Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Giovanna Nucci ’25
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE
ENGINEERING
INNOVATION AND A
NEW ENERGY FUTURE
PROJECT TITLE
B10-pellet Fluidized Bed
for D-He3 Fusion Reactor
Shielding
ORGANIZATION(S)
Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Samuel Cohen,
Director, Program in
Plasma Science and
Technology, Princeton
Plasma Physics
Laboratory
Neutron shielding is essential to protect fusionreactor
components from damage. Energy
from the neutron bombardment and from
radiation must be extracted from the shielding
at high efficiency for conversion to electricity.
I researched whether shielding in the form of a
fluidized bed of B-10 pellets contained between
two concentric nonconducting cylinders can
solve many problems faced by historical neutron
shielding designs whose primary function
was tritium breeding. I worked with another
Princeton student to conduct simulations using
CFD-ANSYS software to understand fluid flow
and discrete element method simulations to
understand particle behavior. The simulations
were then compared to a single-cylinder
simple setup that used a fast camera for data
collection. We then analyzed the various forms
of data and looked for connections to relevant
literature to gain insight into the instabilities
and challenges a fluidized bed would present. I
gained valuable experience with ANSYS and a
greater comprehension of the research process.
Conducting a research project from start to
finish — from reviewing literature, to running
simulations, to experimentation itself and
into analysis — meant I gained a breadth of
knowledge that has helped me understand which
phases of research I enjoy and want to pursue
further.
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