Experimental Engineering

Designs, develops, creates and tests processes, systems, components, materials, instruments, and numerical models relevant to nuclear engineering, with particular reference to the engineering systems of fusion reactors.

Develops, qualifies and applies technologies related to the use of liquid metals, both heavy and alkaline, in nuclear engineering, proposing and testing technical-engineering solutions in particularly harsh conditions of use (corrosive/erosive environment, high thermal flows, extreme temperatures, impulsive phenomena, high particle flows and ionizing radiation).

Manages and runs, according to functionality, safety and quality criteria, equipment, laboratories and systems that use heavy liquid metals, lithium, water and helium as process fluids.

Provides advanced nuclear engineering services.

Participates in projects, consortia, research collaborations and working groups, both national and international, for technological development and nuclear achievements.

• Designs, develops and qualifies the technologies of the tritium blanket and the Balance of Plant of fusion reactors.
• Designs, develops and qualifies technologies of innovative engineering systems, with particular attention to plants for the production of biomedical radioisotopes.
• Conceptualizes, designs, creates and operates experimental infrastructures to support research and development activities in the nuclear engineering sector.
• Designs and creates prototypes of components that it uses for experimental study and qualification.
• Designs, develops and fine-tunes experimental campaigns, operating procedures, methods and measurement instruments.
• Performs experiments and measurements on plants and test sections aimed at improving knowledge and qualifying the functional and safety characteristics of nuclear components and systems in different operating conditions.
• Studies and experiments with structural and functional materials for particularly demanding applications typical of nuclear technology.
• Studies and develops technologies of heavy liquid metals, lithium, transport and extraction of tritium from refrigerants, functional and structural materials.
• Develops and fine-tunes processes for the deposition of protective elements to increase the performance of structural materials from attack by heavy and alkaline liquid metals.
• Performs measurements and laboratory tests to characterize the properties and performance of structural and functional materials and coatings in different operating conditions.
• Develops numerical models and performs simulations aimed at the design of engineering components and systems, the design of test systems and sections and the analysis and interpretation of experimental results.
• Develops numerical models and performs multi-fluid/multi-phase, multi-physics, multi-scale simulations of the engineering systems of nuclear fusion reactors, studying their dynamics and operation in operating and accident conditions.
• Ensures the development, validation, qualification and procedures for the use of computational codes through the use of experimental infrastructures.