Securing the Safe Performance of Graphite Reactor Cores

Gareth Neighbour is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering at the University of Hull and has been involved with the nuclear industry since 1989. He completed his PhD at the University of Bath in collaboration with the Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories of the then CEGB on the topic of Microstructural Processes Leading to Fracture in Nuclear graphite in 1992 and has maintained a strong interest in nuclear graphites ever since. He joined the Department of Engineering at the University of Hull in February 2001 from the University of Bath where he formed and then led the internationally recognised Bath Nuclear Materials Group. During five years at Bath, he saw his group thrive to hold a broad range of contracts by providing an independent research and development activity to the nuclear power industry including the regulator and the IAEA. Prior to this, during 1992-1996, he worked for AEA Technology at their Windscale plant where, amongst other things, he worked on post-irradiation evaluation of reactor fuel. Gareth has in excess of 60 open literature publications as well as a similar number of substantive and definitive industrial reports for external organisations covering a diverse range of subjects from modelling dimensional change in irradiated moderator graphites to product development and in particular, redundancy in design. Currently, Gareth's research activity falls under the banner of "Materials and Process Performance". The main thrust is the effectiveness of UK gas-cooled reactor core designs, particularly the functionality of core components to support life extension using various modelling and analytical techniques. Coupled with this is his interest in policy formulation using a systems approach for radioactive materials treatment, waste minimisation and decommissioning and in particular, the effect of risk assessment methodology has on environmental and societal decision making.