Bristol – Canada Nuclear Partnership

Canada is a world leader in many fields of nuclear engineering, most notably their cutting edge inspection techniques. The province of Ontario houses almost all the commercial and research reactors along with supporting institutions and academic centres of excellence. Over the last five years I have kept abreast of Canada’s inspection developments and established close relationships with key Canadian researchers from: industry (Ontario Power Generation, OPG), academia (University of Toronto) and government institutions (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories). Through my own academic work and involvement with the UK’s inspection community I have identified great opportunities for nuclear research collaboration between Bristol and Canada. These opportunities revolve around mutual capabilities and needs. For example: OPG has developed agile robotic systems for acoustic inspection of complex 3D parts which would find use in many UK high value engineering sectors, including nuclear. My group at UoB has invented powerful imaging algorithms which drastically increase conventional imaging performance leading to higher inspection confidence and reduced costs. Combining the expertise of both would lead to a new world-class inspection methodology. The proposed visits will: identify joint research projects, learn about securing funding from Canadian funding bodies and expand UoB’s network with a world leader in nuclear technologies, an area of increasing funding in the UK.