

Research Details:

• Dr. John Luxat (McMaster) NSERC/UNENE IRC in Nuclear Safety Analysis
  • Best estimate and uncertainty based nuclear safety analysis; vapour generation and boiling heat transfer; modeling dryout, post-dryout and quench processes; thermal-mechanical behavior of reactor components at high temperature accident conditions; computational fluid dynamics models for two-phase flow
• Prof. Rick Holt and Dr. M. Daymond (Queen’s): NSERC/UNENE IRC in Advanced Nuclear Materials
  • Control of microstructure/texture of zirconium alloy tubes; Experimental study of anisotropy and deformation of zirconium alloys; Modeling anisotropy and deformation of zirconium alloys; Effects of deformation on plastic instability and failure; Improvements in measurement of crystallographic texture; Micro-structural characterization and qualification; Experimental study and modeling of macro- and microscopic stress and strain development during manufacture and evolution during service; Theory of radiation damage and in-reactor deformation
• Dr. Brent Lewis (RMC): NSERC/UNENE IRC in Nuclear Fuel
  • Nuclear fuel chemistry, behaviour and performance;
  • physical chemistry of nuclear fuels;
  • defective-fuel monitoring;
  • modelling of nuclear fuel and fission, product release behaviour during normal and reactor accident conditions;
  • fuel performance prediction and reactor safety code analysis;
  • advanced fuel designs for low void reactivity fuel (LVRF) and next Generation IV reactors.
• Dr. Roger Newman (Toronto): NSERC/UNENE IRC in Nano-engineering of Alloys for Nuclear Power Systems
  • Mechanisms of oxidation cracking in hot water under reducing conditions; Alloy design for corrosion resistance; Building on atomistic understanding to promote favorable interface structures; Exploiting alloy corrosion processes for the fabrication of useful nano-structured materials; Corrosion and stress corrosion research for Canadian nuclear industry.
• Dr. Tony Waker (UOIT): NSERC/UNENE IRC in Health Physics and Environmental Safety
  • Characterization, through real-time modelling and measurements, of sources of ionizing radiation;
  • Experimental and theoretical investigation of techniques to minimize the total radiation fields due to the sources;
  • Development of specialized radiation detection devices, such as micro-dosimeters and real-time extremity monitors;
  • Monitoring and modelling the environmental impacts of ionizing radiation that are produced as a result of the operation of a nuclear facility;
  • On-line dynamic health physics and environmental protection information management system.
• Dr. Mahesh Pandey (Waterloo): NSERC/UNENE IRC in Probabilistic-Based Life Cycle Management
  • Assessment methods: Probabilistic models of load and resistance variables; Mechanics-based failure models; Digital image analysis for condition assessment; Reliability estimation models and computation methods.
  • Management models: In-service inspection models;Maintenance plans and repair technologies; Decision analysis.
  • Maintenance optimization strategies
  • 2005 Research Report (pdf 470kb)
• Dr. Jin Jiang (Western): NSERC/UNENE IRC in Control, Instrumentation and Electrical Systems.
  • Fault detection/isolation and control loop stability monitoring/enhancement; Probabilistic based maintenance optimization for control and instrumentation systems; Applications of distributed control systems in CANDU power plants; Load-following control of CANDU power plants; Enhancement of training simulators for engineering applications.