From 15/05/2017 to 24/05/2017 an internship of the joint group of teachers of BNTU and BSUIR took place in Vienna, Austria. A total of 15 university staff members, 7 BSUIR teachers and 8 BNTU teachers who took part in the training of students for the first Belarusian NPP took part in the training.
The internship was conducted by the Regional Network for Education and Training in Nuclear Technology STAR-NET, in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Knowledge Management Institute (NKMI).
The purpose of the training was to upgrade the skills in international cooperation for the development and safe use of nuclear power, the management of nuclear knowledge and the organization of training for the first Belarusian nuclear power plant.
In the process of preparation, a program for its implementation was developed and agreed upon, which included the theoretical part, seminars (practical exercises) and technical visits.
Within the theoretical part, the participants of the internship listened to lectures presented by outstanding experts in the field of nuclear energy - by IAEA staff and experts.
The theoretical part was divided into two large sections: “The role of international cooperation in the development and safe use of nuclear power. IAEA: goals, objectives, programs” and “The current issues of nuclear power development”.
Section “The role of international cooperation in the development and safe use of nuclear power. IAEA: goals, objectives, programs” included such issues as The role of international cooperation in the development and safe use of nuclear power, IAEA: goals, objectives, programs, The IAEA Safety Standards System, Non-proliferation issues and the role of the IAEA, The INPRO program, Software for modeling the flow of nuclear materials in various fuel cycles, International cooperation in nuclear education.
The section "Topical issues of nuclear energy development" included such issues as Establishment of a national nuclear infrastructure for the first nuclear power plant, Energy and socio-political development: the role of nuclear energy, The economy of the nuclear industry and the models of energy planning, Information systems and knowledge management in nuclear industry organisations, Integrated approach to the management of nuclear facilities, Configuration management of nuclear power plants, Assessment of the operation level of nuclear power plants, Applications of research nuclear reactors, Modern approaches, structure and requirements for the creation of automated control systems for nuclear power plants, Basic principles and systems for radioactive waste management, NPP management system, Operation programs, Small modular reactors.
Within the framework of practical exercises, topics were presented, such as Work with information systems and NPP information models. Experts in this field A. Kosilov and A.Tolstenkov present practical classes were held to work with the CLP4NET platform, where each participant of the internship mastered the basics of creating e-learning courses, keeping them up-to-date, interacting with trainees, and conducting student assessment. It should be noted that this educational system (based on the open MOODLE platform) is widely distributed, applied and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency as universal for wider dissemination of knowledge in the nuclear field. Due to the openness of this platform, it is also widely supported by universities around the world, in particular the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI".
Due to this, it was adopted as the base platform for the Regional Network for Education and Training in Nuclear Technology STAR-NET (launch was launched in April 2017). Currently, its test operation is being conducted, and the network member universities have the opportunity to use it both to host their courses and to use training courses provided by other member universities of the STAR-NET network.
One of the most memorable parts of the internship was technical visits. During the course of this training, four technical visits were held, namely a technical visit to a hydroelectric station in the city of Vienna, Kraftwerk Freudenau, a visit to the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre, a technical visit to the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant, and Technical visit to the nuclear research reactor TU Vienna / Atominstitut.
The hydroelectric power plant " Freudenau", located in the city limits of Vienna, is the world's first large hydro power plant built within the city limits. It is the most powerful of 10 hydroelectric power plants, located in the cascade in Austria on the Danube, and was launched in 1998. The total capacity of 6 turbines of the HPP is 172 MW, annually the station produces over 1000 GWh of electricity. A distinctive feature of the HPP is that its power does not depend on the water level in the Danube.
In addition to power generation, the station performs important functions in the sphere of town planning and ecology, including, to improve the navigation conditions on the Danube and normalize the groundwater table.
The second technical visit was the visit to the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Center, where the staff of the center told the interns about its functions and tasks, the receipt and flow of information flows, and the role of the center in dealing with emergencies in the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, as well as other contingencies with nuclear facilities, in particular, with the lost source of ionizing radiation in Chile.
The third technical visit was a visit to the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant. It is the first and only nuclear power plant in Austria. Her construction began in April 1972 and was completed in 1976. The boiling water-water reactor had to provide a power of about 700 megawatts.
Of special value in terms of technical visit is the fact that this nuclear power plant has never been put into operation, nuclear fuel has not been loaded into the reactor and, accordingly, all equipment of the nuclear power plant is radiation safe and open for free access.
This represents a unique opportunity to inspect and study reactor equipment, which is impossible at existing nuclear power plants.
At present, the reactor of the nuclear power plant is used as a source of spare parts for the German NPP Isar 1, Brunsbüttel and Philippsburg 1. Teams of specialists are trained to conduct planned maintenance operations on it, in addition, equipment for nuclear power plants is being processed there.
The last technical visit to the internship program was held at the Vienna Technical University, the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics.
TRIGA MARK II research reactor is located on the site of this institute.
At the beginning of the visit, the project manager, prof. Helmuth Böck showed in detail and told the trainees about the practical application of the TRIGA research reactor, its operating modes, the features of nuclear reaction management, as well as its fuel cycle, radiation and physical safety. The trainees were actively interested in the details and asked various questions.
In the second part of the technical visit, the trainees were presented with a review lecture on the topic "Application of research nuclear reactors", which was presented by the staff of the Research Nuclear Reactors Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, Austria.
At the end of the internship, its results were summed up and certificates were awarded.
The internship was held at a high level and became useful both in terms of expanding and deepening the special knowledge of university professors in the field of nuclear energy, and their practical application in the educational process during the preparation of students for the Department of Thermal Power Plants, who study in the specialty "Steam Turbine Installations of Nuclear Power Plants". Special gratitude for the organization of the internship, the selection of high-quality specialists and IAEA experts, the organization of technical visits is to be expressed to the executive director of the Regional Network for Education and Training in Nuclear Technology STAR-NET A.Kosilov.