Posted 05.19.2010 at 2:45 pm
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Modeling Better Nuclear Plants
Tobin
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Lab wanted to model and simulate the next generation of nuclear power facilities. While software that models a partial nuclear core or radiation transport exists in spades, the ORNL team wanted to model entire facilities at once. So they did what anyone would do: They started from scratch, merging a decade of research with the world's fastest supercomputer to build Denovo, the most sophisticated modeling software in the industry, to simulate entire nuclear facilities in one comprehensive snapshot.
The Nuclear Science and Technology Division at ORNL has long been charged with integrating nuclear energy models with national security simulations and other data to solve specific problems in the nuke energy field. But though their previous efforts were state-of-the art from a computer-modeling standpoint, the models were still disjointed -- one software package might examine the reactor core, another model would simulate security fail-safes or the disposal of spent fuel.
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Technology, Clay Dillow, computer models, energy, Jaguar supercomputer, nuclear power, oak ridge national laboratory, simulationsORNL researchers first tried adapting older programs to the larger models, but they quickly abandoned the idea because those programs simply didn't take advantage of ORNL's computing capabilities. Oak Ridge is home to Jaguar, the world's fastest supercomputer, so the team developing Denovo sculpted the software specifically to take advantage of the massive processor and memory power at their disposal.
Tapping such power has allowed the team to simulate entire nuclear facilities -- reactor cores as well as auxiliary buildings, and even the ITER fusion reactor -- with degrees of accuracy once unobtainable. More accurate models mean better safety mechanisms, reduced cost, and better efficiency from the next generation of nuclear power plants. More importantly, it means that next-gen nuclear should arrive much sooner as reliable models save engineers the time, energy, expense, and potential disaster of a trial and error approach to reshaping America's energy infrastructure.
[ORNL]
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This is great to hear! Too bad the biggest problem of switching Americas energy infrastructure to Nuclear is the ever powerful and arguably corrupt coal companies…
we need jobs. we need coal. i love nuclear though but we should employ americans on coal til that drys up.
I agree we need jobs. but why not cleaner jobs than coal? Saying that we should just mine all the coal in the country cause we need jobs is like saying "we need jobs, lets cut down all our trees until they're all gone" it just doesn't make any sense. Nuclear power still provides us with jobs. Just not as many.
Personally I love the work thats coming out of this place. It should be interesting to see what they come up with next.
Do they stop creating nuclear waste? (Nuke waste is only waste because its wasted)
Would be nice to know if they do something with the waste fuel. And yeah, screw coal, primitive fuel thats bad for the environment.
Enter Nuclear Waste Management...We at NWM would like to reassure the inhabitants of Arth that the regular waste flights to the sun in no way endanger you or your hated neighbors...We load all waste (nuclear and human) into safe containers that are bound for the sun to be burned up upon arrival. So rest assured that you can continue to over populate and consume valuable resources here at home in a much fresher environment. From the people who care, Organized Crime
I don't see any references to the hybrid system at Lawrence Livermore. If the National Ignition Facility can prove their concept for fusion, which seems likely; won't the systems born of that facility be the nuclear plants of the future? As I understand, we will need far fewer traditional fission reactors, and if their whole plan is realized, they will be burning spent fuel rods, natural uranium, weapons grade plutonium, depleted uranium, and potentially even the water may be used as fuel in their fusion process. Almost anything with fissionable hydrogen isotopes. If that is the case, isn't the design work being done with Jaguar premature at this time?
I don't see any references to the hybrid system at Lawrence Livermore. If the National Ignition Facility can prove their concept for fusion, which seems likely; won't the systems born of that facility be the nuclear plants of the future? As I understand, we will need far fewer traditional fission reactors, and if their whole plan is realized, they will be burning spent fuel rods, natural uranium, weapons grade plutonium, depleted uranium, and potentially even the water may be used as fuel in their fusion process. Almost anything with fissionable hydrogen isotopes. If that is the case, isn't the design work being done with Jaguar premature at this time?
I don't see any references to the hybrid system at Lawrence Livermore. If the National Ignition Facility can prove their concept for fusion, which seems likely; won't the systems born of that facility be the nuclear plants of the future? As I understand, we will need far fewer traditional fission reactors, and if their whole plan is realized, they will be burning spent fuel rods, natural uranium, weapons grade plutonium, depleted uranium, and potentially even the water may be used as fuel in their fusion process. Almost anything with fissionable hydrogen isotopes. If that is the case, isn't the design work being done with Jaguar premature at this time?
Just think, we might really be less than 16 months from a real fusion reactor.Putting out 10-30 times the input.Truthfully, I've never thought we would see it, not in this generation anyway.