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Home   /   E&T program   /   Continuous Professional Development   /   Sodium technology and sodium loop operation practical (including practical work on SIRENa simulator)

Sodium technology and sodium loop operation practical (including practical work on SIRENa simulator)

École du sodium et des métaux liquides - Exploitation

Operation and maintenance

Operation

Risk management

Sodium risks

Nuclear reactor

Sodium

Technologies and data sciences

Simulation

4.5
Recommandation: 100 %
Average participant satisfaction score
Percentage of recommendations

In summary

To enable participants to operate a sodium loop or facility, using the rules and guidelines for sodium facilities interventions.

Who should take this course ?

Beginner English speaking engineer who is lead to work on the operation of sodium loops or installations.

Learning outcomes

  • State the characteristics of sodium
  • Describe and use specific sodium instrumentation
  • Describe the steps of a sodium purification campaign
  • Describe the specific features of the different components of a sodium circuit and outline the main phases of commissioning and operating a sodium circuit
  • Outline the procedures when performing work on sodium or a sodium circuit
  • Ensure self-protection in the event of a sodium fire
  • Describe the operation of a sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor
  • State the control variables of a reactor
  • Describe the steps of normal and analyse transients
  • Understand the incidental and accidental operation of a sodium-cooled fast reactor
  • Understand the risk of crrosion and contamination in sodium-cooled fast reactors

Collaboration with the french sodium school

Pratcial exercices on : start-up operations, filling operations, facilities operations, facilities interventions, sodium fire

Visits of sodium facilities and the reactor Phenix

• Sodium physical and chemical properties; sodium hazards
• Sodium facilities: functional analysis approach; design rules for main loop and utilities
• Sodium facilities operation: start-up procedure, transients, shut-down
• Sodium Instrumentation: measuring sensors & calibration
• Sodium facilities: technology
• Rules and guidelines for sodium facilities interventions
• In sodium corrosion and corrosion products transfer
• Sodium pollution sources and potential consequences
• Sodium quality control including purification
• Heat transfer correlations and thermal-hydraulics modelling
• Phenix & Superphenix reactors operation feedback
• Sodium cleaning
• Practical exercises on: start-up operations, filling operations, facilities operations, facilities interventions, sodium fire
• Visits of sodium cleaning facilities, sodium test loops and Phénix reactor when the facilities are available
• Operation and safety of SFR, safety during mal-function and accidents
• Basic knowledge on neutron physics and reactivity feedback
• Basic knowledge on thermal-hydraulics
• Normal operation, operation constraints, thermal-mechanics, control, reactor's protection (thermal-hydraulics transients)
• Decay heat removal systems
• Sodium-Water Reaction issues – Detection and protection systems
• In service inspection
• Reactor's start-up transients, power increase
• Normal transients
• Operation during mal-function
• Operation during accidents

No prerequisites required.

Teaching method and tools

On-site visit

Collaboration

Contact(s)

École du sodium

Course organiser :

Catherine CATALDI
catherine.cataldi@cea.fr
+33 4 42 25 79 66

Program contact :

Raphaëlle DOUSSON
raphaelle.dousson@cea.fr
+33 4 42 25 72 34

training sessions

Group limited to 8 trainees$
*Maybe exceeded in case of high registration demand

If you are disabled, please contact the disability correspondent at the following address: instn-handicap@cea.fr

No training session is scheduled for the moment, if this training interests you, please contact us.

From 2025 november 25
To 2025 december 12
École du sodium 9,090.00€ excl. taxes REGISTER

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