Internship project: Decay heat comparison for Spent Nuclear Fuel assemblies

Nagra is offering an internship position to investigate the calculated decay heat from specific spent nuclear fuel assemblies, based on different methods and tools. Decay heat is one of the key quantities for the characterization of the spent fuel and has direct safety and economic impacts. The student will need to create models for a selection of assemblies, for instance based on CASMO5 and SNF, and to understand the physical origin of the decay heat, and the relevant parameters impacting such value. If time permits, the student will also perform uncertainty propagation based on various methods.

Your tasks would be:

• To familiarize yourself with simulation software
• To understand the physical phenomena at the origin of the decay heat
• To apply uncertainty propagation methods

Our ongoing projects at the interface between industry and fundamental research offer the unique opportunity to explore the most fascinating aspects of these two worlds. You will be working along experts on key scientific, technical and implementation topics related to the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste, under realistic conditions. You will also have the opportunity to train and/or gain additional experience with scripting languages, with uncertainty propagation methods and with challenges of spent nuclear fuel.

Contingent upon availability and the outcome of the internship project, an MSc. thesis topic could be proposed after completion of the internship.