Page 18 - Thermal Hydraulics Aspects of Liquid Metal Cooled Nuclear Reactors

Preface

It has always been in the back of my mind
Dreaming about going to the corners of time
I always wanted to fly in strange machines
“Strange Machines” (the Gathering)

In 2012, we embarked on a trip that finally led to the compilation of this textbook.
We took the initiative to set up a new European collaborative project in the frame of
liquid-metal-cooled nuclear reactors. This project is called “thermal-hydraulic Simu-
lations and Experiments for the Safety Assessment of MEtal-cooled reactors”
(SESAME). One of the main outcomes of this project should be a textbook to support
students, young professionals, and other people interested in the topic of nuclear
liquid-metal thermal hydraulics.
This textbook is the resulting team effort of a collection of experts in the field
explaining the state of the art. In addition, the challenges we are still facing in our field
are described. We hope that this textbook will be helpful to you, as a reader, and we
hope that you will pass our and your knowledge along to colleagues and other inter-
national experts.
Before you start reading the book, let me take the opportunity to acknowledge the
people who played an essential role in the compilation of this book. First of all, many
thanks to the European Commission who funded the SESAME collaborative project in
2015. Special thanks to Roger Garbil of the European Commission who always
supported us in our endeavors. Of course, I should thank all the participants in the
SESAME project; these are too numerous to mention here, but you know who you
are. You made this all happen. You joined our “strange machine” and made this pro-
ject a very special one. You joined on special events like the memorable concert of the
Italian heavy (liquid) metal band Blue Hour Ghosts in the reactor hall in Brasimone.
There is also a sad note. Unfortunately, just before finishing the first draft of this book,
we received the message that our SESAME colleague and great scientist, Prof. Jan
Vierendeels, suddenly passed away. He will always be in our memories as the unique
person he was. Many thanks to the SESAME project coordination team existing of
Afaque Shams, Abdalla Batta, Vincent Moreau, Ivan Di Piazza, Antoine
Gerschenfeld, and Philippe Planquart under the excellent lead of Mariano Tarantino.
Finally, many thanks also to our transatlantic collaborators who enrich our work by
adding their own expertise and contributions. Special thanks to Elia Merzari and Dave
Pointer being the main representatives of our US colleagues.
Personal thanks go out to a very special colleague. She not only typically shares my
ideas but also constructively expresses her own opinion and vision. Katrien Van