IPM at international conferences

From June 26–30, the 2016 ASME POWER & ENERGY Conference was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in conjunction with the 24th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 24), at which numerous technical presentations on current topics in research, development, and application of energy technology were given. As part of their research activities, IPM staff members Hassan Chahi, Dr. Stefan Renger, and Dr. Clemens Schneider presented their work in the fields of energy storage systems and reactor safety.

ASME POWER & ENERGY brings together the following international conferences: POWER, ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY, FUEL CELL, ENERGY STORAGE FORUM, and GAS TURBINE FORUM, with a focus on facilitating expert dialogue on sustainable and efficient technologies for future energy supply. ICONE is one of the largest international conferences in the field of nuclear engineering, where current topics in safety research, as well as industry requirements, technical developments, and industry trends, are presented and discussed.

The Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM) at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) presented several talks, thereby contributing to the conference program.

Dr. Stefan Renger and Hassan Chahi presented work being conducted at the IPM as part of German nuclear safety research under the direction of Prof. Kästner at ICONE 24. The presentation given by Dr. Renger, titled “Investigations into Released Debris and Corrosion Products and Their Impact on Head Loss Build-up and Decay Heat Removal under Water-Chemical PWR-LOCA Conditions,” summarized the work conducted over the past 14 years on loss-of-coolant accidents at the IPM. In it, he presented the IPM’s experimental facilities established over this period for investigating multiphase flows and the resulting findings from both completed and ongoing experimental studies (FKZ 150 1491) on the effects of solid particles and corrosion products on the emergency and post-cooling of pressurized water reactors. The subsequent presentation by Dr. Kryk from the Helmholtz Center Dresden–Rossendorf on the parallel project at TU Dresden (FKZ 150 1496) also highlighted the close collaboration between Zittau and Dresden on an international level.

In his presentation “Thermal-hydraulic investigations into the flow of model gases at a PWR fuel assembly dummy and overflow of air above the top of the FA dummy,” Hassan Chahi presented the design of the DVABEG (Density-Driven VerticalExchange Movementsof Gases) test facility. Furthermore, Mr. Chahi presented the thermohydraulic investigations into passive heat removal in dried-out fuel element wet storage pools as part of the joint project SINABEL (Safety of Wet Storage for Spent Fuel Elements), which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant number 02NUK027D.

In his presentation at the ENERGY STORAGE FORUM, Dr. Clemens Schneider first introduced Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and its faculties, as well as the research activities of the IPM. In the technical segment on the topic: “Development of Integration Methods for Thermal Energy Storage Systems into Power Plant Processes,” the work conducted as part of the ESF-funded Graduate College “New Systems for Resource Conservation” in cooperation with the ERDF-funded project “Highly Transient Thermal Energy Storage System,” led by Prof. Kratzsch at the Zittau Power Plant Laboratory. The presentation highlighted concepts for increasing the flexibility of thermal energy plants through the integration of appropriate energy storage systems to compensate for load fluctuations caused by volatile feed-in from alternative energy sources. Furthermore, Dr. Schneider presented the THERESA thermal energy storage facility, which was officially opened in November 2015 and is used to investigate and validate the process engineering procedures and control concepts for enhancing the flexibility of thermal energy plants.

Through its active participation in these events, the IPM demonstrated that the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences is gaining international recognition as a center for teaching and research in energy technology. In an international context, the IPM thus presented its contribution to the still-relevant field of reactor safety research and to approaches for a sustainable and stable energy supply.

Authors: C. Schneider, S. Renger, H. Chahi (HSZG)

www.asme.org/events/icone

www.asme.org/events/power-energy