On the improved current pulse method for the dynamic assessment of thermal diffusive properties

Surface Plasmon Resonance Optical Biosensors for Mannoproteins Detection

Studio del comportamento termico di letti di sfere tramite il metodo dell’impulso di corrente

Integrated optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Measurements in Glass substrates

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique is an optical method that can be used to measure the refractive index of organic nano-layers adsorbed on a thin metal film. Although there are many techniques for measuring biomolecular interactions, SPR-based techniques play a central role in many current biosensing experiments, since they are most suited to sensitive and quantitative kinetic measurements. Here we give some results from the analysis and numerical elaboration of SPR data regarding the flow of different solutions with refractive indexes in the range of interest (1-1.4). After a brief discussion of the principles of SPR and of waveguide fabrication technique, we give a description…

Electrical Aging Tests on Enameled Wire Exposed to Gamma Irradiation

Thermal-hydraulic and thermo-mechanical simulations of Water-Heavy Liquid Metal interactions towards the DEMO WCLL breeding blanket design

Abstract The Water-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding blanket concept foresees the eutectic lithium-lead (Pb-15.7Li) alloy being cooled by pressurized sub-cooled water (temperature 295–328 °C; pressure 15.5 MPa) flowing in double wall tubes. Therefore, the interaction between the Pb-15.7Li and water (e.g. tube rupture) represents one of the main safety concerns for the design and safety analysis. Available LIFUS5/Mod2 experimental data are employed to assess the performances of thermal-hydraulic and thermo-mechanic codes. Thermal-hydraulic simulations, by SIMMER-III code, are focused on the prediction of the thermodynamic interaction among the fluids. ABAQUS Finite Element code, used for the desi…

On the use of an improved current pulse method for the experimental determination of the thermal diffusive properties of packed pebble beds

Progress in the design development of EU DEMO helium-cooled pebble bed primary heat transfer system

Abstract In the frame of the activities promoted and encouraged by the EURO-fusion Power Plant Physics and Technology (PPPT) department aimed at developing the EU-DEMO fusion reactor, strong emphasis has been recently posed to the whole Balance of Plant (BoP) which represents the set of systems devoted to convert the plasma generated thermal power into electricity and to deliver it to the grid. Among these systems, a very important role is played by the Breeding Blanket (BB) Primary Heat Transfer System (PHTS) as it is responsible to extract more than 80% of the fusion plasma power. In this framework, University of Palermo, Ansaldo Nucleare and CREATE have focused their work to improve ther…

On the Improved Current Pulse method for the thermal diffusive characterization of lithiated ceramic pebble beds

Abstract Packed pebble beds are granular systems composed of small particles generally arranged in irregular lattices and surrounded by a gas filling their interstitial spaces. They show non-linear and coupled thermal and mechanical behaviours, which are under theoretical and experimental investigation to set-up a realistic constitutive model to be adopted for design-oriented purposes. At the Department of Nuclear Engineering (DIN) of the University of Palermo a realistic constitutive model of fusion-relevant pebble beds thermo-mechanical behaviour was developed adopting a “continuous” approach, based on the assumption that a pebble bed could be considered as a continuous, homogeneous and i…

Concentrazioni di gas radon in ambienti lavorativi di diverse regioni italiane

Nanotecnologie in Niobato di Litio per la conversione di frequenza in ottica integrata nel campo UV.

Education and Research in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Protection at Nuclear Engineering Department of Palermo University

A Training Experience of Operators with the AGN-201 “Costanza” Research Reactor of Palermo University

The nuclear reactor AGN-201 named “Costanza”, installed at the Nuclear Engineering Section of the Department of Energy of the University of Palermo, is a “zero power” research reactor designed to be mainly used for education purposes as well as for research applications, such as activation analysis and irradiation tests, and last, but not the least, for radionuclide production to be used in nuclear medical applications. Due to its intrinsic safety and low margin of reactivity (less than 350 p.c.m.) so as to the absence of start-up and shut-down time limits, it represents a useful training tool for operators, too. This paper reports some of the activities carried out within the framework of …

Progettazione e realizzazione di biosensori a risonanza plasmonica superficiale in ottica integrata.

On the investigation of Lithium Methatitanate pebble bed thermal diffusive properties by the Improved Current Pulse method

Misura della concentrazione di Radon in diverse sedi lavorative distribuite sul territorio nazionale

Experimental investigations on the thermal conductivity of packed pebble beds by the current pulse method

On the assessment of lithium orthosilicate pebble bed thermal diffusive properties by the improved current pulse method

Studies on the AGN - 201 "COSTANZA" Research Reactor

PROVE ED ESPERIMENTI DI VERIFICA DELLA SICUREZZA DEL REATTORE NUCLEARE DI RICERCA AGN-201 “COSTANZA”

The “Zero Power” Nuclear Reactor AGN-201 “Costanza” available at Nuclear Engineering Department of Palermo University is a valuable tool for educational purpose and research. Besides being a useful tool for training of operators, without the time period limits on start-up and shut-down of the larger reactors, it allows the study of some phenomena regarding nuclear reactor physics, applied neutronics, neutron dosimetry, nuclear measurements as well as testing of nuclear instrumentation and methods. The experience of work and the obtained results highlight the simplicity of AGN-201 reactor control, its intrinsic safety and its overall versatility in various fields of Nuclear Engineering.

Maintenance Operation on AGN-201 “COSTANZA” Nuclear Research Reactor of Palermo University

During operations with AGN-201 “COSTANZA” nuclear research reactor of Palermo University a failure of a compensated boron-lined ionization chamber provided with a measurement channel was highlighted. A maintenance program aimed to verify the operative conditions of all measurement systems was then started. It was easy to identify as cause of the malfunction a seepage of water inside the container of a Westinghouse WL 6377 ion chamber due to a lack of watertight closure. This can be attributed to corrosion of the container due to parasitic currents circulating between the container, the chamber and the reactor tank that acts as electrical ground of the system. In this work we refer over main…