NPRE graduate student Nicholas O’Shea has been awarded a fellowship and two NPRE undergraduates, Christopher Keckler and Jonathan Rolland, have been awarded scholarships through the U.S. Department of Energy Integrated University Program.
O’Shea will receive $155,000 spread over the next three years as he pursues a master’s degree and PhD. Having earned his bachelor’s in NPRE in 2013, O’Shea is working with Assistant Prof. Zahra Mohaghegh and the Socio-Technical Risk Analysis (SoTeRiA) Research Group. SoTeRiA focuses on the advancement of Probabilistic Risk Assessment for nuclear power plants and other complex engineering systems by integrating probabilistic and deterministic techniques.
“My research approach, which blends probabilistic risk assessment, deterministic physics of failure analysis, and data analytics, can advance the state of knowledge in understanding risk and improving nuclear power safety,” O’Shea said. “It concentrates on modeling location-specific loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) frequency for both piping and non-piping components in the primary reactor coolant system of nuclear power plants. This research is providing input for the Risk-informed Resolution of Generic Safety Issue 191 (GSI-191), an on-going academia-industry collaborative project, sponsored by the South Texas Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC).
“Being part of this large-scale project has given me significant opportunity to interact with a diverse group of scientists in academia and also gain practical perspective from industry,” he continued.
The Risk-Informed GSI-191 project addresses sump performance issues due to debris generation in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Failure of components in the reactor coolant system (RCS) in a PWR can generate significant amounts of debris (e.g. fibrous insulation). This debris then travels to the containment floor where it can accumulate on the sump strainer once the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) pumps switch to recirculation. This accumulation can lead to head loss as well as the formulation of chemical precipitates. Fine debris can pass through the strainer and lead to degradation or significant blockage of downstream components such as the blockage of the fuel channels inside the core.
Concern regarding such phenomena led to the identification of Generic Safety Issue 191 (GSI-191) in the early 90’s and has yet to reach total resolution. STPNOC’s project utilizes a new resolution approach, a Risk-Informed methodology, which includes the simulation of deterministic physical phenomena in a module called CASA Grande, propagation of potential uncertainties, and their integration into the Plant-specific PRA.
Keckler and Rolland, both seniors who are pursuing NPRE’s nuclear power track, receive $5,000 each for their awards. Keckler is from Naperville, Illinois, and Rolland is from West Sayville, New York.
Through the Integrated University Program, the DOE has awarded $5 million for 41 undergraduate scholarships and 33 graduate fellowships to students in nuclear energy-related engineering and science programs at universities across the country.