Frédéric Joliot and Otto Hahn

                                                                                                                         Aix-en-Provence, France
                                                                                                                  August 25 – September 3, 2021

                                                                                          High fidelity Modelling and Simulation of Nuclear Reactors:

                                                                                                      Turning a Promise into Reality (Virtual School)

                                                                                                                                      Jointly organized by
                                                                        the Nuclear Energy Division of the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA/DEN), France,
                                                                                                   and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT/INR), Germany

FJOH-2021 will revisit some of the nuclear reactor modelling topics covered in the 2011 session, to cast light on major advances, lessons learned, current trends and promising on-going developments. By the end of the course, the participants should be able to describe state-of-the-art M&S methods applicable to LWR design, operation and safety, discuss their relative merits and limitations, and relate them to changes in industrial practices as part of a broad digital transformation.

Advanced multiscale multi-physics M&S methods already make it possible for nuclear engineers to simulate large-size components from finely detailed descriptions, while accounting for coupled interactions between subsystems and with other components. Although such methods cannot yet predict the full response of a system as complex as a reactor, they foreshadow the next generation of reactor M&S tools, with a wide spectrum of new possibilities, ranging from costly high-fidelity models to faster-running reduced-order models tailored to users’ needs. Ultimately, they will take the form of embedded “digital twins” bridging the gap between the digital and real worlds. As industry progressively moves from legacy M&S to adopt these highly sophisticated methods and algorithms, gains are anticipated in plant performance, predictive maintenance, innovative design, reactor safety, workforce efficiency, etc.

This evolution shows great promise and is a powerful driver for engagement, while also being a challenge for traditional engineering practices. At the same time, unrealistic expectations and claims may arise unless one critically thinks of intrinsic model limitations, data management and integration, V&V and simulation fidelity evaluation, prediction credibility, accrued complexity vs usefulness, etc.

The 26^th session of the Frédéric Joliot/Otto Hahn (FJOH) Summer School on “Nuclear Reactors Physics, Fuels, and Systems”, will be dedicated to “High-fidelity Modelling and Simulation of Nuclear Reactors: Turning a Promise into Reality.” It will be held from August 25 to September 3, 2021.

Although there is hope for an improvement of the situation in the coming months regarding the COVID crisis, it is not sure that the conditions will be met in August for a residential course in Aix-en-Provence as planed initially. Therefore, FJOH-2021 will be held 100% remotely, with a balanced combination of off-line and live sessions.

FJOH summer school is an advanced post-graduate-level course aimed at junior as well as experienced scientists and engineers engaged in the broad field of nuclear sciences, engineering and technologies.

Lecturers are invited from internationally leading universities and industry. The School format encourages informal discussions and the exchange of knowledge between lecturers and participants.

The Frédéric Joliot / Otto Hahn Summer School course represents the continuation of the Frédéric Joliot Summer Schools on “Modern Reactor Physics and the Modelling of Complex Systems”, which was created by CEA in 1995 to promote knowledge in the field of reactor physics, in a broad sense, and the international exchange of teachers, scientists, engineers and researchers. Beginning in 2004, the scope of the School was extended to include scientific issues related to nuclear fuels. The venues of the FJOH School sessions alternate between Karlsruhe and Aix-en-Provence.

The program of each School session is defined by the International FJOH Scientific Board.

FJOH is jointly organized by the CEA Energy Division (France) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany).