Cerberus Nuclear recently attended the IEEE Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE) in Oxford. The biennial conference with a focus on fusion excellence brings together scientists, engineers, researchers and industry professionals working in the field of nuclear fusion, providing a platform to exchange knowledge, collaborate on research, and discuss the latest developments in the field of nuclear fusion. The conference also provides opportunities for large fusion projects from both the public and private sector to showcase the progress of their powerplant initiatives.
Cerberus Nuclear were proud to participate in the conference programme, with John Billingsley presenting a poster to showcase the work of his recent development project. The project focussed on the development of optimisation techniques to inform the design of layered neutron shields using material cross-section data. The work generated a lot of interest, with optimisation techniques like this likely to play a key role in the design and delivery of commercial fusion reactors.
The week-long conference concluded with a tour of UKAEA’s Culham campus which is home to several major fusion research facilities and projects including the Joint European Torus (JET), which has been one of the world’s most significant experiments for achieving controlled fusion. The world-recognised campus is at the heart of fusion research in the UK, and is undergoing rapid development to be able to further innovate and solve challenges across the fusion sector and beyond. The tour also saw private fusion companies First Light Fusion and Tokamak Energy showcasing their latest technologies for achieving fusion.
“It was great to attend the SOFE conference in Oxford, not only to showcase the development work of Cerberus Nuclear, but to meet with professionals from across the industry to discuss how they are solving different challenges in fusion. The conference also provided opportunities to meet with former colleagues and friends, and to forge new relationships and opportunities for collaboration across the fusion industry. Thank you to UKAEA for hosting a fantastic conference, and I am looking forward to the next SOFE.”
Thank you to UKAEA for hosting a fantastic conference, and Cerberus Nuclear look forward to collaborating across the fusion industry to contribute to the realisation of clean, limitless energy.
New Starter: Sarah O'Sullivan
We are excited to announce that Sarah O'Sullivan has joined Cerberus Nuclear as a Criticality Safety Consultant. Sarah has two years experience as a nuclear safety consultant supporting waste treatment projects before focussing more specifically on Criticality Safety. More recently she has produced criticality hazard assessments for DSRL and EDF Cyclife along with providing criticality advice for High Active Waste Thermal Treatment concept plants at Sellafield. Prior to this, Sarah completed a PhD in Nuclear Materials Science.
Welcome to the team Sarah, we're delighted that you decided to join us!
Cerberus Nuclear's Inaugural Summer Camping Trip
Cerberus Nuclear went camping over the weekend. A group of 10 employees pitched their tents together at Marbury Camp and Lodge along with their partners, children and fur babies.
The group started the weekend in a relaxed fashion, with a takeaway provided while they made camp. We learnt that the team don’t do things by halves, with most people arriving with 5-person tents and blow up beds for a luxurious camping experience. Some of the group took part in a game of cricket before it was paused after one of the dog fielders refused to give the ball back. The team sat around the fire and enjoyed drinks and s’mores throughout the evening, and an impromptu awards (bottle of wine) ceremony was held for employees nominated by their co-workers for recognition. Congratulations to all those nominated!
Saturday was a fun packed day. The team set off early to Manley Mere to meet Carl, Pete E and Lisa and their families for the Adventure Trial. The walk through the woods included obstacles to climb over, swing over, zipline down and plenty of rustic (Sam powered) rides.
With only minor injuries incurred, the team had a quick lunch before water sports in the afternoon. People were involved in kayaking, canoeing and stand up paddleboarding. Particular mention must be made to little Sam for holding his own on the 6-person stand up paddle board, and to Dan for losing his prescription sunglasses in the middle of the lake.
Little Sam on the Stand Up Paddleboard before the Sunglasses were lost
After a few naps were taken on the trip back to and at the campsite, an enormous BBQ ensued. Well done to Tom, Stew and Oscar for feeding us all, and to Stevie, Cora, Elsie and Seven for resisting the sausages until all the humans had finished eating! The team had a few drinks, played games and chatted late into the night until a thunderstorm encouraged most of them back into their tents.
Thank you to everyone for making it a wonderful weekend!
Sellafield Ltd Supply Chain Forum Special for International Women's Day
Our criticality safety assessors Katrina and Haleema represented Cerberus at the Sellafield Supply Chain Event in March. The event was a women’s special, falling just after international women's day, and was only attended by women in the supply chain and at Sellafield Ltd.
It was so great to hear from different SMEs and all the great projects currently going on. It was especially great hearing from the next generation coming up through the Sellafield apprentice schemes. We wish them all the success in their next chapters! Another fantastic presentation was from the Jacobs women’s network, and we look forward to hearing and collaborating more in the future.
- Haleema H, Criticality Safety Consultant
At the forum, companies are given the opportunity to give a 60 s pitch. Katrina Christaki took the challenge and pitched Cerberus Nuclear to the other attendees at the forum!
Cerberus looks forward to continuing collaboration with Sellafield and to attending the next supply chain forum.
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
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from everyone at Cerberus Nuclear!
As well as the start of the new year, we are celebrating 6 years as a company. We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years, from our dedicated team to our valued clients and collaborators. We look forward to what 2023 will bring!
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.
The Swimming with the Big Fish SME Matchmaker Service helps to match high-performing SMEs with those bidding for the many Key Delivery Partner and Goods/Services Agreement packages being awarded by the Programme and Project Partners (PPP) at Sellafield.
It grades SMEs using criteria that reflects the expectations of SMEs when it comes to driving project delivery and efficiency while at the same time delivering meaningful social impact that changes the lives and career prospects of communities in West Cumbria and Cumbria.
Through the SWTBF SME Matchmaker service we have made a profile which includes our service offering, and social impact pledges. Our profile is available through the SWTBF service.
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.
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:
The ‘MAGIC MERV’ simulation – Users can interact with two spheres of fissile material in a laboratory environment. The simulation is able to demonstrate the behaviour of all of the factors that affect criticality, i.e.
Mass
Absorption
Geometry
Interaction
Concentration
Moderation
Enrichment
Reflection
Volume
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.
The glove box process simulation – Users interact with a realistic glove box featuring a mass balance, assay chamber and array of stored cans containing fissile material. They are presented with an imported can and are able to weigh and assay the can in order to determine if it is ‘safe’ before storing it or rejecting it. The simulation allows trainees to be challenged with various configurations to enhance their understanding of criticality rules, potential fault scenarios and some of the challenges with fissile material assay.
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.
