Category: Nuclear
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Real-time thermal diffusion models for the ITER plasma-facing components (paid internship)
General Introduction on nuclear fusion (reading is strongly advised!) ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is the world’s largest fusion experiment, currently under construction in Cadarache, France. It aims to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a large-scale, carbon-free energy source by producing ten times more energy than it consumes. Ensuring the structural integrity of
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Development and optimization of stepping algorithm and motion control for piezoelectric walking drives
General Introduction on nuclear fusion (reading is strongly advised!) Piezoelectric walking drives are used in the DTT ECRH launcher to drive the steering mirror. These systems include a set of piezoelectric stack actuators that produce a walking motion on a slider, thus moving it longitudinally. The actuators are currently controlled by a proprietary board. However,
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Remote Centre of Motion Compliant Mechanisms as supports for ECRH mirrors
General Introduction on nuclear fusion (reading is strongly advised!) The goal of this activity is to improve the current design of the DTT ECRH mirror flexible supports (see Figure 3). These components are flexible monolithic structures, which allow large rotations of the mirror about its horizontal axis, while being very stiff with respect to all
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Haptically controlled robots for remote handling of nuclear waste in hot cells
This thesis focuses on the development of a remotely controlled robotic system for use in hot cells, shielded environments designed for handling radioactive materials. Due to the presence of high radiation, operations inside hot cells are performed using remote handling systems. These typically involve mechanical tele-manipulators, which work on the principle of “mirroring” the operator’s
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Development of a statically balanced Remote Centre of Motion flexure pivot
General Introduction on nuclear fusion (reading is strongly advised!) Flexure pivots are monolithic devices that can undergo large rotations about one axis, while being very stiff with respect to all other degrees of freedom. Remote Centre of Motion flexure pivots, like the one shown in Figure 3, allow rotations about a virtual axis that is
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Digital-twin-based characterization of thermo-mechanical properties of tungsten-coated ceramic samples
General Introduction on nuclear fusion (reading is strongly advised!) In order to reduce the mechanical stress experienced by the launching mirror due to the intense magnetic fields inside the reactor, a promising design solution involves fabricating the steering mirror from a thermally conductive ceramic substrate and subsequently applying a microwave-reflective tungsten coating, instead of realizing
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Looking through the wall. Virtual reality for remote handing of radioactive samples in hot cells
This thesis explores an innovative solution to improve visual feedback during operations in hot cells, shielded environments used for handling radioactive materials. Due to the high levels of radiation, all operations inside these enclosures must be performed remotely, typically through mechanical manipulators based on a “mirroring” principle, where the operator’s movements outside the cell are