• Question: What are things you do as a nuclear engineer?

    Asked by anon-74500 on 12 May 2020.
    • Photo: Nicola Grahamslaw

      Nicola Grahamslaw answered on 12 May 2020:

      Hello! I used to be a nuclear engineer. To be honest there are lots of options!
      In my own job, I was a thermal analyst in a safety team. This meant I used computers to make simulations of the cooling inside the reactors, calculating how the gas flowing around would change the temperatures of the bits of hot metal the gas was flowing past. We would then use the results of these computer calculations to help decide what temperature limits were safe for various components, ie how hot should they be allowed to get? Then the components had temperature sensors so that we could keep an eye on things – the combination of the sensors and our calculations were used to prove whether the reactor was safe to keep running and generating electricity.
      Depending on your interests there would be other options, for example calculating how much fuel needs to go in based on nuclear physics, if you were interested in structures and materials there are some really interesting problems there you could work on, being part of the team that actually make the safety rules (so figuring out how to decide what the rules should be), the people actually at the stations operating them, the people designing new stations and new fuel, and much more.

    • Photo: Robert Wild

      Robert Wild answered on 12 May 2020:

      We have lots of Engineers working in our industry and most are either Civil, Electrical or Mechanical.
      As like most industries the engineering principles are the same and it may only be 10% of your job that is specific to your industry.
      So in my case I work in decommissioning , I design equipment and systems to help retrieve nuclear wastes for degrading buildings and safely store it. Most engineers would recognise most of my day job but we have the increased factor of safety as any error in the nuclear industry could be catastrophic. We also have to deal with radiation and contamination both of which are invisible factors which can cause engineers huge problems. Which mean we may need to use robots or people in special suits.

    • Photo: Helen Taylor

      Helen Taylor answered on 12 May 2020:

      Anything you want! Mechanical, civil, electrical, materials, manufacturing, stress, design and chemical engineers all work in the nuclear industry as well as physicists, mathematicians, projects managers and many other roles. I’m a materials engineer and I make sure the materials in nuclear reactor behave as expected. I support manufacturing and welding to make sure that any changes to the material are ok

    • Photo: Gillian Steele

      Gillian Steele answered on 12 May 2020:

      Hi, I have not been involved with any nuclear projects myself but as a Geotechnical Engineer, I would look at the ground conditions and foundations (there are lots of different types) for the various buildings and equipment that would be required for a nuclear plant. We would initially look at what the ground is made up of (i.e. the geology) through investigations and then determine what the most suitable foundation solution might be.

    • Photo: Rob Husband

      Rob Husband answered on 13 May 2020:

      I don’t work in the nuclear engineering field but the control systems i work on for rail are used in a variety of industries. SCADA systems as they are known (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) are used in a lot of industries including nuclear energy and they basically involved computer controlled hardware known as PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) which provide the computer system relevant machine data, for example, the reactor temperature or control rod position. PLCs also allow control over certain mechanical or electronic parts. Also as these systems are in a safety critical environment there is a backup system and an emergency system in case the main and standby systems fail.

    • Photo: Rosina Simmons

      Rosina Simmons answered on 13 May 2020:

      Nuclear power plants are very complicated, so there is probably every engineering job role you can think of on a nuclear power site, that could make you a Nuclear Engineer. The below is very simplified of everyone’s roles, but here’s an idea:

      – Chemical engineers maintain about the very precise conditions in the reactor core and the water in the various heating loops.
      – Mechanical engineers will look at the steam and water flow around the heating loops and turbines, and the bearings that turbines sit in, and the cranes the move heavy fuel around the reactor hall.
      – Civil engineers make sure the buildings, with all the concrete and steel rebar, are in good condition.
      – Electrical engineers will ensure that the electricity being generated is the right frequency and voltage (they balance the output to meet the changing demands of the electrical grid, it’s pretty tricky!)
      – Electronic engineers will look at all computer systems, sensors and feedback loops to make sure they are working as they should.

      When a nuclear power site is being built, geotechnical engineers are used to make sure that the ground is properly prepared for the very heavy buildings and make sure they still stay standing if there’s an earthquake. And we chat with all the above engineers who will design the turbines, the core, the computer systems and the buildings they go in.

    • Photo: David Linsell

      David Linsell answered on 13 May 2020:

      May I discuss ethics in Engineering? The original question is very good and the question was put by someone who is open to the idea of Nuclear Power, but we should recognise that there may be some people who are not comfortable with Nuclear in anything. Whether it is power production or weapons. Although they may accept the use of nuclear substances in the treatment of cancers. Putting Nuclear to one side, everything that man creates can be used for good purposes or bad. Even the humble wheel, when used normally brings great advantages to us all, bikes, cars, lorries, planes etc. A Good use. But using that same vehicle and wheel with bad intent to kill people does society no favours. In all areas of science and engineering, the ethical question is always not, “Should we invent/develop this idea?”, but, “How should the idea be developed and controlled for the good of all?”. Even nuclear weapons fall within this idea. They exist, we cannot un-invent them. They have been successful in the Deterrent role. Since August 1945 no nuclear armed power has used their weapons because the consequences of retaliation are so severe. Even so there are continuous efforts to reduce weapon stockpiles and impose other limitations.
      As engineers we all have determine our own ethical standpoint and that there may be some industries that we do not want to work in. I served in the armed forces and so I am comfortable with nuclear power and, albeit to a lesser extent, nuclear weapons. However, I would not want to work for a company processing and promoting tobacco products.
      What are your ethical boundaries?

    • Photo: Asha Panchal

      Asha Panchal answered on 13 May 2020:

      Hi Sanya,
      I’m a civil engineer and at the moment civil engineers are working hard at Hinkley Point C in Somerset to make space for the 2 nuclear reactors which will generate electricity to offset huge amounts of carbon emissions each year. Some of the works going on include the building of a massive sea wall, and the clearing/flattening of land to make way for the site and road networks.
      If I worked at Hinkley Point C, my work could involve designing some of the infrastructure like the sea wall or tunnels. Or I could be out on site, making sure that everything is being built to the specification.
      So although I am not a “nuclear engineer”, any engineering discipline will end up contributing to the built environment, sustainable development and renewable energy.

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