Giovanni Zullo
PhD thesis title: Mechanistic multi-scale modelling of fission product behaviour in oxide fuels for application to Generation III and IV nuclear reactors
Academic Tutor: Lelio Luzzi
Academic Supervisor: Lelio Luzzi and Davide Pizzocri
PhD cycle: 36° (see all student profiles of the same cycle > LINK)
BSc: Engineering Physics, Politecnico di Milano
MSc: Nuclear engineering, Politecnico di Milano
Visiting period at the CIEMAT, Madrid. From September 2022 until December 2022. Planning activity is to couple the fission gas behaviour module SCIANTIX with the fuel performance code FRAPCON/FRAPTRAN.
Thesis abstract
My PhD project is devoted to the mechanistic multi-scale modelling of the fission product behaviour in oxide fuels. The twofold goal of the activity is to improve the ability of the current simulation codes in predicting the fuel rod behaviour for evaluating the radiological consequences of postulated accidents in Gen-III water-cooled nuclear reactors under operation and to improve the predictive capabilities of the current fuel performance codes for the simulation of Americium bearing fuels under irradiation, in support of the transmutation programs planned in Gen-IV systems.
Personal interest in my research theme
Modelling the behaviour of fission products in oxide fuels is necessary for fuel performance codes to predict the behaviour of fuel rods. This activity requires considering interrelated phenomena from various disciplines (nuclear physics, chemistry, mechanics, etc.) and different length scales (from meso-scale to engineering scale). For this reason, I find this work extremely interesting and challenging. Also, because a better understanding of the behaviour of fission products is crucial for safety analyses and for the development of new technologies.
