Dr. Yacine Addad
Dr. yacine addad Associate Professor Deputy Director ENTC Mechanical Engineering

Contact Information
yacine.addad@ku.ac.ae +971 2 312 4147

Biography

Dr. Yacine Addad holds the Associate Department Chair in Nuclear Engineering and Deputy Director of the Emirates Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC) within Khalifa University, UAE. He is an expert in the field of nuclear Thermal-Hydraulics (T-H) analysis. He is leading the Emirates Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC) Theme-1 research team focusing on the assessment of the thermal hydraulic safety analysis codes capabilities to mimic dominant T-H phenomena occurring in nuclear power plants under postulated accident scenarios including rare events.

Dr. Addad is actively involved in many UAE and internationally coordinated research programs. He is a leading academic researcher and has attracted over $8 Million in grants as PI and Co-I from various bodies including, FANR, ENEC, UK funding councils, and ASPIRE programs to support R&D in nuclear. He has given invited lectures and short courses in United Kingdom, Algeria, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Addad is the author and co-author of 100+ articles in refereed journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings.


Education
  • Ph.D. , Mechanical Engineering (CFD and Turbulence modeling), Manchester University (UK), 2004
  • M.Sc., Thermal Power and Fluids Engineering, Manchester University (UK), 2000
  • Dip. Eng., Marine Engineering, University of Sciences and Technology of Oran (Algeria), 1996

Teaching
  • Thermal Hydraulics in Nuclear Systems
  • Thermal Hydraulics Computations & Modelling
  • Mechanics & T-H Principles for Nuclear Engineering

Affiliated Research Institutes/Centers
  • Emirates Nuclear Technology Center
  • Masdar Institute

Research
Research Interests
  • Nuclear Systems and Safety
  • Single-/Two-phase Flow Phenomena Modeling and Simulations
  • Small Modular Reactors Design
  • Thermal Energy Storage Design for Hybrid Systems

Research Projects

1- Morad Project: The primary objective of this project is to augment the United Arab Emirates' capacity to simulate the dispersion of radionuclides across marine, atmospheric, and continental environments, while meticulously considering regional and local characteristics. In light of the UAE's commencement of its nuclear program, marked by the construction of four nuclear power plants, the nation is earnestly dedicated to bolstering its human resource capabilities in the realm of nuclear safety. The present undertaking not only aligns with the overarching aspiration of diversifying the Emirate's economy but also serves to mitigate the impact of this newly embraced sustainable energy source on the natural environment.

2- OECD-ATLAS-III Project: Following the successful participation of the KU team in Phase II of the OECD-ATLAS project, where they achieved significant safety analysis milestones through Validation and Verification (V&V) of the system code, FANR and Khalifa University continue their collaboration. They are now focused on implementing Phase 3 activities within the ATLAS project to produce numerical results for pre-test and post-test simulations. Additionally, this project aims to expand its scope by comparing two principal system codes, RELAP5 and TRACE, and by developing experimental capabilities at Khalifa University through the commissioning and operation of separate effect test facilities.

3-ASPIRE Project: Molten Corium-Concrete Interaction (MCCI) is considered a significant concern due to its propensity to cause concrete ablation through the dissipation of heat from molten corium onto the concrete walls. Models for MCCI currently employed within numerical tools still harbor notable uncertainties, necessitating enhancements to reinforce the reliability of numerical predictions related to MCCI. In light of this, the present project intends to develop a numerical model grounded in a multi-physics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework. This model will be utilized to investigate the thermal behavior of molten corium and its consequential impact on concrete ablation during MCCI under severe accident conditions.

 


Research Staff and Graduate Students:

Staff
Amidu Muritala Alade Post Doctoral Fellow
Ilyas Khurshid Post Doctoral Fellow
Mubashir Hassan Post Doctoral Fellow
Omar Z.A.A. Sharaf Post Doctoral Fellow
Students
Fatema Ali Almazrouei MSc. Student
Mohamed Al Rahmani MSc. student
Abdelaziz Sanad Ahmed Sanad Alnaqbi MSc. student
Additional Info

Selected Publications:

[AY-2023] Amidu, M.A., Ali, M., Alkaabi, A.K. and Addad Y. “A critical assessment of nanoparticles enhanced phase change materials (NePCMs) for latent heat energy storage applications” Sci Rep 13, 7829. https://doi-org.libconnect.ku.ac.ae/10.1038/s41598-023-34907-0

[AY-2022] Amidu, M. A., Addad, Y. "The influence of the water ingression and melt eruption model on the MELCOR code prediction of molten corium-concrete interaction in the APR-1400 reactor cavity", Nuclear Engineering and Technology,54 (4), 1508-1515, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2021.09.036

[AY-2022] Ayodeji A., Amidu M. A., Olatubosun S. A., Addad Y., Ahmed H., "Deep learning for safety assessment of nuclear power reactors: Reliability, explainability, and research opportunities”, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 151, 104339, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2022.104339

[AY-2022] Raj P., Padiyath N., Semioshkina N., Addad Y., Foulon F., Francis D., Voigt G., “Conceptualization of arid region radioecology strategies for agricultural ecosystems of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)”, Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 832, 154965, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154965

[AY-2022] Ali, M, Alkaabi, AK, Addad, Y. “Numerical investigation of a vertical triplex-tube latent heat storage/exchanger to achieve flexible operation of nuclear power plants”, International Journal of  Energy Research, 46(3): 2970- 2987, https://doi-org.libconnect.ku.ac.ae/10.1002/er.7357 

[AY-2022] Riahi, M.K., Ali, M., Addad, Y., Abu-Nada E., “Combined Newton–Raphson and Streamlines-Upwind Petrov–Galerkin iterations for nanoparticles transport in buoyancy-driven flow”, Journal of Engineering Mathematics, 132(1), 22, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10665-021-10205-4

[AY-2022] Amidu M. A., Olatubosun S. A., Ayodeji A., Addad Y., , "Severe accident in high-power light water reactors: Mitigating strategies, assessment methods and research opportunities", Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 143, 2022, 104062, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2021.104062 

[AY-2021] Amidu, M.A., Addad, Y., Riahi, M.K., Abu-Nada E., “Numerical investigation of nanoparticles slip mechanisms impact on the natural convection heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids in an enclosure”, Scientific Reports, 11, 15678. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95269-z 

[AY-2021] Nesterov, O., Temimi M., Fonseca R., Nelli. N.R., Addad, Y., Bosc E., Abida R., “Validation and statistical analysis of the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature data in the Arabian Gulf”, Oceanologia, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2021.07.001 

[AY-2020] Amidu, M.A., Addad, Y., M. K. Riahi  “A hybrid multiphase flow model for the prediction of both low and high void fraction nucleate boiling regimes”, Applied Thermal Engineering, 178,115625, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115625 

Vacancies

Available vacancicies

There are various PhD scholarship opportunities available at Khalifa for individuals interested in working on topics related to numerical and experimental thermal hydraulics, heat transfer, and single- or two-phase flows.