Title:

Nuclear Modeling & Simulation Using MOOSE-based Tools

Speaker:

Dr. Abdalla Abou-Jaoude

Affiliation:

R&D Staff Scientist, Advanced Reactor Technology Department, Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

When:

Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 11:00:00 AM   Add to Calendar

Where:

Boggs Building, Room 3-47

Host:

Anna Erickson
aerickson31@gatech.edu
4043855502

Abstract

Dr. Abdalla Abou-Jaoude, is an R&D Staff Scientist in the Advanced Reactor Technology Department of Idaho National Laboratory (INL). He is leading several projects at INL that are mainly focused in three research areas: advanced modeling & simulation, molten salt technology, and nuclear technoeconomics. On modeling & simulation, Dr. Abou-Jaoude leads the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Virtual Test Bed (VTB), and is the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) campaign point of contact to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). On the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) side, he is the confirmatory analysis technical lead for the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE) to be built at INL, he manages work packages for various DOE campaigns and Integrated Research Projects (IRP) on multiphysics simulation of MSRs, and was awarded an internal lab project to demonstrate fueled molten salt irradiation capability at the lab. The project intends to conduct the first fueled chloride salt irradiation in history at the NRAD reactor. On nuclear technoeconomics, Dr. Abou-Jaoude is the activity lead for the Systems Analysis & Integration (SA&I) campaign on developing cost assessment of advanced reactors, notably microreactors, he manages a project for the Integrated Energy System (IES) campaign on developing advanced reactor cost data for hybrid systems, and supports the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) on assessing the advanced reactor supply chain. Previously at INL, Abdalla has been involved in various aspect of advance reactor designs, notably for Molten Salt Reactors, Sodium Fast Reactors (namely the Versatile Test Reactor), Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, and heat-pipe based microreactors. He also previously supported a private-public partnership with a U.S. utility to evaluate hydrogen-cogeneration options at nuclear power plants. He graduated with a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2017 and was the INL Deboisblanc Distinguished Postdoctoral Associate in 2018. He obtained a MEng in Mechanical with Nuclear Engineering from Imperial College London in 2013.

Biography

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy has been actively developing advanced nuclear reactor simulation tools via the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. The novel capabilities are largely based on Idaho National Laboratory MOOSE framework to enable efficient multiphysics evaluations of advanced reactor systems. Reactor analyses inevitably need to account for various physical effects from neutronics, thermal hydraulic, structural deformation, to fuel performance. The MOOSE ecosystem provides a comprehensive way of integrated these different analyses and evaluating their coupled interactions. This is crucially important for various advanced reactor behaviors such as reactivity feedback mechanisms, power uprates, radionuclide transport during accidents, integrated design optimization, material degradation, etc. The seminar will provide a high-level overview of the MOOSE framework and how it can be leveraged for multiphysics simulations. Then, some unique simulation capabilities for advanced reactor types (SFR, MSR, HTGR, microreactor, etc.) will be highlighted. Lastly, the seminar will discuss how to obtain access to the tools, libraries of examples to leverage (namely the Virtual Test Bed), and how to get started.

Notes

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