{"id":857,"date":"2021-07-05T12:14:51","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T10:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/?p=857"},"modified":"2021-07-05T12:14:51","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T10:14:51","slug":"when-research-interests-mix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2021\/07\/when-research-interests-mix\/","title":{"rendered":"When Research Interests Mix"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WaterCentre@KTH<\/a> is a hub of expertise in water research at our university. Its director and longstanding researcher at our division, David Nilsson<\/a>, is working together with several scholars from the fields of EKV Kraft- & V\u00e4rmeteknologi, Vatten- och Milj\u00f6teknik, Industriell Bioteknologi, Resurs\u00e5tervinning, and H\u00e5llbarhet, Utv\u00e4rd och Styrning. Furthermore, it cooperates with Stockholm Vatten och Avfall. Partners of the centre are ivl – Svenska Milj\u00f6institutet, Stockholms Stad, Stockholm Environment Institute and V\u00e4rmd\u00f6 Kommun. Multiple researchers at our division are also involved in the centre’s work or have been in the past, such as the Water Centre’s Research Coordinator Timos Karpouzoglou<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Water is crucial not only for the survival of living organisms, but also for many industrial purposes. It is here that the research interests of the Water Centre converges with ongoing projects at our division. Since the research project Nuclear Waters<\/a> tries to put water at the centre of its historical nuclear studies, common interests occur frequently. The following is a repost from a text published on the Water Centre’s Blog, highlighting one example where both interests came together.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kola Nuclear Power Plant at Lake Imandra, above the Arctic circle. RIAN Archive, Licence CC BY-SA 3.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Repost from the WaterBlog@KTH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Water Matters for Nuclear Power<\/em><\/p>\n

We tend to associate nuclear power plants with many different things: smoking cooling towers, Homer Simpson-like operators, or dramatic TV series like HBO\u2019s Chernobyl. But something people generally do not associate nuclear power plants with are massive amounts of water. Still, water is at the centre of nuclear power\u2019s historical development, contemporary challenges, and further future.<\/p>\n

The connection between water and generating nuclear power goes back to the Industrial Revolution, when steam technologies such as boilers and steam generators were used to heat up water, turn that water into steam, and use the energy of that steam to generate power. However, this led to many steam explosions with deadly casualties. Countries like the U.S., France and Sweden enforced safety rules, which stipulated how the boilers had to be designed and what the allowed pressures and temperatures were.<\/p>\n

In the 1950s, more and more countries saw the potential of using nuclear technologies to generate power. With its Atoms for Peace-program, the U.S. took the lead and promoted the reactor type they developed: the light water reactor. This reactor type uses normal water as a coolant and had its origins in both naval propulsion and fossil fuel power generation. This continuity thus made water-cooled reactors a relatively simple way of rolling out nuclear power fast.<\/p>\n

The safety in nuclear power plants was therefore determined by the control of water and the understanding of thermal-hydraulic phenomena, such as transients and steam explosions. The pressure vessels, steam generators, valves, pipes, tubes, and pumps of nuclear power plants suddenly became subjected to the steam regulations of the Industrial age. This created new risks since these codes and regulations did not consider radiation. One of the codes that underwent revision was the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The Code started travelling and was, for instance, almost directly implemented in all Swedish nuclear power plants. Gradually but surely, nuclear safety regulations in the West became more \u2018nuclear\u2019 as the intersection between water, steam, steel, and radiation became better understood and nuclear accidents, such as Three Mile Island, pushed governments for more safety legislation.<\/p>\n

For the USSR water was equally crucial along all steps of the nuclear lifespan, such as mining, fuel element production, exploitation, and the storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. In general, all nuclear power plants were placed next to either a river, a lake or the coast \u2013 the latter being an exception. The most common source of coolant was river water. Interestingly, those rivers usually had to be previously ameliorated and often artificial water reservoirs were created.<\/p>\n

A specific setup was used for so-called energy complexes, a special form of nuclear-hydrotechnical combine. They embodied the combination of nuclear and hydro power, agricultural irrigation, and fish cultivation in one location. Furthermore, constructing them meant to manipulate water bodies with newly created dams. In this way an energy complex was created to procure valuable synergies through the multiple usage and partial recycling of water.<\/p>\n

Finding the right location was crucial for an envisioned energy complex. It needed to be a location with sufficient water supply, with suitable ground conditions, without earthquake or flood dangers. In addition, the complex needed to be within reasonable distance towards a (potential) industrial settlement to provide this population centre with electricity. Safe and ample water supply had to be considered during site selection and was one of the essential criteria for their construction. If there was not enough water, the complex could not be built.<\/p>\n

A leading institute for the creation of energy complexes was Gidroproekt (Hydroproject). As the name suggests, Gidroproekt was a Soviet hydraulic research, design and construction agency. By joining its hydraulic expertise with newly introduced nuclear engineering, this institute was the very place where knowledge transfer between these two prestigious engineering communities took place. Here, the water-focused perspective prevailed and embedded nuclear technology into hydro-ameliorated aquatic systems. It promised prestige as well as quick results \u2013 and Gidroproekt readily delivered.<\/p>\n

In sum, both in the East and the West, water played a crucial role in the development of nuclear power. In the West, knowledge about water was essential for developing nuclear safety practices. In the East, water was seen as a crucial resource, for powering energy complexes in the struggle for building a Communist state. Nuclear\u2019s reliance on water meant that nuclear power plants and energy complexes were meeting places of different long-standing traditions and communities. Given the large number of water-cooled reactors in the world today, and including those under construction, it is fair to say that this crucial connection is there to stay.<\/p>\n

By Achim Kl\u00fcppelberg<\/a> & Siegfried Evens<\/a>
\nDoctoral students at the division for History of Science, Technology and the Environment, within the research project Nuclear Waters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WaterCentre@KTH is a hub of expertise in water research at our university. Its director and longstanding researcher at our division, David Nilsson, is working together with several scholars from the fields of EKV Kraft- & V\u00e4rmeteknologi, Vatten- och Milj\u00f6teknik, Industriell Bioteknologi, Resurs\u00e5tervinning, and H\u00e5llbarhet, Utv\u00e4rd och Styrning. Furthermore, it cooperates with Stockholm Vatten och […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1305,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[67,4,3],"tags":[36,93],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-publications","category-research","category-the-division","tag-nuclear-history","tag-watercentre"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":576,"url":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2020\/12\/a-water-conference-in-spite-of-corona-waterblogkth-reflect-rethink-refill\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":0},"title":"A Water Conference in spite of Corona \u2013 WaterBlog@KTH: Reflect, Rethink, Refill","author":"Sofia Jonsson","date":"2020-12-14","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Water is everywhere in our economy, in nature and culture. Billions of years ago our planet had cooled down enough for the surrounding gas clouds to condense, fall down to Earth\u2019s surface, and form the oceans. Everything started with water and water is still a precondition to all life. No\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Division"","block_context":{"text":"The Division","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/category\/the-division\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2021\/10\/baltic-sea-water-talks-on-uto\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":1},"title":"Baltic Sea Water Talks on Ut\u00f6","author":"Achim Kl\u00fcppelberg","date":"2021-10-04","format":false,"excerpt":"Ut\u00f6, one of the major islands of the Stockholm archipelago, recently hosted the Baltic Sea Water Talks. David Nilsson, Associate Professor at our division and Director of the WaterCentre@KTH, has been a key participant of this conference. Many researchers, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists have joined to discuss how the island tackles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conference"","block_context":{"text":"Conference","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/category\/conference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/water\/files\/2021\/09\/DSC_0094-748x497.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/water\/files\/2021\/09\/DSC_0094-748x497.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/water\/files\/2021\/09\/DSC_0094-748x497.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/water\/files\/2021\/09\/DSC_0094-748x497.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1112,"url":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2022\/03\/learning-about-urban-water-infrastructure-by-comparing-northern-and-southern-cities\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":2},"title":"Learning about urban water infrastructure by comparing Northern and Southern cities","author":"Achim Kl\u00fcppelberg","date":"2022-03-07","format":false,"excerpt":"Our colleague Timos Karpouzoglou, researcher at the division, will be presenting his work in the current project NATURE - Examining Nature-Society Relations Through Urban Infrastructure at the upcoming Higher Seminar on Monday 14 March from 1.15-2.45pm (Stockholm time). His work within the framework of this project is done together with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Higher Seminar Series"","block_context":{"text":"Higher Seminar Series","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/category\/higher-seminar-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1070,"url":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2022\/01\/a-multi-criteria-analysis-of-building-level-graywater-reuse-for-personal-hygiene-new-article-co-authored-by-timos-karpouzoglou\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":3},"title":"A multi-criteria analysis of building level graywater reuse for personal hygiene – new article co-authored by Timos Karpouzoglou","author":"Sofia Jonsson","date":"2022-01-17","format":false,"excerpt":"Timos Karpouzoglou has been with the Division since 2018, and is working closely with the KTH WaterCentre, where he previously was a research coordinator. His current research is focused on urban water infrastructure and is informed by social sciences and the humanities. In a new article, together with J\u00f6rgen Wallin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Publications"","block_context":{"text":"Publications","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/category\/publications\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2022\/01\/istockphoto-157524977-612x612-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2022\/01\/istockphoto-157524977-612x612-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2022\/01\/istockphoto-157524977-612x612-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":851,"url":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2021\/06\/the-power-to-define-resilience-in-social-hydrological-systems\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":4},"title":"The power to define resilience in social\u2013hydrological systems","author":"Achim Kl\u00fcppelberg","date":"2021-06-28","format":false,"excerpt":"Timos Karpouzoglou, researcher at the division, has published an article together with Art Dewulf, Jeroen Warner, Anna Wesselink and nine other scholars on the social implications of hydrological systems. If you are interested in their work, you can find the abstract below and the full text here. Abstract Since the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Publications"","block_context":{"text":"Publications","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/category\/publications\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2021\/06\/drop-3698073_1920-625x344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2021\/06\/drop-3698073_1920-625x344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2021\/06\/drop-3698073_1920-625x344.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1002,"url":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2021\/11\/where-do-we-publish\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":5},"title":"Where do we publish?","author":"Achim Kl\u00fcppelberg","date":"2021-11-08","format":false,"excerpt":"As a division, we publish a lot in many different outlets. Klara M\u00fcller, Linus Sal\u00f6 and Sverker S\u00f6rlin have compiled the following discussion of our publication pattern in our last Biennial report, which you can find here. Trends in Publishing The following section is dedicated to an analysis of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Publications"","block_context":{"text":"Publications","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/category\/publications\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2020\/11\/Writing-Scribe-Ink-Write-Fountain-Pen-Handwriting-1209121-625x469.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2020\/11\/Writing-Scribe-Ink-Write-Fountain-Pen-Handwriting-1209121-625x469.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/files\/2020\/11\/Writing-Scribe-Ink-Write-Fountain-Pen-Handwriting-1209121-625x469.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}