Cerberus Nuclear returned to the University of Birmingham to deliver an industrial lecture for the Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors (PTNR) masters course. Katrina, Toby, and Zac are all alumni of the PTNR course and were excited to return to campus for this presentation.
Katrina opened the presentation, introducing the students to Cerberus Nuclear and the work we do in radiation shielding, criticality safety, as well as nuclear characterisation and innovation.
Zac then discussed radiation shielding in more detail, talking to the students about the different areas of the shielding design process, the importance of these areas, and examples of how an assessment is carried out for each of these areas. The radiation shielding section of the presentation was capped off with a discussion of shielding verification techniques.
Toby delivered the criticality safety section of the lecture, engaging the students with quickfire questions about the factors affecting criticality. He also discussed his experience working as a criticality safety assessor, and introduced the students to criticality safety training resources including CARTA, Cerberus Nuclear's VR criticality training tool.
Katrina closed the presentation with a discussion of career opportunities in the nuclear industry, shining a spotlight on the Working Party on Criticality (WPC) and The Shielding Forum (TSF). It was a fantastic day and was great to catch up with Professor Paul Norman and meet the new cohort of PTNR students.
We would like to thank Paul for inviting us back and wish the current PTNR cohort the best of luck in the future!
HAWTT Team wins NDA Collaboration Award
Following on from the recent NDA supply chain event, we are proud to share that the Higher Activity Waste Thermal Treatment Team (HAWTT) were announced as the winners of the award for 'best example of delivering excellence through collaboration'! Cerberus Nuclear alongside NTS and NWS colleagues have been providing criticality expertise to the programme as part of a wider team composed of RED Engineering, Sellafield Ltd, Cavendish Nuclear, Tetronics, NNL and AtkinsRéalis.
Our congratulations to everyone on the project whose hard work has been recognised in this achievement!
We would like to recognise Sarah, Dan and Tom for their ongoing support on this project for Cerberus Nuclear (with extra thanks for Tom for kindly taking time away from a busy and successful supply chain event to represent Cerberus Nuclear at the receipt of the award).
Cerberus Nuclear at Ignite Space
Last week Cerberus Nuclear attended the Ignite Space event for the first time with an eye to better understanding the vast array of work that goes into the UK Space sector and what opportunities that provides. Thomas Scone, one of our recent consultant hires, visited on the Thursday of the event and had the opportunity to sit in on many interesting talks including a keynote from Prof Suzie Imber and a panel discussion on cross sector collaboration.
Cerberus Nuclear is developing innovative approaches to nuclear safety which work in tandem and take best advantage of well-established shielding and criticality methodologies. As the space industry continues to grow, so to will the necessity of cross sector collaboration. As Thomas heard mentioned more than once at the event, everything we do here on Earth will one day need to be done in space if we are to live there. With the potential use of nuclear power sources and engines, as well as the dangers of solar radiation to long term space exploration, there will certainly be a role for nuclear safety.
In addition to looking into what services Cerberus may be able to provide, there was discussion of what capabilities the space sector may provide in turn. Earth Observation satellites provide massive amount of data about the world we live in and are used for everything from identifying leaks in water networks to identifying unnamed mountains in South America (an interesting side project of the previously mentioned Suzi Imber who is also a keen mountaineer!). With Cerberus’ capabilities in processing and applying ML method to large data sets, we look forward to seeing where our next innovation projects may lead.
Cerberus Nuclear Return to Support NTEC Radiation Shielding Module
Cerberus Nuclear were pleased to once again support the NTEC Radiation Shielding module at the University of Liverpool, marking another consecutive year of involvement. Our consultant, Nick Seibt, delivered a lecture on the Shielding Design Process in collaboration with The Shielding Forum (TSF), which outlined the industry’s best-practice approach to designing effective radiation shielding for facilities handling radiation sources.
We are proud to continue supporting this aspect of the course and to provide students with valuable insight into the practical challenges and considerations of shielding design in industry.
In addition, our consultant, John Billingsley, provided support throughout the day, guiding students in the use of MCNP. It was also great to see so many students working with Cyclone, a state-of-the-art MCNP model viewer developed by Orthrus Software, which significantly streamlined the modelling of the students' experimental setups. The positive feedback on its usability and impact was especially rewarding to receive.
A big thank you to Professor Andy Boston and the NTEC course team for inviting us back again this year. We look forward to continuing our support in the future.
Cerberus Nuclear at the 55th Shielding Forum Meeting
Earlier this week, Cerberus Nuclear was delighted to once again participate in the 55th Shielding Forum Meeting, hosted by Nuclear Transport Solutions at Birchwood Park, Warrington. This meeting is an important event in the calendar for radiation shielding professionals, offering a chance to learn about recent advancements in the field, share knowledge, and network with others.
As an active contributor to the forum, Cerberus played a key role throughout the day with John Billingsley delivering a presentation on the latest developments of Cyclone Sage – a state-of-the-art AI tool integrated with Cyclone, currently being developed in collaboration with Orthrus Software.
Sage is designed to revolutionize radiation transport simulations, offering the ability to generate full, accurate, and hallucination-free MCNP input decks from natural language prompts. This functionality is a game-changer for Monte Carlo simulations, simplifying workflows and significantly reducing errors in calculations. For new shielding analysts, Sage accelerates their training by helping them familiarize themselves with MCNP syntax and perform error-free calculations quickly. For seasoned practitioners, it will help significantly speed up the production of complex MCNP inputs.
We were thrilled to receive very positive feedback on Sage from attendees throughout the day, with many eager to become early-release testers and explore its capabilities firsthand. It was clear to us that the nuclear sector recognizes the potential of a tool like Sage to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of shielding calculations.
Throughout the day, we also saw a variety of other insightful presentations showcasing innovative approaches and advancements in shielding methods and technologies. A huge thank you to Anton Murfin (UKNNL) and the committee for hosting another excellent TSF event.
If you would like to learn more about Cyclone, check out Orthrus Software’s website, and look out for exciting updates on Sage on our website and LinkedIn. If you are interested in becoming an early-release tester of Cyclone Sage, please get in touch via support@orthrussoftware.com.
WPC Workshop on Criticality Safety Assessment Methods
Cerberus Nuclear recently attended the WPC Workshop on Criticality Safety Assessment Methods, which brought together nuclear industry experts, regulators, and professionals to discuss criticality methodology. The event was hosted at the Pride Park Stadium in Derby and focused on regulatory perspectives, foundational methodologies, and practical applications relevant to the nuclear sector.
The workshop began with the regulatory bodies emphasising aligning safety assessments with evolving nuclear standards and maintaining a proactive approach to risk management through early engagement. It was followed by a series of presentation on different Safety Assessment Methods including Design Basis Analysis (DBA), Design Basis Accident Analysis (DBAA) and Double contingency Principle (DCP). Test case assessment methods were presented. A consideration of conditioning factors applied to Initiating Event Frequency within DBA methodology was introduced, as well as a systematic approach to the analysis of double fault methodology within DBA. The workshop concluded with an introduction to Barrier Analysis and Transport Safety Assessment and a relevant exercise.
In conclusion, the workshop highlighted the importance of collaboration among regulators, designers, and operational teams within the nuclear industry, with case studies showcasing effective cross-disciplinary solutions. We would like to thank Rolls Royce for hosting the event and the WPC for organising the workshop.
Cyclone Sage at RPSD 2024
Cerberus Nuclear were proud to support Orthrus Software at the ANS Winter Conference 2024 hosted at Sea World, Orlando, running from 17th to 21st Nov. This prestigious event brings together experts from across the nuclear industry, offering a platform to share progress, showcase projects, and discuss advancements in the nuclear sector. We were thrilled to connect with experts in the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (RPSD) and attend a variety of interesting technical sessions.
Orthrus Software presented a talk on Cyclone Sage – a cutting-edge AI assistant designed to revolutionise MCNP input deck creation. Cyclone Sage stands out by delivering precise, hallucination-free inputs seamlessly integrated within Orthrus’ Cyclone UI. It’s an exciting step forward in the world of AI and Monte Carlo simulations, and we’re thrilled to see the positive response from the community. We look forward to continuing our support of the development of Cyclone Sage and trying out its exciting new features.
A huge thank you to the organisers of the conference and to everyone who put on such a great event. We look forward to coming back soon.
Our delegates, Dan, John and Pete (Orthrus Software) also managed to squeeze in some Florida sights, including an airboat tour – complete with lots of alligators!
Nuclear Modelling 2024
Last week, Cerberus Nuclear had a fantastic time attending the 7th Modelling in Nuclear Science and Engineering Seminar in Manchester. The event was hosted by the Nuclear Institute and was an excellent chance for Andrew and Carl to network and learn about recent developments in the field of nuclear modelling.
There was a large focus on the implementation of AI within the nuclear industry. This related to the creation of both more accurate assessments and more user-friendly programs. We were particularly interested in developments relating to nuclear safety cases, as well as other aspects of nuclear modelling that are applicable to the work carried out at Cerberus on a day-to-day basis.
This seminar was a great opportunity to see a variety of different ideas that the rest of the industry has for the use of AI in nuclear modelling ahead of Orthrus Software's presentation on Cyclone Sage at RPSD 2024 in Orlando next week. Cyclone Sage is an integrated AI assistant within Cyclone, which can aid in the creation of MCNP input decks
Seminars like these inspire us at Cerberus Nuclear to continue our mission to provide high quality technical solutions with an emphasis on creativity and innovation. The development of tools for use in nuclear modelling and data science at Cerberus helps the industry to optimise its workflow, while allowing us to excel in the fields of radiation shielding, criticality safety and nuclear characterisation.
We look forward to attending similar events in the future! Make sure to look out for our blog post about RPSD 2024 in the next few weeks and definitely say hello to us in Orlando if you'll be attending in person!
Fire Safety Training
A group from Cerberus Nuclear recently received fire safety training. Our trainer for the morning was Steve Wilcock from North West Fire Training. The course started with a presentation on fire safety, which included what fire extinguishers to use in the event of a fire and fire marshal strategies.
A huge amount of content was covered as part of the training course, but the team’s key takeaways included:
Doors are a powerful tool in preventing the spread of fire, even if they are not a fire door;
Always check the detector which has gone off, and;
Do not use a powder extinguisher in an office or home environment.
The presentation was interesting and Steve was very engaging! We were particularly in awe of how in sync he was with his presentation slides!
After the presentation, the group had a chance to put what they had learnt to the test by putting out fires using a CO2 and foam fire extinguisher.
We’d like to say a massive thank you to Steve for delivering a great training course, and to Birchwood Golf Club for hosting us!
Cerberus Trip to the Black Country Museum
A small group from Cerberus Nuclear recently took a trip to the Black Country Living Museum, an award-winning open air museum set across 26 acres in the heart of the Black Country. They had a fantastic day exploring over 250 years of history and treating themselves to lots of chips!
The day started off with a fascinating tour of a 19th century drift mine with incredibly low ceilings and only the equivalent of candlelight to guide them through the darkness. They were given a rundown of various roles within the mine and the treacherous conditions people had to work in.
This experience left the group a bit peckish so they got themselves some world famous fish and chips and set up base in the Elephant and Castle pub located within the grounds of the museum.
Following this little pit stop, they took part in an authentic school experience. This included practising their times tables and reciting the alphabet, as well as receiving some outdated forms of punishment if they misbehaved.
They rounded off their exciting day out with a trip to Mad O'Rourkes Pie Factory, where they enjoyed even more chips and some outstanding pies! It was a very successful trip and a great opportunity for the team to spend some quality time together outside of the office.
