POLIMI
Politecnico di Milano - Department of Energy (Italy)
Established in 1863, POLIMI is the largest Italian university for Engineering, Architecture and Industrial Design (45000 enrolled students, 15% foreign students from 100 countries). It takes part in the European and world network of leading technical universities and offers several exchanges and double degree programs. POLIMI is ranked in the world as one of the most outstanding universities in Engineering & Technology field: 6th in Europe, 16th in the world (https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2019/engineering-technology). 300 H2020 funded projects, 100 million euro annual self-financing, 1600 patents, 60 spin-off (https://www.polimi.it/en/the-politecnico/about-polimi/politecnico-di-milano-figures/). It is organised in 7 campuses (1 in China, XJTU University) and 12 Research Departments.
The Department of Energy-DENG is awarded by the Italian Ministry of Education as "Departments of Excellence 2018-2022" (http://www.energia.polimi.it/en/energy-department/). DENG supports MSc on Nuclear Engineering, PhD Programme in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology (STEN) and, since 2019, with JRC-EC a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership on ND&WM (http://www.dottorato.polimi.it/en/phd-programmes/active-phd-programmes/energy-and-nuclear-science-and-technology/; http://www.ingnucleare.polimi.it/). DENG is organized in 5 Divisions and the Nuclear Engineering Division, closely linked to this Project, is the largest nuclear division in Italian universities involved in educational, training and scientific research activities at international level. It is characterized by a multidisciplinary research expertise in the nuclear technology field and ionizing radiation applications: Radiochemistry & Radiation Chemistry, Nuclear Fuel Cycle & Performance, Innovative NPPs, Nuclear Decommissioning, Safety and Risk Analysis, Radiation Measurements, Radiation Protection and Metrology, Nuclear Instrumentations and Nuclear Electronics.
Within the Nuclear Engineering Division, the Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Laboratories, fully equipped for radiochemical manipulations in classified areas and hosted in the integrated nuclear laboratories (2000 m2 + 500 m2 shielded bunker) recently built at Politecnico di Milano-Bovisa Campus, develop cutting-edge research activities regarding hydrometallurgical separation on nuclear waste, nuclear decommissioning, chemical aspects within Gen IV Fast Reactors and radiation damage on materials for nuclear and technological applications. Since the Nineties the Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Group (RRCG, http://www.radiochimica.polimi.it) is actively present in European Projects devoted to the Partitioning of Minor Actinides. In particular, the RRCG was involved in the Projects NEWPART (FP4), PARTNEW (FP5), EUROPart (FP6), ACSEPT and SACSESS (FP7) investigating mainly the hydrometallurgical separation science and technology. Following closely the development of the P&T strategies, the RRCG has acquired experience in the determination of extracting properties and radiolytic stability of several lipophilic and hydrophilic extractants used in the different European processes, by liquid-liquid extraction experiments with radiotracers and different analytical techniques. Currently, within the H2020 GENIORS Project, the RRCG has oriented its studies according to the process safety criterion and paying attention to the process integration.
Within the Nuclear Engineering Division, the research topics of the Nuclear Reactors Group (NRG, http://www.nuclearenergy.polimi.it) include items thermal hydraulics and safety systems, thermal mechanics, nuclear fuel performance and neutronics, multi-physics modelling and simulation, model-based dynamics simulation and control of nuclear power plants. In the last years, the NRG participated to the IAEA FUMAC (Fuel Modelling in Accident Conditions) Coordinated Research Project, and currently it is a partner of the EERA-JPNM Pilot Project COMBATFUEL (Combining basic and technological research for the characterization of nuclear fuel behaviour under irradiation), the H2020 INSPYRE (Investigations Supporting MOX Fuel Licensing in ESNII Prototype Reactors) Project, and the H2020 R2CA (Reduction of radiological consequences of design basis and design extension accidents) Project: POLIMI contribution concerns the modelling of the coupled phenomena of fission gas swelling and release in oxide nuclear fuels, with application to the integral thermo-mechanical analysis of fuel rods by means of fuel performance codes.
The research activities developed at POLIMI over the last 15 years have contributed to create well-established skills and competences in the two research groups (RRCG and NRG) involved in PATRICIA, that will be made available to the project objectives and shared with the partners.
Contact persons
Mario Mariani
Elena Macerata
Eros Mossini
Marco Giola
Lelio Luzzi
Davide Pizzocri
Alessio Magni