European Developments in Thermalhydraulics for Innovative Nuclear Systems

Thermal-hydraulics is recognized as a key scientific subject in the development of different innovative nuclear reactor systems. In Europe, thermal-hydraulic issues for innovative reactors are the subject of the Thermal-Hydraulics of Innovative Nuclear Systems project (THINS) which is sponsored by the European Commission and runs from 2010 until 2014. This paper will describe the status of the on-going activities in this project. The project addresses the main identified thermal hydraulics issues for innovative nuclear systems taking into account existing experimental data and producing new experimental data where needed. The overall objectives of the THINS project are the development and validation of new physical models, improvement and qualification of numerical engineering tools and their application to innovative nuclear systems. A specific part of the project is devoted to education and training in order to disseminate the state-of-the-art scientific knowledge gained within the project which will be attractive to students and (young) researchers in the field of thermal-hydraulics internationally.