CORTEX

CORTEX: Core monitoring techniques & experimental validation and demonstration for improved reactor safety

Project manager:	Dr.-Ing. und Dipl.-Phys. Carsten Lange
Contributor:	Dipl.-Ing. Sebastian Hübner Dipl.-Phys.Alexander Knospe Dipl.-Phys. Marco Viebach Dr. rer. nat. Dieter Hennig
Duration:	01.09.2017 – 31.08.2021
Funding:	European Commission (Euratom)
Funding code:	754316
Cooperations:	Chalmers University of Technology CEA – Commissariat for Nuclear and Alternative Energies EPFL – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne GRS – Gesellschaft für Reaktorsicherheit TÜV Rheinland isTec Preussen Elektra Kernkraftwerk Gösgen Kyoto University LGI PSI – Paul-Scherrer-Institut TU München ÚJV Rez, a. s. University of Lincoln AMS Corporation Universitat Politècnica de València Universidad Politécnica de Madrid ICCS – Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (University of Athens) mta – Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Energy Research
Website:	CORTEX (official homepage of the CORTEX project)

Brief Description

With an ageing fleet of nuclear reactors in Europe and changing social demands, we need to find new ways to enhance nuclear safety and guarantee operational stability. Therefore in the project CORTEX 20 partners from 11 countries came together to investigate on neutron flux fluctuations. The ambitious goal is to develop new analysis tools to observe in situ and in time the operation of nuclear power plants.

For the project, the way to achieve success is to generate new simulation tools for the modelling of stationary fluctuations. The tools are validated carefully to reach a high level of reliability. For the validation high precise data is used, which is generated in the zero power nuclear reactors AKR-2 at the TU Dresden and CROCUS at the EPFL. With the simulation tools different perturbation scenarios are investigated and the gathered knowledge is used to feed machine learning software. The artificial intelligence will be tested against real power plant data. The generated new analysis tools will make an in time core diagnostics at the reactor site possible. The profound validation of every part of the development chain will guarantee a high level of fidelity for the new analysis tools.

As TU Dresden we will contribute to the project in performing new, and specially designed reactor experiments to generate high precise validation data. In addition, we are involved in the development of the simulation tools and in the dissemination of the knowledge gathered through CORTEX.