Ural Federal University: Engineering Center Presented a Virtual Simulator for a Nuclear Reactor Irradiator

The presentation of the new virtual simulator project of the Engineering Center for Digital Machine Building Technologies (ECDMBT) of Ural Federal University took place at the conference “Logos: Practice of Experts in Engineering Software” of the State Atomic Energy Corporation “Rosatom”.

Victor Shaposhnikov, head of the department at the Ural Federal University Engineering Center, shared his experience in creating a virtual simulator of the BOR-60 reactor irradiation device for one of the nuclear industry companies. The work to create a digital duplicate of accelerated out-of-reactor and reactor tests of candidate materials involved the development and implementation of a virtual simulation of personnel actions when assembling the irradiation device according to a specific scenario.

“To create a virtual twin, our center developed a virtual environment to simulate operator interaction with experimental irradiation material test facilities. The developed virtual simulator reproduces user interaction at three stages of assembly: segment, suspension and irradiation unit as a whole. The user-friendly interface of our application allows you to master the simulator in a short period of time and then transfer the virtual experience into reality,” said project manager Ilya Starodubtsev.

The innovative simulator allows tracking user errors and practicing the scenario of reactor irradiation device assembly in a virtual format. Among the advantages of virtual simulators over existing methods are clarity, interactivity and the absence of consumables due to the use of computer technology. In addition, the technology showed transparency of the result and process, which allows the user to track and eliminate errors before critical situations occur.