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Nuclear Safety Engineering

Nuclear energy has been making a great contribution to the world supply of energy since the last century and is now expected to be one of the most important energy resources in the 21st century. The framework of the world nuclear industry is now changing drastically on a global scale preparing for the coming era of advanced technology for utilizing nuclear energy as a clean, sustainable and reliable source of energy. Japan will surely be playing a very critical role in this world-wide restructuring in peaceful uses of atomic energy. Its safety aspect is a key issue for the advanced technology to be accepted by the public much more extensively than now.

Department Profile

We intend to educate and promote experts of plant design, operation, quality control, safety analysis, transportation of radioactive materials and safeguarding as well as plant management and administration for those who are seeking a domestic or international career. It is also our important mission to train skilled engineers with national qualifications for operation of reactors and handling of radioactive materials.

Fields of Research

We have three courses. These are the nuclear engineering course, application of radioactivity course, and risk analysis and seismic engineering course. We provide these three learning courses corresponding to the three important nuclear fields, which are concerned with safe, sustainable, competitive and clean utilization of nuclear energy and scientific, medical and industrial applications of radiation technology. After completing the basic disciplines in mechanical and electrical engineering as fresh women and freshmen, students can decide in which course they will continue to learn. We also provide them with opportunities to learn on site at experimental or zero-power reactors. Nuclear reactor engineering is the backbone of the nuclear engineering course along with thermal-hydraulics, fuel-material, fuel cycle and safety engineering. In the application of radioactivity course students will start with the handling of radioactive materials and will learn about their extensive applications. In the unique third course students will learn risk assessment and seismic safety technologies, and their applications with consideration of external events such as earthquakes and tsunami. This course also includes systems and structures reliability analysis, severe accident simulations, and new regulations and emergency planning introduced in Japan after the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident.

Our Special Features

TCU has a long history of operating a TRIGA-II type nuclear reactor, which was made critical in 1963 as a pioneer in Japan, and this history resulted in many excellent scientific, educational and medical achievements. Though the reactor is now out of operation after accomplishing its mission, the operation experience and the reactor-related fine facilities still now in operation at our Atomic Energy Laboratory constitute the strong backbone of our education and research activities. A special outcome of this excellent history is our prestigious graduate school. Many engineers and scientists from this school are now working in the forefront of the so-called Nuclear Renaissance. This possibility is open for all the graduates of our Department of Nuclear Safety Engineering as well as other domestic and foreign applicants.

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Academic Staff

Professor

  1. (1) application of useful fission products such as Pd, Ru, Rh (Tc, Mo)
  1. Piping system, Elastic-plastic behavior, Ultimate strength, Seismic response
  1. (1) Advanced reactor concept
  2. (2) Nuclear transmutation
  3. (3) Nuclear energy for space
  4. (4) Cross cutting studies
  5. (5) Studies related to Fukushima accident
  1. Severe accident analysis, Safety evaluation, Fast breeder reactors, Thermal hydraulics, Multi-phase flow
  1. Seismic isolation, Seismic PRA, Structural control, Earthquake engineering, Seismic Design
  2. Seismic isolation, Seismic PRA, Structural control, Earthquake engineering, Seismic Design
  3. Seismic isolation, Seismic PRA, Structural control, Earthquake engineering, Seismic Design
  4. Seismic isolation, Seismic PRA, Structural control, Earthquake engineering, Seismic Design
  1. scattered radiation imaging
  2. digital signal processing

Associate Professor

  1. (1) Probabilistic Risk Assessment
  2. (2) Security against external threats and scientifically rational risk management
  1. Innovative nuclear reactor
  2. Nuclear technology for space
  3. Nuclear data
  4. Criticality safety
  5. Radiation measurement
  1. (1) Development of simpler treatment process for radwastes Three types of radwastes generated by the basic process developments are targetted. One is salt wastes generated by development of pyrochemical treatment. We choose precipitation and distillation technique. Second is zirconium enriched solution generated by the treatment of fuel debris. We have tested zeolite adsorption. Third is analytical solution containing ammonium nitrates. We choose distillation technique.
  2. (2) Structural analysis for radwastes volumetric reduction process Various extractants embedded silica matrix for separation between minor actinides and rare earths have been investigated. The aim of this study is reduction of environmental burden in vitrification glass. Stabilization of glass matrix has also evaluated, e.g. molybdenum enriched phase, iron phosphate glasses, and fine alloy of noble metals. Multiprobe analysis has been applied for this purpose.
  3. (3) Migration of fission products at severe accident For decomissioning of F1, distribution of fission products should be identified. We have focused on cesium migration and elucidated the penetration mechanism into concrete. Recently strontium is also focused additionally. Radioactive cesium in the lake sadiments also has been focused to elucidate the mechanism of adsorption and desorption. Pyrochemical treatement of simulated fuel debris has been under development.
  1. Development of image processing method to significantly improve the energy resolution of WDS-PIXE