About Us

The current UNB Nuclear Group was founded in 1992 by Dr. Derek Lister, Professor Emeritus and Research Chair in Nuclear Engineering in UNB’s department of Chemical Engineering. Our membership in early 2019 consists of four technical support staff and ten graduate students, boasting a strong international presence. Our research interests range from the chemistry and corrosion of power system coolants to the fouling of heat exchanger circuits and the processing of used nuclear fuel.

Industry and Government Collaborations:

UNB Nuclear is funded by Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the CANDU Owners Group (COG) and collaborates extensively with other industry and government partners, both in Canada and internationally.  Among our international partners are the Commissariat  à  l’énergie atomique et aux  énergies alternatives (CEA) in Cadarache, France, and the Japan Energy Agency (JEA) in Tokyo, and we have commercial research ties with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in the US and Kurita Water Industries in Japan and Germany.

Some facts about us

High Pressure-Temperature Circulating Water Loops
5
Current Research Team Members
14
Publications (and more)
200
Graduated Students (and more)
50

Our Team

Dr. Derek Lister
Professor Emeritus and Research Chair in Nuclear Engineering
Dr. Derek Lister
Professor Emeritus and Research Chair in Nuclear Engineering
Lihui Liu
Research Scientist
Lihui Liu
Research Scientist
Naravit Leaukosol
Research Engineer
Naravit Leaukosol
Research Engineer
Sarita Weerakul
Research Engineer
Sarita Weerakul
Research Engineer
Siddharth Raval
Research Engineer
Siddharth Raval
Research Engineer
Junlin Huang
Postdoctoral Fellow
Junlin Huang
Postdoctoral Fellow
More

Research Areas

Surface Scalloping

Understanding the phenomena responsible for the corrosion/erosion patterns (“scallops”) on surfaces undergoing flow accelerated corrosion.

Spent Nuclear Fuel

Developing mixed processing schemes for used nuclear fuel.

Oxide Dissolution

Determining dissolution and precipitation kinetics of corrosion-product oxides, e.g., magnetite and nickel ferrites, in high-temperature water.

Model Validation

Developing and validating a mechanistic model to predict flow-accelerated corrosion, accounting for parameters such as fluid flow, oxide dissolution, etc.

Activity Transport

Modelling material and radionuclide, i.e., 60Co, 58Co, 54Mn, 51Cr, 55Fe, etc., transport around a CANDU primary coolant circuit.

Heat Exchanger Fouling

Settling uncertainties in the models for fouling of heat transfer surfaces in water systems by particulate oxides.

Iron Concentration Effects

Investigating the influence of iron saturation on FAC via online sampling techniques in recirculating water loop experiments.

Inhibitor Chemistry

Determining mechanisms by which possible inhibitors for FAC of carbon steel are incorporated in the surface oxide.

Monitoring FAC

Developing on-line instruments for the monitoring of flow accelerated corrosion (FAC).

More about us

If you are a student, find out more about our previous work

Publication List

If you would like to collaborate with us, find more about our facilities

Experimental Facilities

Financial Support

We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and CANDU Owners Group (COG).

Cette recherche a été financée par le Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles et en Génie du Canada (CRSNG) et par CANDU Owners Group (COG).