Nuclear Future Volume 9 issue 1


YEAR


Project & reports 1 2 3 4


x Induction in company x Background study x Development of project research strategy x Project presentations x 1st year progression report x Summary report


x Project presentations x 2nd year progression report x Summary report


x Project presentations


x 3rd year progression report x Summary report


x Project presentations x Prepare and submit thesis x VIVA examination


Technical lectures


Complete three 15-credit course units at Masters level in appropriate technical subjects


Diploma in enterprise management


x New product innovation Marketing


x External threats & opportunities x Business operations x Individual mentoring


x Human resource management x Financial planning & monitoring x Effective production x Improving quality


Personal/professional development


x Introductory residential


x Introduction to research for EngD (Speed EngD)


x Leadership and team development


x Report writing x Presentation skills x Project management x Effective communication skills x Individual mentoring


x Negotiating skills x Managing effective meetings x Aspects of professional practice x Industrial law x Individual mentoring


x Thesis writing/exit strategy


x Understanding the management role


x Individual mentoring (may include preparation for CEng)


Table 1: A typical Nuclear EngD programme timetable


an approved professional development scheme by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET). A typical project will include the following:


• an industrial project that is challenging to the research engineer and has a high technical merit and content;


• how the project contributes to, and is reflected by, the broader strategy of the research engineer’s direct line manager and overall company/division;


• an environmental impact assessment of the project; • project and finance management; • development of leadership skills and how to contribute to a workforce; and


• support for the research engineer’s professional development that will lead to accreditation and full membership of the chosen professional institution.


Projects can be proposed by either the industrial or academic partner but the partnership must be established prior to any project being approved. Areas of research offered by the consortium and arranged by the six research themes include the following.


Reactor technology • Nuclear analysis codes • Fission product chemistry • Fuel performance • Thermal hydraulics and transient analysis


Waste management • Chemical separation and decontamination • Encapsulation • Remote handling/robotics • Geological disposal


Decommissioning • Characterisation and waste behaviour


36 Nuclear Engineering EngD


• Effluent treatment • Contaminated land and LLW disposal • Fuel disposal


Materials • Structural integrity • Micro-structural analysis • Ageing • Graphite


Socio-economic aspects • Trading arrangements, incentives and market instruments • Relationship between long-term investment and operation of generating plant


• Security issues • Societal issues


Safety systems • Control & instrumentation • Safety principles • Human performance • Risk management


Examples of specific previous projects include: • self-tuning, predictive condition monitoring for key nuclear plant components and systems;


• nuclear data uncertainty in modelling of neutron transport; • stress corrosion cracking of austentic materials in high- temperature water reactor environments;


• irradiated graphite waste: analysis and modelling of radionuclide release with a view to long-term disposal;


• developing nuclear decommissioning techniques and maintaining operational safety; and


• verification, validation and uncertainties in computational fluid dynamics applied to reactor thermal hydraulics.


Research project


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