Antranova Antranova Engineering AB Systems Engineer · Field and Analysis

Competence

Senior systems engineer with nearly 30 years of experience in technical analysis, simulation and verification.

The specialty is systems where flow, pressure, temperature and control interact, and where the cause of a problem cannot be seen by looking at the components in isolation.

The experience spans from measurement and inspection in operation to development and validation of advanced simulation models – in settings where an analysis must hold up under independent review before it can form the basis for a decision.

Antanas Romas, founder and specialist engineer in technical analysis, simulation and verification.
Antanas Romas, Lic. Eng.

CV provided on request – contact antranova.

Experience in model development and validation

A simulator is not a calculation. It is a model that must continuously be proven to reproduce a real facility's behaviour – during normal operation, during disturbances and across the full operating range. The requirement is not that the model is advanced. The requirement is that it holds up against measurement data, against applicable standards and against external review.

Nearly thirty years of work on that question is the reason the method chain ends with verification in operation rather than with a report.

BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Kaunas University of Technology), specialising in reactor physics and thermal hydraulics, and a Licentiate of Engineering (Lic. Eng.) in nuclear power safety, KTH (1999), where the work combined thermal hydraulics and reactor physics. The thesis is available as a PDF.

Professional background – advanced simulation and nuclear technology

Assignments in nuclear power and power generation are not currently offered. Previous experience in these fields is presented as professional background.

International simulator projects

Development of reactor models for full-scope simulators at power plants and research facilities in Japan, Germany and the Netherlands, in roles as lead specialist, model developer and project manager. The models were built to reproduce plant dynamics during normal operation, transients and extreme operating cases, and were validated against plant data and international standards. Equivalent work has been carried out for facilities of several different reactor types.

One of the projects concerned a materials testing reactor, where the model is used to predict transients and verify boundary conditions before experiments are carried out at the actual facility. This is model-based decision support in its purest form: calculate first, intervene second.

Method and tool development

The work has not only consisted of applying existing tools, but of developing them.

An algorithm for real-time visualisation of simulation data in dynamically changing component models was developed and became the basis for the visualisation tool that is now used as the standard in simulator contexts. Earlier, a custom-built neutron cross-section library was developed that, for the first time, made a particular reactor type analysable with Western calculation codes – a capability that did not previously exist outside its country of origin.

AntraSIM, Antranova's standalone demonstration and analysis models, is built on the same foundation: a model is useful when it can be tested, questioned and verified. Open AntraSIM →

Best-estimate thermohydraulics and safety analysis

The professional background includes system codes such as RELAP5-3D, TRACE and CATHARE, BEPU, two-phase flow, LOCA, safety analyses, licensing-adjacent basis material and regulatory contexts. This experience is presented as method and competence background for traceable modelling, verification and independent review.

What this means for customers

The experience is used to structure difficult problems, separate symptoms from underlying causes, and produce support that can be reviewed and used in decisions.

  • Troubleshooting and root-cause analysis: identification of likely failure mechanisms and critical dependencies.
  • Consequence assessment: analysis of how modifications, failures or new operating cases affect the system.
  • Verification: checking models, proposed actions and actual system behaviour.
  • Technical decision support: clear assumptions, results and recommendations before action or investment.

Core competence

Field analysis

Inspection and measurement of flow, pressure and temperature in real facilities.

System reconstruction

Mapping function, connections and dependencies even when documentation is incomplete.

Root-cause analysis

Testing failure mechanisms against data, physics and observed system behaviour.

Model-based analysis

Physics-based models, transient analysis and parameter studies for questions that require more than simple calculations.

Verification

Checking against requirements, calculation results and measurements before or after an action.

Technical documentation

Traceable decision support, verification results and analysis material prepared for review and reuse.

Experience in brief

Nearly 30 yearsTechnical analysis and simulation
Lead specialistReactor models for full-scope simulators in several countries
Multiple reactor typesEquivalent work across different facilities
RELAP5/S3R/SIMULATE3Safety analysis of thermal-hydraulic and neutron-dynamic transients in nuclear power plants
MAAP5Severe accident simulators and functionality in nuclear power plants
Strict requirementsQuality, traceability and verification

Discuss an assignment

Briefly describe the system, the problem and what type of deliverable is needed – and a proposal will follow.