Press Release

Eric Cervi received the award of best 2021 Ph.D. thesis in the field of fluid-dynamics by the Italian Union of Thermo-Fluid Dynamics (UIT).

The thesis, with the title “An innovative multiphysics modelling approach for the analysis and the development of the generation IV molten salt fast reactor", presents a novel numerical model for the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR), currently under development within the Euratom H2020 SAMOSAFER Project, coordinated by the TU Delft and with participation of NRG (https://samosafer.eu). This model couples different neutron transport solvers with two-phase, compressible fluid dynamics, and it is implemented within an open source  simulation library.

This new modelling approach has the capability to handle the presence of gas bubbles in the reactor coolant, evaluating their effect on reactivity, as well as to investigate fuel compressibility effect during accidental transients. Hence, the thesis is of relevance for the design and optimization of molten salt reactors and for the analysis of the reactor safety.