Dr. Ahmed Alkaabi
Dr. ahmed alkaabi Assistant Professor Member of the Emirates Nuclear Technology Center

Contact Information
ahmed.alkaabi@ku.ac.ae +971 2 312 3546

Biography

Dr. Ahmed Alkaabi joined Khalifa University of Science and Technology as an assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering in 2016. Prior to joining Khalifa University, he accumulated more than 7 years’ industrial experience while working as a research engineer at the alternative and renewable energy Research and Development (R&D) Department, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), Abu Dhabi, UAE. Amongst his activities in that position, he successfully managed to improve the solar energy produced electricity integration onto Abu Dhabi’s main grid. He also led 3 engineers in the nuclear task force in coordinating all nuclear related agreements and contracts at ADWEA in preparation of the UAE to enter the list of countries using nuclear power for electricity generation. During his Ph.D. and now at Khalifa University, Dr. Ahmed is very active in a number of research projects using Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), Monte Carlo-based reactor physics and a deterministic lattice transport codes in thermal hydraulics systems, nuclear reactor safety and nuclear reactor/thermal-storage coupling strategies.


Education
  • Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado, USA, 2015
  • M.E. Nuclear Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado, USA, 20133.
  • B.S. Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE, 2008

Teaching
  • Thermal Hydraulics In Nuclear Systems
  • Engineering Design
  • Research Methods
  • Radiation Science & Health Physics
  • Applied Mathematics for Nuclear Engineering
  • Mechanics & Thermal-hydraulics Principles for Nuclear Engineering
  • Evaluative Methods for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Security
  • Nuclear Systems and Operation

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

Research
Research Interests
  • Thermal hydraulics in nuclear systems
  • Nuclear reactor fuel heat transfer
  • Analysis of nuclear reactor safety using CFD codes
  • Non-electric applications of nuclear energy
  • nuclear reactor/thermal-storage coupling strategies.

Research Projects

Towards flexible and efficient APR1400 nuclear power plant operations through integration of energy storage

To help UAE address its challenge of reducing power production cost and carbon emissions as part of its 2050 Energy Strategy, the proposed research aims to demonstrate the techno-economic feasibility of coupling an APR1400 nuclear power plant (NPP) with phase change material-based thermal energy storage (TES). The overall approach involves optimizing NPP electrical energy utilization at variable load profiles, while utilizing unused NPP heat rejection for seawater desalination. The main work packages consist of: (i) system configuration and technical evaluation of TES integration into the operating NPP, (ii) optimization/integration of the TES unit design and operating parameters based on APR1400 NPP requirements, (iii) feasibility assessment of seawater desalination during off-peak electrical demand periods, and (iv) economic evaluation of coupled NPP-TES operating configurations. The proposed research will be undertaken in collaboration with UAE nuclear energy Stakeholders and the University of Birmingham, who has strong expertise in NPP design/operation and energy storage.

Radionuclides Transport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) environment – RadTrans

Developing a sustainable nuclear energy program requires a critical understanding of the environmental impact of radionuclides produced by fission and neutron capture reactions occurring in nuclear reactors. The environmental impact, an important aspect of the safety case demonstration, involves the radionuclides transfer (surface, underground) in the near- and the far-field and their attempt of the human being via the food chain and drinking water. In addition, understanding radionuclides fate in the environment is valuable to the field of radioactive waste management, another critical matter of the success of a nuclear energy program. The radioactive waste disposal implies the interactions of radionuclides and geosphere under surface (mid- and low-level short life waste disposal) and deep geological conditions (e.g. high-level long life waste disposal). The objectives of the proposal are to obtain experimental parameters describing the retention/migration of radionuclides in the UAE environment that ultimately will be used for modelling. The involved team members, have strong expertise in experimental methodologies for rock and groundwater characterization and radionuclides sorption and migration in the environment as well as their transfer to the biosphere.


Research Staff and Graduate Students:

Staff
Deepak Selvakumar Ramachandran Research Scientist
Mohamed Ali Postdoctoral Fellow
Prasoon Raj Postdoctoral Fellow
Students
Mouza Ali Alzaabi Ph.D. Student
Saif Khalifa Salem Rashed Alfalasi M.Sc. Student
Ayesha Thani Obaid Bin Khaif M.Sc. Student
Vacancies

There is a vacancy for one postdoctoral Fellow position under a research project entitled “Radionuclides Transport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) environment – RadTrans”. In this project, experiments will be performed to understand the environmental impact of radionuclides produced by fission and neutron capture reactions occurring in nuclear reactors. The environmental impact, an important aspect of the safety case demonstration, involves the radionuclides transfer (surface, underground) in the near- and the far-field and their attempt of the human being via the food chain and drinking water. Also, understanding radionuclides fate in the environment is valuable to the field of radioactive waste management, another critical matter of the success of a nuclear energy program. The radioactive waste disposal implies the interactions of radionuclides and geosphere under surface (mid- and low-level short life waste disposal) and deep geological conditions (e.g. high-level long life waste disposal). The objectives of the project are to obtain experimental parameters describing the retention/migration of radionuclides in the environment that ultimately will be used for modelling.