MIT is one of ten partners in the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). Selected by the DOE in 2010 as the first Innovation Hub for faster technology transfer from research to industry, CASL is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In addition to MIT it includes two other university partners, three from industry and four other national labs. It uses the advanced capabilities of the world's most powerful computers to make significant leaps forward in nuclear reactor design and performance analysis. A major focus of the MIT researchers will be to model the behavior of key materials such as fuel and fuel cladding together with energy generation and transport processes so as to provide better estimates of how these materials will perform within the high pressure, high radiation environment of a nuclear reactor.
CASL’s Mission is to provide leading edge modeling and simulation capabilities to improve the performance of currently operating Light Water Reactors, and to support the development of advanced reactor designs.
CASL’s Vision is to predict, with confidence, the quantified performance of nuclear reactors, through comprehensive, integrated, and science-based modeling and simulation technology that is deployed and applied broadly within the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
MIT-CASL participants & projects
Board of Directors: Ernie Moniz, First Chair (2009 to 2012 and Mujid Kazimi, Member
Materials Performance Optimization: Sid Yip, Deputy Leader
Education Program Liaison: Benoit Forget
PI: Mujid Kazimi
co-PI: Jacopo Buongiorno and Sidney Yip
Crud Deposition:
Ju Li — atomistic simulation of crud
Michael Short — Macro models & MAMBA development.
Grid to Rod Fretting:
Michael Demcowicz — wear modeling
Ken Kamrin and David Parks — fretting
Clad Corrosion and Creep:
Ron Ballinger — hydrogen generation
Bilge Yildiz — hydrogen transport, creep
Benoit Forget — advanced methods
Emilio Baglietto — computational fluid dynamics
Jacopo Buongiorno — two-phase flow
Since the earliest days of science, the interplay of theory and experimentation has been the primary method of creating new knowledge. Today, the affordability of massive computing power has added a third tool to the researcher's workbench ... more
