Workshop on the "RADCON" project in Smolenice
26. 3. 2019 | 1076 visits
The SAS Institute of Construction and Architecture organized the third Workshop on “The Effect of Chemical Composition of its Concrete Performance in Irradiated Environment” RADCON “ - Visegrad Group (V4) - Korean Republic (KR) - Radcon” project with the participation of experts from of Visegrad countries and the Republic of Korea, as well as experts from the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant and Mgr. Martin Venhart, PhD., a member of the Presidium of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
The aim of the workshop was to analyse and be mutually informed on the results achieved by individual research teams as well as discussions on further research work. The workshop was held at the Smolenice Congress Center from 11 to 14 March 2019.
In his lecture,"CERN: particle physics, nuclear physics, nuclear medicine and other applications", Mgr. Venhart PhD. presented the workings of CERN to the workshop attendees, the principles of general nuclear physics and their implementation in practical life, whether in medicine, construction or in nuclear technology. He emphasized the aspect of nuclear safety and the need to educate young nuclear physicists. At an informal sitting, Ing. Anton Venhart Senior also shared some of his more than forty years of experience in the field of nuclear power plant safety and operation. The issues of maintaining and aging of buildings were covered by lectures "Ageing Management of Civil Structure in NPPs" and "Production of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Containers in Slovakia" by Ing. Ján Borák and Ing. Vladimír Remiáš (Slovenské elektrárne, a.s.).
The lively discussion that followed clearly confirmed the interest in deepening collaboration between science, applied research and practice. Representatives of Honsei University of Korea, who are engaged in simulating and modelling the process of nuclear radiation in a heterogeneous environment of concrete structures, informed colleagues on the possibility of aggregate expansion and alkaline-silica reaction induced by long-term exposure to nuclear radiation. The Institute of Construction and Architecture of SAS, as the co-researcher of the project, is developing so-called high-performance heavy concrete based on barite from Slovakia and magnetite from Sweden for concrete shielding against ionizing radiation in nuclear power plants. In the field of heavy aggregate utilization from Slovakia, ÚSTARCH SAV and Honsei University are also cooperating on a second project, “APVV SK-KR-18 Material and Performance of heavy-weight self-compacting concrete”, which aims to develop special concrete for anti-ballistic shields. Polish partners from the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences emphasized the positive impact of ionizing radiation on the hydration kinetics and strength of fresh concrete, depending on the gamma dose and neutron radiation. Czech partners from the Czech Technical University, Faculty of Civil Engineering described in detail the physical and chemical methods of destruction of concrete structures under excessive irradiation. The research team from the Center for Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, presented in detail the results of the analysis of the input materials of each participating site, on which concrete was or will be prepared for shield testing against nuclear radiation at the Nuclear Analysis and Radiography Department, Center for Nuclear Analysis Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. As part of the workshop, the international research team attended a technical visit to the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant and to JAVYS (Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť - Nuclear and Decommissioning Company, a.s.), where they were shown the technology of fiber-concrete containers for nuclear waste storage.
Text and photo: Prof. Martin T. Palou
The aim of the workshop was to analyse and be mutually informed on the results achieved by individual research teams as well as discussions on further research work. The workshop was held at the Smolenice Congress Center from 11 to 14 March 2019.
In his lecture,"CERN: particle physics, nuclear physics, nuclear medicine and other applications", Mgr. Venhart PhD. presented the workings of CERN to the workshop attendees, the principles of general nuclear physics and their implementation in practical life, whether in medicine, construction or in nuclear technology. He emphasized the aspect of nuclear safety and the need to educate young nuclear physicists. At an informal sitting, Ing. Anton Venhart Senior also shared some of his more than forty years of experience in the field of nuclear power plant safety and operation. The issues of maintaining and aging of buildings were covered by lectures "Ageing Management of Civil Structure in NPPs" and "Production of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Containers in Slovakia" by Ing. Ján Borák and Ing. Vladimír Remiáš (Slovenské elektrárne, a.s.).
The lively discussion that followed clearly confirmed the interest in deepening collaboration between science, applied research and practice. Representatives of Honsei University of Korea, who are engaged in simulating and modelling the process of nuclear radiation in a heterogeneous environment of concrete structures, informed colleagues on the possibility of aggregate expansion and alkaline-silica reaction induced by long-term exposure to nuclear radiation. The Institute of Construction and Architecture of SAS, as the co-researcher of the project, is developing so-called high-performance heavy concrete based on barite from Slovakia and magnetite from Sweden for concrete shielding against ionizing radiation in nuclear power plants. In the field of heavy aggregate utilization from Slovakia, ÚSTARCH SAV and Honsei University are also cooperating on a second project, “APVV SK-KR-18 Material and Performance of heavy-weight self-compacting concrete”, which aims to develop special concrete for anti-ballistic shields. Polish partners from the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences emphasized the positive impact of ionizing radiation on the hydration kinetics and strength of fresh concrete, depending on the gamma dose and neutron radiation. Czech partners from the Czech Technical University, Faculty of Civil Engineering described in detail the physical and chemical methods of destruction of concrete structures under excessive irradiation. The research team from the Center for Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, presented in detail the results of the analysis of the input materials of each participating site, on which concrete was or will be prepared for shield testing against nuclear radiation at the Nuclear Analysis and Radiography Department, Center for Nuclear Analysis Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. As part of the workshop, the international research team attended a technical visit to the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant and to JAVYS (Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť - Nuclear and Decommissioning Company, a.s.), where they were shown the technology of fiber-concrete containers for nuclear waste storage.
Text and photo: Prof. Martin T. Palou