Cerberus Nuclear present to Birmingham's post-graduate nuclear masters courses

Recently, Cerberus Nuclear provided support to the University of Birmingham’s post-graduate nuclear master courses (the Physics of Technology of Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear decommissioning) through a lecture presented by Katrina Christaki, Jacob Westerman, and Zachary Strangwood as part of an industry lecture series. 

During the lecture, the Cerberus team provided an introduction to radiation shielding, Monte Carlo codes and criticality safety assessment in industry, which was supplemented by case studies of their innovative projects in the past 12 months. 

Jacob highlighted dynamic source movement assessment techniques, their usefulness in radiation transport assessment, as well as demonstrating the shielding verification procedure by emphasising the training, equipment and safety measure required to conduct the process.  

Zachary, a recent graduate of the PTNR course, offered industry insight into how to accurately model and setup an example shielding problem by using Monte Carlo techniques. Additionally, Zachary discussed his dissertation project which consisted of modelling various radiation shielding scenarios with a moving source in MCNP. 

Katrina presented an introduction to criticality safety, highlighting the factors affecting criticality and where criticality safety fits into the industry. Furthermore, Katrina presented CARTA, a Cerberus developed criticality training tool that employs machine learning to calculate k-eff in real-time for operator training and provided an opportunity to the students to test the tool with a VR headset. 

The lecture was well-received by the students, providing them with an excellent understanding of the unique and innovative work done by the Cerberus team. 

Additionally, Cerberus plans to supervise similar dissertation projects to the one Zachary completed last year, supporting the University of Birmingham and the NTEC master’s courses. If this is something you may be interest in whether a student of one of these courses or not, please get in touch.   

Nottingham Trent University Presentation

Cerberus Nuclear is excited to have delivered a technical and industry focused presentation to the Physics with Nuclear Technology students at NTU. Building on the student’s knowledge of radiation transport they were introduced to Monte Carlo calculations in the context of shielding assessments. The presentation was well received with thought provoking questions being raised by the students.  

After the presentation the students also got to learn about Criticality safety through our CARTA VR experience. As NTU alumni Nathan and Sam got the chance to provide an insight into their career paths and introduce the students to the world of Nuclear Consultancy.  

We would like to thank Dr Edward Breeds and Dr Nick Evans for welcoming us back to campus and facilitating our presentation.

Cerberus Nuclear brings industry expertise to NTEC Radiation Shielding Module

Cerberus Nuclear is proud to have once again supported the NTEC Radiation Shielding Module at the University of Liverpool, providing industry-focused knowledge input to the module. 

As a key member of The Shielding Forum, Cerberus Nuclear delivered a lecture on the Shielding Design Process, providing a high-level overview of its practical application in the industry and its role in supporting facility designs.  

The presentation was delivered by John Billingsley and Sam Hilton, who also provided support to the students throughout the day by assisting with their radiation shielding workshop. During the workshop, John and Sam introduced the students to the benefits of Orthrus Software's tool, Cyclone, for visualisation of Monte Carlo models and results.

The session was well attended by industry professionals and students, who actively engaged with the lecture and posed thought-provoking questions. As alumni of the NTEC course themselves, John and Sam were able to provide valuable insights into their careers in the nuclear industry since graduating. 

We would like to thank Professor Andrew Boston and the University of Liverpool for inviting us back and providing us with the opportunity to contribute to the education of future nuclear professionals. 

“Thank you to the University of Liverpool for the invitation to deliver a lecture at the Radiation Shielding module. As an NTEC graduate, it was great to have the opportunity to contribute to the delivery of the course, and provide insight to students on my experience in the nuclear industry since then.  

A big thank you to Professor Andy Boston for organising a great module.” 

– John Billingsley 

“As an NTEC graduate myself, it was great to be welcomed back and engage with students providing guidance on their Monte Carlo transport coding.” 

– Sam Hilton 

Successful Neutronics Workshop at the University of York

Cerberus Nuclear is thrilled to have been invited to deliver a Neutronics Workshop as part of the Fusion CDT course at the University of York, marking the second consecutive year of our participation. As part of the course, students participate in a week-long fusion technology module to gain a comprehensive understanding of fusion science, covering key topics such as reactor technology, plasma physics, and neutronics modelling. 

The week commenced with a workshop on the use of the open-source Monte Carlo transport code OpenMC fusion applications. The workshop was co-delivered by John Billingsley (Cerberus Nuclear) and Dr Jonathan Shimwell (First Light Fusion). Together, they presented the course and provided Master’s and PhD students with valuable insights drawn from their industry experience. 

The workshop was a resounding success, offering students hands-on experience with key concepts such as transport theory, material cross-sections, model geometries, source and tally definitions, and running neutronics simulations. John and Jon’s guidance and insights proved invaluable, equipping the students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the field of fusion neutronics. 

Cerberus Nuclear is proud to have played a role in the education and development of the next generation of fusion professionals. We early look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with the University of York and the FusionCDT in advancing the field of fusion technology. 

“Once again, thanks to the University of York for the invitation to deliver the neutronics workshop for the third year in a row. The workshop was a resounding success, with students gaining valuable insights into the application of neutronics codes in fusion technology. 

Thank you to Dr Arkaprava Bokshi for organising a great module.” 

– John Billingsley 

Cerberus Present at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting

We recently presented two papers at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. The papers were presented within the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD) Topical Meeting and were titled:

  • CARTA – Criticality Safety Virtual Reality Training Aid, Recent Developments.
  • Cyclone – Monte Carlo Data Processing and Visualization.

Katrina presented the CARTA paper and won the best paper award within the ‘Knowledge Transfer – Education, Professional Development, and Training’ track. The trophy (a prestigious NCSD thermos mug!) was presented at the NCSD awards dinner. The UK was well represented at the conference, with Katrina picking up her award alongside Amy van der Vyver from Sellafield Limited who presented a paper on the ‘UK Working Party on Criticality Webinar Series to Support Continuing Professional Development’. Liam Payne of Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) presented a UK perspective on Post-Closure Criticality Safety, and Alfie O’Neil from NNL presented a paper on Benchmark Experiments.

Cyclone and CARTA were really well received. Cyclone visualisation of MCNP models featured in a presentation by colleagues at the University of New Mexico. Stewart and Katrina were on hand with VR headsets to demonstrate CARTA, giving attendees the chance to (safely) cause a criticality in a glovebox.

Thanks to the ANS and, in particular, our colleagues within the NCSD who made us feel very welcome at the conference.

Cerberus Nuclear Support NNL Criticality Safety Training Course

We recently supported NNL with delivery of their UK Nuclear Criticality Safety Course. This is a long established training course in the UK and is supported by the University of New Mexico. Guest speakers from Sellafield Limited and ONR also contribute to the course.

Representatives from NNL have been key stakeholders in the development of CARTA, our criticality training application, via an Alpha Resilience and Capability (ARC) funded programme of work. Integration of CARTA into their criticality training course has been a key milestone for this programme of work and we were pleased to deliver this novel project on time.

At the criticality training course, we were delighted to see our ‘MAGIC MERV simulation’ being put into good effect in presentations regarding the factors that affect criticality. The ‘glovebox process simulation’ provided an interesting and lively group activity with the course instructors creating a series of challenging scenarios for the class to tackle. You can read more about the training simulations here.

In addition, Sam and Stewart were on hand to demonstrate the simulations in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment (both during the course and in the bar at the end of the day).

We would like to extend our thanks to NNL for their support in the development of this phase of the CARTA project and for hosting us on the course.

Completion of ARC funded CARTA Software

CARTA is criticality safety training software developed here at Cerberus Nuclear. Uniquely, CARTA displays a realistic value of k-effective as the user interacts with the simulation, either in a conventional first-person desktop format or Virtual Reality (VR) environment. The user can see, in real-time, the effect that their actions have on criticality safety. The CARTA methodology requires a multi-disciplinary approach, combining criticality safety calculations, machine learning and a gaming environment.

We have recently completed the software development for two training scenarios. This programme of work has been funded by the UK’s Alpha Resilience and Capability (ARC) programme.

The project has involved engagement with representatives from many of the ARC member organisations. This has given relevant stakeholders the opportunity to influence the functionality and appearance of CARTA as a training tool, prior to integration into training programmes within their own organisations. Two training simulations have been created:

This simulation is intended to be conceptual rather than realistic. It allows the maximum range of effects to be demonstrated, making it useful for training operators and assessors and also for wider stakeholder engagement.

Initial CARTA Concept

Images of CARTA development. From concept through to the final product.

We are now looking at options for implementation at each of the various ARC member organisations including Sellafield Limited, AWE, NNL, Nuclear Waste Services, ONR and DSRL. If you work for any of these organisations and would like access to CARTA, then please get in touch (nuclear@cerberusnuclear.com).

We are now actively seeking organisations that would benefit from this particular software or bespoke criticality safety training scenarios using the CARTA methodology. If you would like to discuss your idea, please get in touch using nuclear@cerberusnuclear.com.

Future U Mentoring Programme

Cerberus Nuclear recently supported the STEMFirst led Future U Mentoring Programme through the stem ambassador programme. Katrina Christaki delivered a presentation to Blackburn College as part of an ongoing series for educating and inspiring young people on different STEM career paths. The aim of the series is to develop the skills and increase the aspirations for a cohort of students that are less likely to consider higher education options, whether that be university or apprentice opportunities.

This particular session focused on the core skills used in multiple jobs in STEM, including teamwork, problem solving and coding. Katrina joined other STEM ambassadors in a ‘this is me’ presentation describing her job role and where these skills applied.  While answering questions she also provided advice on describing these skills during interview. Katrina has this presentation available for use in other STEM ambassador events and looks forward to the next one.

University of Birmingham Industry Lecture

Cerberus Nuclear has recently provided support to the University of Birmingham’s nuclear post-graduate masters courses. Geoff Hall and Katrina Christaki presented a lecture to students of the PTNR (Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors) and NDWM (Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Management) courses as part of an ongoing industry lecture series. 

They gave an introduction to radiation shielding and criticality safety assessment in industry which was supported by case studies on the innovative projects that have been carried out by the Cerberus team over the past 12 months.

In particular, dynamic source movement assessment techniques were described and the benefits for use in radiation transport assessment were of focus, as well as a worked example of a dynamic waste package loading and transfer process within a facility with changing dose rate contours displayed live as package movements take place.

Worked Example of Dynamic Box Loading and Transfer

Cerberus's criticality training aid, CARTA, was also presented. CARTA is a brand new innovative tool that uses machine learning to calculate k-eff in real time for the purposes of operator training. CARTA is currently in development supported by NNL, AWE and Sellafield Ltd as part of the Alpha Resilience Capability. An early desktop version of CARTA was demonstrated to students providing an insight into the fundamental principles of criticality safety.

CARTA: Glovebox in VR, Tōkai-mura criticality simulation 

The lecture was well received by the students and provided an excellent demonstration of the unique and innovative work that individuals joining the team can look forward to getting involved with.

Cerberus supports summer placements from the NTEC (Nuclear Technology Education Consortium) postgraduate-level masters degree course, and we look forward to doing the same for the University of Birmingham later this year.

OpenMC Fusion Technology Course

Cerberus Nuclear recently provided OpenMC support to the Fusion CDT course at the University of York. As part of the course the students attend a week-long fusion technology module to learn about all aspects fusion including reactor technology, plasma physics and neutronics modelling. The week concluded with a workshop on the open-source neutronics transport code OpenMC. 

The OpenMC workshop was run by John Billingsley (Cerberus Nuclear) and Jon Shimwell (Firstlight Fusion). Together they presented a course on OpenMC teaching fusion neutronic transport analysis as well as providing the students with valuable insights from their industry experience. 

The students covered the use of Paramak for fusion reactor parametric geometry creation.

The workshop was aimed at beginners covering a wide range of topics including transport theory, running neutronic simulations, understanding material cross-sections, creating simulation geometries, scoring tallies, source definitions plus many more. 

The course was very well attended with students from master's to PhD level looking to gain industry experience and knowledge related to the exciting and rapidly developing field of nuclear fusion.

"After delivering the workshop remotely in 2021, it was great to be back at University of York. The workshop was a great success, with students developing from having little or no neutronics knowledge at all, to having a fundamental understanding of neutronics and its application, and being able to perform a variety of studies using OpenMC.

Many thanks to Prof. Bruce Lipschultz for inviting us back."

John Billingsley, Cerberus Nuclear

To find out more check out the links to OpenMC and University of York Fusion CDT.

Images: docs.openmc.org & paramak.readthedocs.io