Nuclear Simulator Laboratory
The VCU Nuclear Reactor Simulator, Richmond Pile 3, is a classroom education/research tool that emulates the operation, control and behavior of a large commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR). Richmond Pile 3 not only enables student understanding of the fundamentals of nuclear power plant operation, but permits students to simulate unanticipated events and nuclear accidents, confident that the behavior they observe is an accurate representation of the response of a commercial power reactor. Hands-on access to the simulator is available to all MNE students either as part of a nuclear engineering course or for individual study.
Key Equipment
The simulator's calculation engine is the professional RETRAN-3D thermal hydraulics system program


Strip charts of key reactor parameters provide users with real-time visual feedback of reactor behavior


The VCU developed graphical user interface, InuRTIA


Multiple moniters provide operators with easy access to all pertinent data


Key Capabilities
Courses
EGMN 455: Nuclear Power Plants
EGMN 655: Nuclear Power Plants
Contact
James Miller
jgmiller@vcu.edu