Overview

The Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems was established in September 2000 by the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and the MIT Energy Laboratory to create through research a better understanding of nuclear energy systems that promise more favorable economics, safety, proliferation resistance and environmental impact. The Center’s programs involve the development and application of methods for the design, operation, and regulation of current and advanced nuclear reactors and fuel cycles. This requires advances in knowledge about traditional scientific and technical disciplines, modern methods of systems reliability, probabilistic safety analysis and decision analysis, together with human interactions and management science.

Professor Mujid S. Kazimi was appointed as the first director of CANES. The Center involves the participation of about twelve* faculty members, primarily from the faculty of nuclear science and engineering. In 2005, Dr. Pavel Hejzlar was appointed as Director for the Center’s Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors Program. Currently, addition, some 40 graduate students are participating in its research programs.

With a prolific output of reports and symposia proceedings, along with an ongoing professional educational program, the Center serves as an incubator for emerging ideas in nuclear energy. In recent years, the Center has established partnerships and collaborations with industry, national laboratories, and leading international organizations.

Within MIT, the Center is an integral part of the Institute-wide initiative to develop environmentally-friendly and economically viable solutions to the global energy crisis.

The Center programs currently involve five research programs:

1. Advanced Nuclear Power
2. Nuclear Fuel Cycle
3. Nuclear Systems Enhanced Performance
4. Nuclear Energy and Sustainability
5. Nuclear Reactors for Space Applications

CANES offers three one-week summer educational programs attracting more than 70 students from 15 countries:

1. Nuclear Plant Safety
2. Materials Reliability in Nuclear Power Systems
3. Risk Informed Operational Decision Management

Recent Developments

1. The MIT and TEPCO Collaborative Agreement for Nuclear Energy Technology Development

MIT and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) signed in the year 2000 a five-year agreement for collaboration in the development of enhanced technological options for nuclear power and its fuel cycle. In 2004 this agreement was renewed for another five years. Under the agreement, TEPCO established an endowed chair at MIT in nuclear engineering. In addition, collaborative research is conducted under separate funding. Seven research projects have thus far been approved for funding: 1) Nuclear power strategy in the era of utility business deregulation (two years), 2) Methods to improve seismic risk assessment for power plants (three years with a follow up for 1.5 years), 3) Risk-informed management of plant operations (two years), 4) Thermal striping predictive methods (three years), 5) The Operational Management of US and Japan Nuclear Power Plants (two years), 6) The Effect of Thermal Aging Properties on Stainless Steel Weld Metals (two years), and 7) Assessment of the Potential for Higher Power Density in BWRs (two years).

1. MIT and NRC Collaborative Agreement on Advanced Reactor Technology

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and CANES entered into a three year collaborative agreement in August 2003. The agreement is centered on the technology of Advanced Nuclear Reactors. To date, the agreement has involved information exchange about three major research projects (1) High temperature gas cooled reactors, (2) Methods for risk-informing new reactor regulation, and (3) Modeling high burnup fuel under steady state and accident conditions. The agreement is funded up to $500,000 per year. Several modifications of scope have occurred since the agreement initiation, which added two new scope elements (4) Severe accidents in ACR700 and (5) Stability of ESBWR while de-emphasizing item (1).