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The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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2021 Student Conference
April 8–10, 2021
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NC State celebrates 70 years of nuclear engineering education
An early picture of the research reactor building on the North Carolina State University campus. The Department of Nuclear Engineering is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its nuclear engineering curriculum in 2020–2021. Photo: North Carolina State University
The Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University has spent the 2020–2021 academic year celebrating the 70th anniversary of its becoming the first U.S. university to establish a nuclear engineering curriculum. It started in 1950, when Clifford Beck, then of Oak Ridge, Tenn., obtained support from NC State’s dean of engineering, Harold Lampe, to build the nation’s first university nuclear reactor and, in conjunction, establish an educational curriculum dedicated to nuclear engineering.
The department, host to the 2021 ANS Virtual Student Conference, scheduled for April 8–10, now features 23 tenure/tenure-track faculty and three research faculty members. “What a journey for the first nuclear engineering curriculum in the nation,” said Kostadin Ivanov, professor and department head.
P. Chellapandi, S. C. Chetal, Baldev Raj
Nuclear Technology | Volume 172 | Number 1 | October 2010 | Pages 16-28
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | dx.doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A10879
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A core disruptive accident, considered a beyond-design-basis accident, for the 500-MW(electric) capacity Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is analyzed using the FUSTIN in-house computer code. In order to have a good understanding of the complicated loading mechanisms and sequences, the analysis studies the effects of introducing internals in the main vessel. Further, the structural integrity of heat exchangers - which are important for decay heat removal during postaccident conditions - was demonstrated with tests that were conducted on a 1/13th scaled-down mock-up; a suitable low-density explosive was developed and characterized to simulate nuclear energy release characteristics. The tests have indicated relatively smaller displacements and strains in the vessel, compared to numerical predictions, and the structural integrity of the decay heat exchangers including tubes was demonstrated. Thus, the reactor assembly components meet the safety criteria specified for PFBR with comfortable margins for the specified mechanical energy release of 100 MJ.