ISSN 0972-5741 Volume 76 April 2008

From the Director’s DeskINSIDE

Technical ArticlesInfrared Spectroscopy Study ofPFBR Concrete Degradation onExposure to Sodium FireReplacement of Flexible Metal Tubein Turbo Expander of Helium Plant

Forum for Young OfficersComputational Prediction of DecayHeat Removal Capability of SteamGenerator Casing in FBTR

Conference/Meeting HighlightsIndustrial Safety Workshop -2007(ISW-2007)Sustaining Global Pressures:Women in Science and Engineering :Next Generation Challenges andOpportunitiesDAE Anu Week-2008Theme meeting on “Small SpecimenMechanical Testing”BRNS sponsored Workshop on“Physics and Mechanics ofAdvanced Structural Materials”(PMASM-2008)

Forthcoming Symposia/Conferences

Theme meeting on “RecentAdvances in Post IrradiationExamination” (PIE)-RAP-2008,May 22-24, 20085th International Conference on“Creep, Fatigue and Creep-FatigueInteraction”, September 24-26, 2008

News and Events

Awards & Honours

INDIRA GANDHI CENTRE FOR ATOMIC RESEARCHhttp://www.igcar.gov.in/lis/nl76/igc76.pdf

History of EngineeringServices Group

The Engineering Services Group (ESG) has a veryimportant mandate of infrastructuredevelopment for all units of the Department ofAtomic Energy located at Kalpakkam. It spansfrom Planning, Design, Engineering, Execution,Testing and Commissioning of Civil, Electrical,Mechanical, Air-conditioning and Ventilationworks for the Laboratories, Township includingHousing, Schools, Hospitals, Hostels, Roadways

and various Public utilities and facilities. This Group is also responsible forcommissioning, operation and maintenance of various services for the AtomicEnergy installations at Kalpakkam.The history of this group can be traced back to the 1960s, when the Departmentof Atomic Energy decided to establish a centre dedicated to the comprehensivedevelopment of fast reactors with closed fuel cycle technologies. In 1969, whenthe then Reactor Research Centre (RRC) was born at Kalpakkam, expert teamsidentified to carry out this significant mission were functioning at BARC, Mumbai.The responsibility of developing the infrastructure for the construction of RRCand a part of the township was steered by veteran Shri C.R. Ramamurthy, ChiefEngineer (C), and his team functioning at the Madras Atomic Power Plant (MAPP).The team consisted of Shri T.V. Prabhakaran, Chief Architect, Shri C.R. Nagaraj,heading the construction, and Shri N.M. Ramaswamy, heading the design activities.Shri P.S. Sukumaran, Shri N.K. Murthy and Shri R. Ranjithakrishnan were entrustedwith the responsibility of supporting with respect to power requirements for theconstruction and other activities.Around this time, several teams were identified at BARC who would work towardssupplementing the infrastructural needs at RRC. Shri B.S.Iyengar, Project Engineer(Co-ordination) conceived the Central Workshop while Electrical, Air-conditioning,Ventilation and Communication needs were addressed by Shri S.N. Narasinga Raowith support from Shri K. Venkataraman, Shri A.K. Gupta and other colleaguesfrom Technical Services Division, BARC. Shri A. Soosainathan was identified toprovide the architectural support. With the relocation of Shri K. Venkataramanand Shri N.S. Sreenivasan, who took charge of Electrical and Air-conditioningworks in 1972 at Kalpakkam the activities at the site gained momentum. The groupwas strengthened with the addition of several young engineers (from BARC trainingschool and recruited directly), supervisors and tradesmen. The teams led byShri C.R. Nagaraj and Shri B.S. Iyengar together with Shri K. Venkataraman werewell set to take up the challenges of providing the complete infrastructure tothe projects at Kalpakkam. It was a familiar sight to all when the daily rounds ofShri K. Venkataraman and Shri P.S. Sukumaran to the site were intercepted withthe ones by Shri N. Srinivasan, Director, RRC and Shri C.R. Nagaraj. A day wasnever complete without the independent visit of Shri C.R. Ramamurthy,

Chief Engineer (C) t o a l l t h e construct ion sites - MAPP, Fast Breeder Test ReactoriFBTR), the laboratories of RRC and the township. He provided invaluable guidance during the daily briefing to the site teams to ~roceed with the activities.

Shri C.R. Ramamurthy was a man of few words. His discipl ined and thorough approach, were instrumental i n delivering the civi l engineering targets relating to MAPP, RRC and township effectively and comprehensively. Over the years, the activities of Air- conditioning & Ventilation Systems Division, Central Workshop Division, Electrical Services Division, Quality Assurance Division at IGCARas well as t h e Technical Coordinat ion and Quality Control Section a t Mumbai have evolved with the objective of supporting the Centre's mandate to develop Fast Reactor and associated closed fuel cycle technologies. I wish t o highl ight i n th i s a r t i c le t h e achievements and contributions of each o f these act iv i t ies o f t h e Engineering Services Group presently being steered by Shri Y.C. Manjunatha. A) Civil En&neering Division Civil engineeringteam commenced its activities in ful l swing at Kalpakkam dur ing 1969-70 i n MAPS, w i th an impetus to establish RRC. A group of exper ienced engineers f r o m t h e State Public Works Department were already functioning since 1966. The civi l requirements of RRC were i n addit ion t o t h e ongoing works a t

MAPS, which included t h construction of reactor buildings turbine and service buildings, indoor switchyard, submarine tunnels, approach jetty, etc. I t is noteworthy ta mention here tha t the indoor switchyard is the first of i ts kind in Asia and the submarine tunnel, first of its kind in India. The civi l team since incept ion has deserve accolades for its ability to conceive design (architectural and structural), construct and maintain a variety of c iv i l structures. The participation f r o m externa l agencies and consultants was limited to design of nuclear and power islands o f integrated reactor systems, which was scrutinized by the experts i n the Department. Our experts were also responsible for obtaining approvals and clearances f r o m regulatory bodies l i ke AERB, Ministry o f Environment & Forests, etc. A dynamic t e a m consisting o f Shri N.M. Ramaswamy and Shri C.R. Nagaraj under t h e able leadership of Shri C.R. Ramamurthy took up several civi l works of RRC,

includingthe FBTR, which was a major challenge. Construction of several laboratories, buildings and services beginning with the conceptual design t o construction was t h e primary mandate for the team. The team has successful ly dea l t w i t h several d i f f icul t assignments l ike building engineer ing halls w i t h slender columns, radioactive cells with special concrete, t a l l stacks (up to 100 metre) , fo lded p la te roofs, t h e Sarabhai Auditorium in Homi Bhabha Building with steel trusses, pre-cast slabs, etc. The twin column approach t o construction of the for ty four

Il~atertankwith acapacity ofonelakhgallon

metre Engineering Hall No. 3 with a large useful floor area for engineering facilities is a significant achievement. I t is one o f the tal lest single bay structures i n the country. The one lakh gallon water tank built at IGCAR has been the prototype for other nuclear installations. Support systems involving roads, water supply, drainage, sewerage treatment, etc. established by t h e pioneers are indeed effective, and have been validated by years of good service. This Group has developed special concretes t o meet t h e speci f ic requirements o f DAE uni ts and computer codes t o solve complex problems. The team had introduced several innovations i n their design which were also cost effective. The establ ishment o f modern townships w i t h a l l amenit ies a t Kalpakkam and Anupuram is a major milestone in the history of the civil engineering activities. The role of Shri 6. Chinnappa and contribution f rom other colleagues f rom c i v i l engineering is commendable and outstanding in this context. The Civil Engineering Division, apart f r o m handl ing various services required for the Centre, has also provided support on infrastructural development for BARC facilities at Kalpakkam, Rare Materials Plant, Mysore, Magneto Hydro Dynamics Project - Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Trichy, Indian Rare Earth projects at Alwaye & Manavalakurichi,

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electrical infrastructural needs forseveral projects of the DAE. Thesignificant features of the powersystem include network ofunderground cable feeders,adequate main and standby feeders/equipment, sufficient DieselGenerator backed system with AutoMains Failure feature accompanied bystate of the art, control, protectiveand indication schemes.A major milestone in the electricalpower system activity was thecommissioning of 33 kV CentralSwitching Station during January1977. Till 1980, the total powerrequirement was met by the 33 kVand 11 kV supply provided by TamilNadu Electricity Board. The CentralWater Chilling Plant, the 33 kV CentralSwitching Station, 11 kV / 415 V sub-stations at RDL, Central Workshop andMDL were the first to be built. Withthe commissioning of 33 kV CentralSwitching Station, load transfer from11 kV Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to11 kV from 33 kV Central SwitchingStation was effected in a phasedmanner. The 33 kV Central SwitchingStation was networked with 220 kVindoor switchyard of MAPS in 1980,retaining the source of Tamil NaduElectricity Board as a standby. Sincethen, the station has beensuccessfully providing the OFF sitepower to FBTR as per the technicalspecifications. The electrical systemat FBTR and RML was designed andexecuted by an independent teamcomprising of Shri K. Raghavan,Shri T.K. Shanmugam andShri R. Jeevanandham.Shri R. Jeevanandham and his teamalso played a significant role incommissioning of the 33 kV CentralSwitching Station.A major value addition to the systemwas replacement of the standby33 kV Tamil Nadu Electricity Boardsource with the full power standby33 kV source from 230 kV MAPSswitchyard. It is an engineeringachievement wherein an energized230 kV indoor switchyard wasexpanded without effecting major

Society for Applied MicrowaveElectronic Engineering and Research,Chennai, Institute of MathematicalScience, Chennai, HarishchandraResearch Institute, Allahabad andNational Centre for BiologicalSciences at the Tata Institute ofFundamental Research (TIFR),Bangalore. The team, at present isextending the consultancy servicesupport to the proposed IndiaNeutrino Observatory project ofTIFR.Successive Chief Engineersfrom Shri C.R. Ramamurthy,Shri C.R. Nagaraj, Shri V. Krishnamurthyto Shri P.C. Koteswara Rao have leftbehind a legacy of significantachievements. The mandate of thepresent team is to sustain the presentinfrastructure, augment it duringXI plan, approval of documents andcoordination of PFBR related civilworks and establishment of civilinfrastructure of the FRFCF along withdevelopment of the associatedtownship. The townships from nowon would redefine a new skyline asmultistoried buildings occupying thelandscape of Kalpakkam andAnupuram. The Group has major plansof providing an aesthetic andsustainable green environment at theproject site and the townships. It alsointends to introduce watermanagement schemes to ensureuniform quality of water in all seasonsthrough the years. The tasks arebeing steered by a team of senior civilengineers. I take this opportunity towish my civil engineering colleaguesall success in their future endeavorsand look forward to record many moresuccess stories from them.B) Electrical Services DivisionA significant policy decision of MAPS /Power Projects Engineering Division,is to take into account the powerrequirements of FBTR, R&D andprocess plants of RRC and Townshipand include the same as in-houserequirement of MAPS laid a firmfoundation to the Group in developingstrategies to meet the demands onelectrical power and infrastructureat Kalpakkam. This facilitated a uniquetariff structure incorporated in thePower Purchase Agreement ofMAPS at an appropriate stage. Apartfrom considerable savings in theenergy charges, the decision alsohelped in providing adequate, highquality reliable and uninterruptedpower through a well designednetwork, to the Kalpakkamcommunity. In tandem with civil works,the Division has contributedsignificantly towards meeting the

shut down. This was possible due tothe timely recommendation ofShri C.V. Sundaram the thenDirector of RRC and acceptance byDr. M.R. Srinivasan the then Director,Power Projects Engineering Division.The spin off benefit of this action isthe availability of tie feeder to PFBRswitchyard that is now underconstruction.A significant development duringnineties was the replacement of theoutdoor electrical system withoverhead line network at thehabitated Township with an indoorsystem networked with undergroundcables and provision of Earth LeakageCircuit Breakers to all thehouses. This has enhanced thereliability and safety of thesystem. Shri K. Venkataramanharnessed the required financialsupport for upgradation of theTownship electrical system, byappropriate discussions with DAE.Shri N.S. Sreenivasan andShri Y.C. Manjunatha (often referredto as Lav & Kush in inner circles),under the directive fromShri K. Venkataraman havecontributed substantially towardsestablishment, augmentation andsustenance of the system.A significant step in enhancing thecommunication facilities was theestablishment and sustenance ofstate of the art reliable inter-communication system consisting ofseveral exchanges and associatednetworks. Introduction of specialfeatures and link to Bharat SancharNigam Limited network is laudable.Another major facility effected duringthe IX & X plan periods was theintroduction of contingency powerdistribution arrangements, one at 6.6kV bus of Steam Generator TestFacility and the other at 6.6 kV busof Nuclear Desalination DevelopmentProject, so as to meet the minimumessential power requirement duringemergencies.Thanks to the foresight of the earlierplanners, MAPS has been providingadequate, safe, reliable and qualitypower to IGCAR, BARC Facilities andGSO till date. Starting from anoperating load of about 1.5 MVAduring 1977, the load on the powersystem has grown to a level of 22 MVA.The projections indicate that the loadwould grow to about 35 MVA by 2012and to about 60 MVA by 2017. Thepresent team is well set to take onthe challenges pertaining tosustenance, augmentation andestablishment of power systems at

Central Switching Station

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new projects of IGCAR, GSO andFRFCF. With a proactive approach allalong, the group has initiated severalaugmentation measures at sourceend, receiving end and associatednetworks. A 230 kV/33 kV/11 kV, 50MVA, third power source, being builtas a part of the PFBR switchyard, isexpected to be operational byDecember 2008. The electrical powersystem of FRFCF is conceived to meetthe power requirements for thepresent phase as well as the envisagedexpansion in the future. Consideringthe steps that are being initiated, theDivision is confident of meeting theprojected power requirements andis moving ahead with an objective tosustain the path of excellence.C) Air-conditioning & Ventilation

Systems DivisionThe role of the Air-conditioning andVentilation Systems Division (AC&VSD)goes hand in hand with the progressof civil and electrical works at theCentre. Since its inception in 1973,the Division has made significantcontribution in establishment,augmentation and sustenance of air-conditioning and ventilation activitiesto meet the ever increasing needs ofthe Centre. Shri G.V. Krishnamurthy,Shri A.S. Raghu and Shri K. Venkatesanunder the expert guidance ofShri K. Venkataraman and laterShri S. Keshavamurthy Rao haveplayed crucial role in achieving thetargets. The Central Water ChillingPlant with six numbers (4 W + 2S) of550 TR chiller units along withassociated cooling towers,underground piping networks hasbeen in operation since 1980. Theplant has been refurbished with thestate of the art, energy efficient andeco-friendly chillers and coolingtowers during IX and X plans.This Division also meets the air-conditioning requirements of all thegroups of IGCAR. While the operationand maintenance of radiological labs,FBTR and systems in FRTG rests withthe respective groups, the back upresource for all the divisions is themandate of the AC&VSD. Additional

responsibilities of the Division includeestablishment and sustenance ofdiesel generator sets, materialhandling system – electrical overheadtraveling and Hand operated overheadtraveling cranes and clean rooms. Intandem with civil works, the Divisionhas also contributed significantlytowards air-conditioning, ventilationand material handling activities forvarious projects of DAE.Since the air-conditioning andventilation systems are known toconsume a good share of the energyin any R&D establishment, this Divisionhas initiated several energyconservation measures during XI plan.The present team has initiated manyactivities so as to provide state of theart, energy efficient, reliable andeco-friendly air conditioning andventilation systems.

D) Central Workshop DivisionThe need for dedicated workshopfacilities was felt right during the daysof conceptual formation of RRC.Shri B.S. Iyengar who held a seniorposition at Central Workshop, BARC,was entrusted with the responsibilityof planning and execution of theCentral Workshop facilities at RRC.He was also heading the electricaland air-conditioning divisions duringthe early days of RRC. The ZonalWorkshop at Hall 1, was establishedfirst to meet the immediaterequirements. It continues tomaintain its high standards eventoday. The pleasant interactions withShri S. Aravamudhan, then In-Charge,Zonal Workshop, are beingrecollected by the old timers eventoday.Central Workshop with the then stateof the art machines becameoperational in 1975. It is equippedwith plant and machinery for machineshop, fabrication shop, carpentry andsmithy facilities. Lathe with specialfeatures, milling machines, planningmachine, plasma cutting facilities,shearing machine, etc. are some ofthe facilities that have been recentlyadded.Under the able guidanceof Shri B.S. Iyengar andlater from Shri K. Venkataraman,Shri R. Deivasigamani, Shri A.S. Raghu,Shri K.S. Krishnamurthy,Shri N. Gunasekaran and a verymotivated work force, CentralWorkshop has contributed enormouslywith innovation and precision inmeeting the fabrication requirementsof FBTR, R&D laboratories of IGCAR andother units of DAE.

Major FBTR componentsmanufactured at Central Workshopinclude steel vessel, Control Rod DriveMechanism (CRDM) guide tube, spareCRDM components, argon storagetank, material air lock, CDF gripperbody and fingers. It may be recalledthat Shri Adimoolam of CentralWorkshop was the first to qualify inwelding as per FBTR standards whichis of a special category.CNC machines and metrology toolswere introduced during 1982-1987along with a nuclear clean room. Theleadership of Shri M.K. Ramamurthy,then Director, Technical Engineeringand Management Services Group andShri K. Balachander gave a newdirection to the team at CentralWorkshop. Quality Circle conceptswere introduced and sustained in astructured manner. In fact, thecolleagues at Central Workshop areveterans amongst DAE employees insustaining and propagating the QualityCircle movement. They have wonseveral awards in the state andnational level competitions. CentralWorkshop continues to extendsupport to R&D and technologydevelopment activities of PFBRsystems. Achievements continued topour in during the stewardship ofShri R.D. Kale and Shri M.A.K. Iyer,who were instrumental fordevelopment and introduction ofcomputerized work managementsystem for production, planning andcontrol of work orders and formationof outsourcing cell.The present team under a dynamicleader is gearing up to take upchallenging manufacturing activitiesincluding design and development.The shop is being augmented withmany new machines and facilitiesduring XI plan. An optimal manpowermix with a reasonable outsourcingcontent is being planned. I am alsohappy to record the additionalcontributions by Central Workshop toother units of DAE viz. NPCIL – MAPS,NAPS, BARC Facilities (AugmentedUpgradation Facility) and VECC,Kolkata. The role of the Division indelivering services from Autoshop toArray of compressors to “chill” the water

Inaugural Function of Workshop on 27 April1974

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IGCAR, BARC Facilities and GSO iswidely appreciated.The Division has maintained a highreputation in the production ofquality products meeting stringentrequirements of various codes. Thecontributions in areas where the jobscould not be outsourced (due todemanding requirements, smallquantity of jobs etc.) deserve specialmerit. Over the years of successfulperformance, successive Heads ofDivision and the team have left manymeritorious foot marks, worthemulation.E) Quality Assurance DivisionThanks to the vision of the founders,the need for a functionallyindependent quality assuranceactivity was realized during 1974. TheQuality Control and Inspection Wingbecame functional under theleadership of Shri G. Mallikarjunreporting to Shri N.L. Char, ProjectEngineer, RRC. Necessary tools andequipment for Non-DestructiveEvaluation, pressure testing andoptical equipment along withdedicated and motivated manpowerwere positioned. Importantachievements include establishmentof nuclear clean environment forfabrication, welding of austeniticstainless steel, radiographicexamination of double envelopepiping, etc.The dedicated work on QualityAssurance is the hall mark of theteam. Amongst many achievements ofFBTR, a typical case to mention is zerosodium leakage incident in thefabricated portion of FBTR structures.The wing was renamed as QualityEngineering Section during 1986.From 1998, the Quality EngineeringSection under the leadership ofShri Chandramohan was elevated toQuality Assurance Division (QAD)when it became a part of TechnicalEngineering and Management ServicesGroup with Shri M.K. Ramamurthy asthe Director. Around 1988, the entireexperiences of QAD on FBTR wererecorded in the book “Over a decadeof nuclear inspection and testing

experience in Fast Breeder TestReactor”.The dedicated team underthe successive leadership ofShri B.S.C. Rao, Shri M. Palaniappanand Shri K. Shanmugam continued tocontribute to Quality Assuranceactivities of technology developmentof PFBR, by active participation at allstages starting from conceptualdesign to inspection atmanufacturer’s works. Reactor vessel,safety vessel, inner vessel, control andsafety rod driving mechanism, Failedfuel locating module, transfer arms,roof slab, etc. are a few amongst manya components wherein QAD hasplayed a key role. The role ofShri K. Shanmugam in obtaining ISO9000 certificate to PFBR designactivities is noteworthy.The Division is the forerunner amongstthe various divisions of EngineeringServices Group to get ISO 9001certification. As an additional activity,the Division has ambitious plans totake up several directed research &developmental activities in the areasof NDE pertaining to development ofFBR technologies and assetmanagement. The Division hasrendered its expertise to other DAEunits and strategic sectors likeDefence and Space.F) Technical Coordination and

Quality Control Section(TC&QCS), Mumbai

As the need for Quality Assurance andInspection activities of IGCAR atMumbai was felt, Shri Khandelwal wasposted at Mumbai. Subsequent to therelocation of Shri D.P. Dedhiya, Head,TC&QCS, during 1984, a team with afew senior colleagues was positionedat an identified office at Hall 3, BARCat Mumbai. The team has contributeda lot towards technical coordinationactivities at BARC, DPS (major highvalue purchases of IGCAR wereeffected through DPS, Mumbai, until2002), DAE head quarters and QualityAssurance activities with industries inthe western region. Shri D.P. Dedhiya

(Baldev Raj)Director, IGCAR

Shri R. Deivasigamani describingthe details of fabrication

Inspection of Control and Safety Rod DriveMechanism by QAD personnel at the factory

premises

Inspection of Steam Generator for SGTFby TC&QAS at L&T Mumbai

and his small team contributedsignificantly to the collaborationbetween BARC and IGCAR to expediteand implement the programmes of theCentre.The contribution from TC&QCS spansall the activities of IGCAR – from FBTR,J-Rod campaign, FRTG works, R&D andtechnology development activities forPFBR systems right upto In ServiceInspection of devices.The present team is all set to take upfuture challenges associated withdevelopment of FBRs and associatedclosed fuel cycle. With the supportfrom Directorate of ConstructionServices & Estate Management, aseparate FBTR Coordination Centre isbeing established at Vikram Bhavan,Anushaktinagar, Mumbai. The role bythis small team, filling the gaps in a chainof activities, is very vital and is highlyappreciated by all the colleagues atthe Centre.

To sum up, the Engineering ServicesGroup of today is a combination ofthree former groups namely,Engineering Services Group prior to1999, Technical Engineering andManagement Services Group prior to1999 and Civil Engineering Group priorto 2002. It is one of the largest groupshaving special mandates to meetvariety of demanding deliverables toIGCAR and GSO. In view of decline inthe number of experiencedmanpower, several steps are beinginitiated to outsource the works foroptimal utilisation of manpower. Withthe excellent team spirit and theprevailing matrix organizationalstructure, I am confident that thegroup will deliver the goods to a levelpar excellence, as has been thetradition within the Group. I take thisopportunity to wish my EngineeringServices colleagues all success intheir future endeavors and lookforward to record many moresuccess stories from them.

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Sodium-concrete reactions are aclass of reactions that have beenextensively studied in the context ofFast Breeder Reactor safety. It is wellknown that when hot liquid sodiumcomes in contact with structuralconcrete, an interaction takes placedue to both the thermal loading of theconcrete and the chemical reactivityof the liquid metal with theconstituents of concrete.

In spite of adequate safety measurestaken during design, fabrication andoperation stages of l iquid metalcooled fast breeder reactors there isstill a possibility of leakage of hot liquidsodium from primary and secondaryheat transport circuits of the reactorduring operation. If this spillage wereto happen in the air filled enclosuresas in the steam generator buildingsthen one would have addedcomplications due to the occurrenceof sodium fires which would raise theliquid sodium to very hightemperatures resulting in severedegradation of the structural concreteflooring. Among the severalmeasures taken to limit/eliminatesuch interactions, the use of

limestone aggregate concrete as aprotective sacrificial mortar layer overthe structural concrete flooring isbeing preferred due to its higherresistance to sodium attack. Hence,limestone aggregate concrete needsto be further qualif ied and itsperformance checked by exposingthem to conditions conforming to atypical accidental hot sodium leak thatcould occur in the steam generatorbuilding of Prototype Fast BreederReactor (PFBR). This work also formsa part of the study to check thefeasibility of whether a 50 mm thickprotective sacrificial layer of limestoneaggregate concrete would suffice toprotect the structural concrete flooringof the steam generator building ofPFBR.

In the current experiments conductedat Safety Engineering Division, hotliquid sodium maintained at ~550oCwas transferred on to the central cavityof limestone aggregate concrete testblock (Fig.1.) and allowed to interactfor a typical period of 30 minutes, thussimulating a typical accidentscenario. Both temperature profilesand weight changes were monitored

during sodium exposures. Sampleswere removed from various locationson the concrete surface for variousdepths to check for degradation(Fig.1.). Although the extent ofmechanical damage has beenestimated through several pre/posttest measurements, in this work wehave used infrared spectroscopy forthe first time to follow the extent ofthermochemical degradation ofconcrete on account of the hot sodiumattack and hence generate a depthprofile of the degradative effects. Theresults of this study would haveimplications on the design of theprotective sacrificial layers to be usedin the steam generator building ofPFBR.

It is well known that setting/degradation in cements involvesconversion of water from the free stateto a bound state or vice versa andsince infrared spectroscopy is a veryvaluable tool to probe the hydrationstate of water, the samples weresubjected to a mid infraredspectroscopic analysis. Definitesignatures of thermochemicaldegradation indicating dehydration

Infrared Spectroscopy Studyof PFBR Concrete Degradation

on Exposure to Sodium Fire

Fig.1. Schematic of concrete test block along withlocation of thermocouples and details of samples drawnfrom different depths.

Fig.2. Room temperature mid-infrared spectrum of thelimestone aggregate reference concrete along with the spectraof sodium exposed samples from various depths. The insetclearly points to a dramatic softening of the modes of waterassociated with increased intensity of low frequency mode

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and structural modification of thelimestone concrete have beenobtained for the first time using thistechnique. Control runs were carriedout to delineate the thermal effects ofsodium fires from that of the chemicalinteraction effects. Measurements onlimestone aggregate samplestreated with fused NaOH provideddirect evidence of the exactmechanism of the sodium attack onconcrete. The observed degradativeeffects were correlated to themechanical strength of the concreteblocks and to the intensity of thesodium fires.

Figure 2 shows the room temperaturemid-infrared spectrum of thelimestone aggregate referenceconcrete along with the spectra ofsodium exposed samples as afunction of depth. The spectrum of thereference sample revealedvibrational features corresponding tothe major constituent -limestone(CaCO3) in the sample. The broadabsorption feature centered around3500 cm-1 is attributed to stretchingmode of bound water in concrete. Inparticular the sharp feature at3643 cm-1 riding on the broad waterbackground is said to arise due to theO-H stretching of Ca(OH)2 - the major

hydration product of Portland cement.Estimating the area under this peakat 3643 cm-1 could follow the extent ofsetting/dehydration of cement. It isclearly evident from the Figure that thespectrum of the sodium exposedsample removed from 10 mm fromthe affected surface showsappreciable changes as compared tothat of the reference sample. Thestretching modes of water in theaffected sample reveals a significantsoftening associated with a dramaticincrease in the intensity of the lowfrequency components as comparedto that of the reference sampleFig. 3(a). The intensity of the3643 cm-1 peak corresponding toO-H stretching mode of Ca(OH)2 isalso seen to significantly decrease.These changes are understood asarising due to the loss of both freeand bound water from the concreteon account of sodium exposure, thusdegrading the concrete. Theappearance of a new mode at 1070cm-1 and the splitting of the doublydegenerate ν3 and ν4 modes indicatea structural transformation of thelimestone aggregates.

In order to generate the depth profileof the degradative effects which couldhave implications on the design of

sacrificial protective layers, thevibrational frequencies and thenormalized area of Ca(OH)2 areplotted as a function of depth from theaffected surface (Fig.3(a) and 3(b)respectively). While effects ofthermochemical degradation areevident for depths up to 30 mm fromthe affected surface (Fig.3(a)), mildeffects of dehydration are seen evenfor depths up to 50mm from theaffected surface (Fig.3(b)).

Although the degradative effects areevident upto depths of 50 mm, theeffects are still very mild and hencewe infer that under the present set ofreaction conditions, a 50 mm thickprotective sacrificial layer of limestoneaggregate concrete will suffice toprotect the structural concrete flooringin PFBR. Thus, infrared spectroscopyhas helped provide an insight into thechanges occurring at the molecularlevel, enabling a simple and reliableroute to monitor this important classof reaction.

(Reported by M. Premila,K. Sivasubramanian*, G. Amarendra

and C. S. Sundar,Materials Science Division and

*Safety Engineering Division)

Fig. 3(a). Variation of vibrational frequencies as a function of distance from affected surface. (b) shows the variation of normalizedarea of Ca(OH)2. which indicates dehydration in the samples. A,B,C and D indicate the locations on the test block from which thesamples have been drawn (refer Fig.1.). The half shaded circles indicate reference values.

(a) (b)

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BackgroundHelium utility plant to support the main heattransportation system is a part of some of the nuclearfacilities and these plants are equipped with turboexpanders. Recently, in one of the helium plants, theinstrument lines used for checking the differentialpressure between inlet and outlet side of the turboexpander developed a leak in the flexible metal tubejoint region. The instrument line is a high pressureline and was located in the midst of a number ofpipelines. Accessibility was very restricted and thusrepair of this leak joint was a challenge. The defectivetube joint was observed to be 200 mm inside the panelof the turbo expander and several system lines werefound to be in the vicinity of the defective joint. Afterdetailed deliberations taking into account, thepossibility of in situ repair etc., it was decided that thejoint region would be cut and then welded with a newtube.

The campaignIt was decided to introduce an intermediate tube oflength 50 mm and outer diameter to 12.1 mm matchthe existing connections. The objective of introducingthe intermediate tube was to compensate the shortfall in length of the existing line due to cutting and alsoto convert the positional weld joint from 2G butt joint to2F fillet weld. This change in the weld configurationwas also to ensure adequate penetration since thejoints were critical and Non Destructive Testing

techniques such as radiography or ultrasonicexamination could not be carried out due to problemsof accessibility. This implied that the welding had tobe carried out with utmost caution and with skill. Beforeproceeding to the site, preparatory works werecompleted at Central Workshop Division. One end ofthe intermediate tube was welded with metal tube andother end of the tube was welded with an existing elbowby Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process. Theseprefabricated joints were subjected to dye penetranttesting carried out as per the requirements of ASMESec V and found to be satisfactory.

The pre-fabricated tube was then taken to site and thenpositioned appropriately. Using a portable gas tungstenwelding machine and a miniature welding head andnecessary tool kit, welding was attempted. A majorchallenge during welding was the visibility of thebackside of the tube. The team used a novel approachof using an angled mirror and the welder then skillfullyand meticulously carried out the welding in 2 F positionsuccessfully. Visual inspection using the mirror wasthen carried out to ensure that the weld was satisfactory.The line was then subjected to helium leak testing andthe joints were found to be satisfactory. The workreceived appreciation from the plant personnel for theinnovative and timely repair.

(Reported by P.Sivaraman,M. Krishnamurthy and A.S.L.K.Rao,

Central Workshop Division)

Helium Utility Plant

Replacement of Flexible Metal Tubein Turbo Expander of Helium Plant

Replacedmetal tubein theHeliumPlant

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Currently, FBTR is operating at17 MWt power with four steamgenerator (SG) modules. Thecurrent operating temperatures arelow as the reactor is designed for40 MWt power and hence thecorresponding heat transfer surfaceareas are large. In order to increasethe operating temperature as muchas possible with the present smallcore, it is planned to reduce thesurface area in the SG modules. Toachieve this, it is planned to removetwo SG modules and operate thereactor with the other two SGmodules (i.e. one module per loop).It may be highlighted that the fourSG modules are placed inside aninsulated rectangular casing asshown in Fig. 1. The decay heat inthe reactor is removed by openingthe trap doors of the SG casing.With two modules not in service, thedecay heat removal capability willbe less. However, the decay poweralso would be less, as the reactoroperating power is less. It needs tobe established that the decay heatremoval capability (with two modulesalone in service) is adequate.Establishment of decay heatremoval with only two SG modules

calls for comprehensive 3-DComputational Fluid Dynamic (CFD)studies, considering the flow by-pass effects. Moreover, it is alsoessential to identify the twomodules which should be removedout of four modules, so that thedecay heat removal capability willbe the maximum for the selectedconfiguration. This is the basis forthe current study.

Mathematical ModelA 3-D CFD model of the casingalong with the SG modules hasbeen developed for theinvestigations. The outlet from theSG casing is vented to the ambientthrough a ten meter long insulatedduct. As the shape of the duct isvery complex and there is noestablished correlation for thespecification of the pressure drop forflow through this duct, the duct withinsulation is modeled completely.High Reynolds number k-eturbulence model has been used formodeling the turbulence. Naturalconvection of air inside the casingis simulated using the ideal gas law.About 2.5 lakhs structuredhexahedral mesh (Fig. 2) have been

used for the calculation. Naturalconvection of air inside the casing,radiation heat exchange betweenthe casing wall and the SG walls,heat conduction through theinsulation have been consideredsimultaneously as a conjugateproblem.

Validation of CFD ModelIt is essential to validate thepredictive capability of the CFDmodel. Towards this, thecommissioning tests conducted inthe plant have been utilized. It maybe indicated that commissioningexperiments have been carried outin the SG casing of FBTR toestimate the heat removal capacityby natural convection of air.

Computational Prediction ofDecay Heat Removal Capability ofSteam Generator Casing in FBTR

Forum for Young OfficersForum for Young OfficersForum for Young OfficersForum for Young OfficersForum for Young Officers

Fig. 1. Steam generator casing of FBTRwith all the four modules Fig. 2. Computational mesh

Shri M. Rajendra Kumar, graduatedfrom Coimbatore Institute ofTechnology with Chemical Engineeringas major in 2003. He then did hisMasters degree in Thermal Engineeringfrom Indian Institute of Technology,Madras. He is from the 3rd DGFS batchof BARC Training School. He is workingin the Thermal Hydraulics Section,Mechanics & Hydraulics Division,Nuclear Engineering Group of ReactorEngineering Group from January,2007.

Experimental data are available fortwo values of SG temperatures viz.,215oC and 350oC. These data arefor the condition that all the four SGsare in service. In order to validatethe present CFD model, simulationhas been carried out with four SGmodules with these temperatureconditions. The predicted mass flowrates of air through the inlets (viz.Inlet-1 and Inlet-2), the air outlettemperatures and the powerremoved by air are compared withthe measured data. For SG, a walltemperature of 215oC, the predictedpower removal by the induced air flowis 330.1 kW and is only 1.24 % lessthan the measured value. Similarcomparison for a 350oC SG walltemperature indicates that thepredicted power removal is 695 kWand is 3.34% less than themeasured value of 719 kW. Thus,through this study the validity of theCFD model has been established.

With all the four SG ModulesBased on whole plant thermalanalysis, it has been estimated thatwhen two modules are not inservice, the temperature of theremaining modules is 420oC duringdecay heat removal condition.Hence, all the CFD calculationshave been performed for this value

of SG wall temperature. Fig. 3.shows the predicted naturalconvective velocity pattern of airinside the casing. Lateral entry ofair into the casing, its upwardmovement over the SG walls as wellas over the casing walls and its finalexit from the casing at the top arevery well predicted by the code. Theair velocity at the entry to the casingis ~ 2 m/s and the velocity over theSG walls is of the order of 1 m/s.The bulk temperature of airincreases gradually from 40oC at thebottom of the casing to 270oC at thetop of the casing, as seen in Fig. 4.The walls of the casing are heatedby the radiation heat transfer fromthe SG modules and naturalconvection currents are set up alongthe casing walls. The temperatureof the vertical walls is higher thanthat of the horizontal ones, as theyare closer to the SG modules to offera larger view factor for radiation heattransfer. The mean temperature ofthe vertical walls is about 275oC,while the SG walls are at 420oC. Themass flow rates of air throughinlet-1 and inlet-2 are estimated tobe 1.99 and 2.10 kg/s. Thetemperature of air at the outlet ispredicted to be 235oC. Thus, thepower removal by natural convectionis 905 kW. This is base value forthe comparison of two SG cases.

With two SG Modules

Fig.5. depicts the temperaturedistribution on a vertical section forfour different cases studied alongwith the reference case. Thetemperature distribution depicts thatthe casing walls receive heat fromthe SG walls and dissipates thesame to the air, thus activelyparticipating in heat transfer due totheir large surface area. Amongcases1-4, the temperature profilesare nearly identical, with case-2having marginally higher airtemperature. A comparison is madefor the induced air flow rates, airoutlet temperature and heat removalfor all the four cases. It is seen thatthe air temperature rise in thereference case (i.e. with four SGspresent) is 235.6 oC while in all theother cases (i.e. with only two SGspresent), the temperature rise is~ 190 oC, which is about 75 % ofthe reference value. The heatremoved by air in the referenceconfiguration is 905 kW. For the twoSG cases, the heat removal variesin the range of 660 kW to 700 kW,with the maximum for case-2,wherein the middle two SG areremoved (Fig. 6). Thus, it is clearthat the decay heat removalcapability of SG casing with twomodules in service is nearly 75 %

Fig. 3. Natural convective velocity field of air inside thecasing with four modules

Fig. 4. Temperature field in air as well as ininsulation at various planes

Fig. 5. Temperature contours in a vertical plane forall the four cases

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of that with four modules,demonstrating that this option ofenhancing the primary sodiumtemperature is feasible. It is alsoseen that this value is nearlyindependent of the configuration.However, the heat removalcapability for the case 2 (Fig. 5)where the middle two SGs areremoved is marginally high. Hence,it is recommended to remove themiddle two SGs.

(M. Rajendra Kumar and hiscolleagues, Mechanics & Hydraulics

Division, Reactor Engineering Group)

A two-day Industrial Safety Workshop (ISW-2007) was organized by IGCAR in association with Indian Instituteof Chemical Engineers, Kalpakkam Chapter during November 29–30, 2007 at Sarabhai Auditorium, IGCAR.Shri M. Rajan, Director, Safety Group welcomed the gathering. The workshop was inaugurated byShri S.C. Chetal, Director, Reactor Engineering Group. Prof. (Smt.) Kalpana Balakrishnan, Head, Departmentof Environmental Health Engineering, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health, ShriRamachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai delivered the key note lecture on EmergingPrinciples in Integrated Occupational Health and Safety Management. Shri S.C. Chetal released the souvenirand soft copy of the proceedings. Prof . (Smt.) Kalpana Balakrishnan received the first copy. About two hundreddelegates from IGCAR, BARC(F), MAPS and BHAVINI participated in the workshop. Fourteen experts fromDAE and other institutes delivered invited lectures. The workshop covered expert lectures on safety in materialhanding including AERB guidelines, Ergonomics emphasizing its need in work place for safe, comfortable andeffective human use, Safety requirement during chemical processing and the Atomic Energy factory rules andits importance in enforcing safety in work place. Dr. K.K. Satpathy delivered vote of thanks.

(Reported by K.K. Satpathy,Environmental & Industrial Safety Section, Safety Group)

Fig. 6 Comparison ofheat removal for allthe four cases alongwith the referencecase

Shri. S.C.Chetal, Director, REG, delivering the inaugural address

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Conference/ Meeting Highlights

Industrial Safety Workshop - ISW-2007 November 29-30, 2007

Sustaining Global Pressures:Women in Science and Engineering

Next Generation Challenges andOpportunities - SGPW-2008

January 3-5, 2008

The international symposium on “Sustaining Global Pressures – Women inScience and Engineering” (SGPW 2008), organized at Kalpakkam by IndianWomen Scientists’ Association (IWSA) Kalpakkam Branch, was inauguratedby Dr.Kaiser Jamil, President, Third World Organisation for Women in Science(TWOWS). Dr.Junko Ogawa, Global President, Women in Nuclear (WIN),Japan, delivered the keynote address. Dr.Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR presidedover the function. Smt. Uma Seshadri, Head, Planning Division andChairperson, SGPW 2008 welcomed the gathering, Dr.S.S.Raj,

DAE Anu Week-2008February 15-19, 2008

Co-Chairperson, gave a briefsummary of the activities of IWSAin Kalpakkam over the years.Dr.R.Sandhya, Convenor, SGPW2008 proposed the vote of thanks.There were eight sessions whichincluded Women Scientists inDeveloped and DevelopingCountries, Women as DecisionMakers, Next GenerationChallenges and Opportunities,Women’s Legislation, Motivating theGirl Child to a Career in Science andTechnology, Women andEnvironment, WomenEntrepreneurship and Women’sRole in Rural Development, witheach session dwelling on thechallenges, opportunities and pitfallsin each of the themes. All thethemes were dealt upon byspecialists in the respective fieldsincluding eminent personalities likeDr.(Smt.)Y.G.Parthasarathy andDr. Reena Ramachandran. Thesymposium concluded with a paneldiscussion which came out with aset of resolutions to be forwarded tothe Department of Science andTechnology for scrutiny.

(Reported by R .Sandhya andMary N.Mohankumar,

Organising Committee,SGPW-2008)

The Public Relations Activities Implementation Committee (PRAIC) of IGCARorganized the regional annual event of DAE viz. ‘Anu Week Celebrations’ this year atPSG College of Technology, Coimbatore during February 15-19, 2008 on the theme‘Nuclear Energy for Global Edge’. The week-long celebrations included the DAE’s5-day participatory exhibition and 3-day workshop for school science educators,besides bilingual elocution, essay and quiz competitions and cartoon contest. Theworkshop was inaugurated by Dr.W.Selvamurthy, Chief Controller of

R & D, DRDO. Dr. Baldev Raj,Director, IGCAR gave a specialaddress. Dr.M.R.Srinivasan,Member-AEC, Dr.K.S.Parthasarathy,former Secretary, AERB and RajaRamanna Fellow, DAE andDr. S.K.Malhotra, Head, PAD, DAEdelivered the plenary lectures at theteachers’ Workshop. Themultifaceted applications of radiationand radioisotopes in power and non-power sectors l ike healthcare,agriculture, industry and foodprocessing were covered by theresource persons from IGCAR, SRI,BARC and DAE. The participantswere taken to the PSG Hospitals forfirst-hand knowledge on the uses ofradiation in human health care anddiagnosis. Dr.H.S.Kushwaha,Director, Health, Safety andEnvironment Groups, BARCdelivered the valedictory addressand distributed the prizes.

(Reported byJ. Daniel Chellappa

and P.V.Ramalingam, PRAIC)

Dr. Baldev Raj, delivering the presidential address

Dr.M.R.Srinivasan, Member-AEC and Dr.W.Selvamurthy, Chief Controller-R&D, DRDO with Dr.Baldev Raj,Director, IGCAR, Shri P.V.Ramalingam, Director, ROMG and PSG authorities during the inauguration

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Theme meeting on “Small Specimen Mechanical Testing”February 25, 2008

A one day theme meeting on “Small Specimen Mechanical Testing” was held on February 25, 2008 at IGCARunder the auspices of the Indian Institute of Metals, Kalpakkam Chapter. The main aim of the theme meeting was todisseminate the knowledge and trends in the current practices in this emerging field of mechanical testing. A total ofseven lectures were delivered by speakers from IGCAR, BARC, Mumbai and IIT, Chennai. Beginning with introductoryremarks by Dr P R Vasudeva Rao, Director of Metallurgy and Materials Group, the first lecture was on the historicalevolution of the small specimen mechanical testing which was delivered by Shri K V Kasiviswanathan. He presenteda broad perspective of various test techniques and their genesis, the progresses and the recent developments in eachof the test techniques. The next talk on the specifics of Small punch technique and the experiences on the use of Smallpunch for fracture toughness evaluation was delivered by Dr. S. Chatterjee, BARC. The third talk was on the use ofnovel methods for evaluating the fatigue properties presented by Dr Raghu Prakash of IIT, Chennai, wherein the use ofcyclic ball-indentation for fatigue property evaluation was discussed in detail. The afternoon session was deliberatedby four speakers with more focus on ball-indentation technique and recent developments in SP Creep testing.Shri E Ramadasan highlighted the small specimen testing activities at BARC while Dr MD Mathew shared hisexperiences on the unique applications of ball-indentation techniques. The last talk was delivered by Shri V Karthik onthe experimental programmes and the results of small specimens test activities at IGCAR. In the course of themeeting, there were discussions on the experimental approaches and analysis techniques used by different groups,and on the need for developing a common code of practice for such novel test techniques. The theme meeting wasfinally summed up by Shri K V Kasiviswanathan, where he stressed on importance of carrying out various round robinexercises between the different working groups within the country for arriving at an accepted code of practice.

(Reported by V. Karthik, PIED)

BRNS sponsored Workshop on “Physics and Mechanicsof Advanced Structural Materials” (PMASM-2008)

March 27-29, 2008

A three day BRNS sponsored workshop on “Physics and Mechanics of Advanced Structural Materials” was held duringMarch 27-29, 2008 at Convention Centre, Anupuram, organized by UGC-DAE CSR, Anupuram and IGCAR. The purposeof the workshop is to familiarize the academic faculty from various universities and academic institutes with the on-going research work on advanced structural materials at IGCAR and to identify common themes of research programmesfor collaborative research. About forty senior faculties from various eminent institutes such as Indian Institutes ofTechnology, Indian Institute of Science, National Institutes of Technology, Indian Statistical Institute, Anna University,PSG College of Technology participated. Shri S.C. Chetal, Director, Reactor Engineering Group, IGCAR inauguratedthe workshop and delivered the inaugural lecture on “Design and Materials Challenges for Fast Reactor Programme”.An overview of the programmes of UGC-DAE CSR was given by Dr. P. Chaddah, Director, UGC-DAE CSR. The technicalsessions commenced with two overview talks by Dr. P. R. Vasudeva Rao, Director, Chemistry, Metallurgy & MaterialsGroup and Dr. Ajay Gupta, Centre Director, UGC-DAE CSR, Indore Centre. Dr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR, addressedthe gathering on “Synergy between UGC-DAE CSR and IGCAR”. There were nine technical sessions dealing withAdvanced Structural Materials, Structural Mechanics & High Temperature Design, Mechanical Properties, Microstructure,Corrosion & Coatings, Robotics, Modeling & Deformation Processes, Welding Science & Technology and Non-destructive Evaluation. In each of these technical sessions, there were talks by experts from academic institutes aswell as from IGCAR, highlighting expertise and facilities available and current trends in the research. A visit to variouslaboratories in IGCAR was also organized for the participants. In the concluding session, various programmes thatcould be considered for collaborative research under the aegis of UGC-DAE CSR were identified.

(Reported by T. Jayakumar, Convenor, PMASM-2008)

Delegates of PMASM workshop from various academic institutes and IGCAR.

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Inauguration of UGC-DAE CSR Node at Anupuram

Dr. Baldev Raj, inaugurating the UGC-DAE CSR,Anupuram Node

IGCAR and UGC-DAE Consortium for ScientificResearch, Indore (UGC-DAE-CSR) had signed anMOU on January 16, 2007 to collaborate in the areasof Physical, Chemical and Engineering Sciences (IGCNews Letter, Vol. 72, April 2007). This collaborativeventure was taken to the next level with the inauguration

Dr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR, Dr. P. Chaddah, Director,UGC-DAE CSR along with (L to R) Dr. G. Amarendra,Dr. P. R. Vasudeva Rao, Director, Chemistry, Metallurgy& Materials Group,Dr. T. Jayakumar, Head , NDEDShri Y.C. Manjunatha, Director, Engineering Services Group,Dr. C.S. Sundar, Head, MSD

5th International Conferenceon

Creep, Fatigue andCreep-Fatigue Interaction

September 24-26, 2008The 5th international conference on Creep, Fatigue and Creep-Fatigue Interaction (CF-5) will be held at Indira Gandhi Centrefor Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, during September 24-26,2008. CF-5 is being organised jointly by The Indian Institute ofMetals (IIM), Kalpakkam Chapter and Metal Sciences Division.It is being sponsored by the Board of Research in NuclearSciences (BRNS), co-sponsored by The Japan Society ofMechanical Engineers (JSME) and The Society of MaterialsScience, Japan (JSMS). The conference aims to provide aforum for interaction among scientists and engineers fromnational institutes, R&D laboratories and academic institutionsworking in the areas of creep, fatigue and creep-fatigueinteraction behaviour of materials. The conference wouldhave several technical sessions in which contributed papersas well as invited talks by leading specialists from variouscountries will be presented.

For more information, please contactDr. M.D. Mathew, Convenor, CF-5Head, Creep Studies Section, Mechanical Metallurgy DivisionIndira Gandhi Centre for Atomic ResearchKalpakkam - 603 102Email: cf5@igcar.gov.inhttp://www.igcar.gov.in/seminars/cf5http://www.cf5.co.in

Theme Meetingon

Recent Advances in Post-IrradiationExamination (PIE) “RAP-2008”

May 22-24, 2008

The theme meeting will cover allthe aspects from fuel design,fuel fabrication, pre-irradiationcharacterization, post-irradiationexaminations on fuel and structuralmaterial and advances in PIEtechniques and design of in-cellequipments etc. The proposed thememeeting on “Recent Advances in PIE”is expected to bring together severalexperts in the department working in the above areas. This meetingwill serve as a forum to review the current understanding in theirrespective field, identify the challenges ahead and draw a roadmap for future work.For more information please contactShri N.G. Muralidharan, Convenor - RAP-2008Post-Irradiation Examination DivisionIndira Gandhi Centre for Atomic ResearchKalpakkam - 603 102

Tel: 044-27480122 Fax: 044-27480356Res: 044-27483101 Cell: 9442181604E-mail: ngm@igcar.gov.in http://www.igcar.gov.in/seminars/rap2008.pdf

Forthcoming Symposia and Conferences

of the premises of UGC-DAE CSR, Anupuram Nodeby Dr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR on March 27, 2008,in the presence of Dr. P. Chaddah, Director, UGC-DAECSR and other senior colleagues from IGCAR andfaculty members from various academic institutes.This will house sophisticated experimental and

computational facilities that will provide access toUniversity researchers across the country throughcollaborative research mode as well as one-timeusers. The inauguration coincided with the organizationof a BRNS sponsored workshop on “Physics andMechanics of Advanced Structural Materials” duringMarch 27-29, 2008 organized by UGC-DAE CSR,Anupuram and IGCAR, Kalpakkam.

(Reported by G. Amarendra, MSD)

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Dr. M.R.Srinivasan, Member-AEC, withDr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR during

the discussion meeting

Dr. M.R.Srinivasan, Member-AEC and Former Chairman, AEC visited theCentre during 25-26 January, 2008 and held discussions with Seniorcolleagues of the Centre. He also interacted with the Trainee ScientificOfficers and Junior Research Fellows in the Training School HostelPremises.

Prof. Rajan Gupta, LANL andDr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCARsharing a point during discussion

Prof. Rajan Gupta, Group Leader, Elementary Particles and Field theoryat Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA visited the Centre during 31

January and 1 February, 2008. He briefed the senior member of IGCARon the R&D activities at LANL and visited the laboratories in Materials

Sciences Division, Safety Group, Chemistry Group and BHAVINI. He helddiscussions with Scientists and Engineers on Global Energy Issues.

Prof. Rajan Gupta also gave a lecture on “Global Energy Systems-Opportunities and Challenges”.

Dr. Casimir Pierre Zaleski, Executive Director, Centre for Geopolitics ofEnergy and Raw Materials, University Paris Dauphine, France and Mrs.Ann Zaleski visited the Centre during 14 -15 February, 2008. Dr. Zaleskiheld discussions with various senior colleagues of the Centre andvisited the Facilities in Fast Breeder Test Reactor, BHAVINI, Safety Groupand Fast Reactor Technology Group. Dr. Zaleski spoke on “Fast NeutronReactor: Past, Present and Future”.

A delegation from United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)led by Dr.James Edward Lyons visited Kalpakkam during 3-4 March, 2008.This visit was a part of periodic bilateral exchange of visits between USNRC

and AERB. The team was interested to know about project management andsafe work culture while executing major nuclear reactor projects and

expressed their appreciation of our approach in managing the BHAVINIproject.

A Norwegian- Swedish delegation visited Kalpakkam during 28-29 March,2008. During the visits there were presentations by the visiting team onThorium Utilisation by Dr.Anders Hermansson, Swedish WasteManagement Programme by Dr.Tomas Lefvert Vattenfal and TitaniumProduction by Dr.Bard Sæthre. From the Indian Side, Shri S.C.Chetal,Director, Reactor Engineering Group gave an overview of status of FBRs inthe country and Dr.P. Mohanakrishnan, Head, Reactor Physics Division, REGelaborated on the Thorium utilization in Fast Breeder Reactors. Thedelegation visited Fast Breeder Test Reactor, BHAVINI, Safety Group andFast Reactor Technology Group. The delegation has indicated that anambitious plan of utilizing the thorium resources is being pursued.

&EVENTSNEWSVisits of Important Dignitaries

Dr. Zaleski, Executive Director, Centrefor Geopolitics of Energy and Raw

Materials, University Paris Dauphine,France and Mrs.Zaleski with

Shri S.C.Chetal, Director, REG

Team members of the USNRC delegationwith Shri S.C.Chetal, Director, REG

Senior scientists from IGCAR holdingdiscussions with the visiting

Norwegian-Swedish Delegation

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Prof. Siegfried Hecker, Co-Director, Centre forInternational Security and Cooperation, StanfordUniversity, Dr.Gordon Jarvinen, Deputy Director,Seaborg Institute, Los Alamos National Laboratoryand Dr. Chaim Braun, Science fellow, StanfordUniversity visited the Centre during 20-21 March 2008and held discussions with senior scientists andmade presentations on Fundamental Physics andMetallurgy of Plutonium and Plutonium Alloys (Prof.Hecker), Fundamental Chemistry of Separations andbonding (Dr.Jarvinen) and Advanced ReactorProgrammes from Industry Perspective (Dr. Braun).The delegates also visited various facilities at theCentre.

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23 Research Scholars from University Institute ofChemical Technology, Mumbai visited IGCAR duringMarch 3-7, 2008 to hold discussions with senior scientistsand to explore areas for undertaking collaborative projectsrelevant to the programmes and mission of the Centre.

A Group of 20 budding Mechanical Engineers from theSociety of Mechanical Engineering, Chennai, visited theCentre on March 7, 2008.

Students from Indian Institute of Technology Madras doingtheir Masters degree in various engineering disciplinesvisited the Centre on March 28, 2008.

&HonoursAwards The following members were appointed as

Adjunct Professors of PSG College ofTechnology, Coimbatore

Dr. P.R. Vasudeva Rao,Chemistry and Metallurgy & Materials GroupDr. P. ChellapandiReactor Engineering GroupDr. T. JayakumarNon-Destructive Evaluation DivisionShri. S.A.V. Satya MurtyComputer DivisionDr. K.S. ViswanathanMaterials Chemistry DivisionDr. B. VenkataramanQuality Assurance DivisionDr. U. Kamachi MudaliCorrosion Science and Technology DivisionDr. G. Amarendra,Materials Science DivsionDr. P. Shankar,Materials Science DivisionDr. M. Sai Baba,Strategic and Human ResourcesPlanning Section

Dr. Baldev Raj has been Elected as Memberof German National Academy of Sciences.He has been awarded the DistinguishedAlumni Award for sustained excellence inScience & Technology by the Indian Instituteof Science, Bengaluru. He has been electedas Vice President, Materials ResearchSociety of India (2008-2011).Dr. Baldev Raj has been appointed as AdjunctProfessor of PSG College of Technology,Coimbatore and University Institute ofChemical Technology, University of Mumbai.Dr. P.R. Vasudeva Rao, has been appointed asAdjunct Professor of University Institute ofChemical Technology, University of Mumbai.

The editorial responsibility of the IGC Newsletter has been entrusted to a new committee. The committee under the chairmanshipof Dr. P.R. Vasudeva Rao, has worked relentlessly in bringing out the news letter in time and with improved quality for each of theissues. The contributions of the members of the editorial committee: Dr.G. Amarendra, Shri M. Ganapathy, Dr.K.V.G.Kutty,Dr. Mary Mohankumar, Shri G. Padma Kumar, Shri Shekar Kumar, Shri M. Somasekharan, Shri R. Srinivasan, Shri R.V. Subba Raoand Shri K.V. Suresh Kumar is greatly acknowledged.

The new committee with the following members is taking over the responsibility from the next issue:Dr. M. Sai Baba, Convenor, Editorial Committee Members: Shri Utpal Borah, Dr. K. Ananthasivan, Dr. K.K. Satpathy,

Shri N. Desigan, Shri S. Varadharajan, Dr. Vidya Sundararajan, Shri C. Jayakumar and Shri J. Daniel Chellappa.

Dr. Gordon Jarvinen, Dr.Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR,Dr. Chaim Braun, Prof. Siegfried Hecker, Dr. P.R.Vasudeva Rao,

Director, CG & MMG, Dr.C.S.Sundar, Head, MSD andDr.M.Sai Baba, Head, SIRD and S&HRPS during the presentations

at Ramanna Auditorium

UICT students interacting withDr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR

Students visit