Ratan Kumar Sinha

Education and career Ratan Kumar Sinha graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Patna University in 1972, securing the first position in the university. He joined the Reactor Engineering Division of BARC in the year 1973 after completing one-year training course at BARC Training School. After serving in various capacities in BARC, he headed the organisation as the Director during May 2010 to April 2012. of which he was the chairman for four years from the year 2005 to 2008. Dr. Sinha is nationally and internationally recognized expert in the field of nuclear reactor technology.

Contributions to next generation Indian reactors Ratan Kumar Sinha has made significant contributions to the design, experimental development and implementation of next generation Indian reactors. He had been guiding the programmes for new advanced reactors, under design and development at BARC, Mumbai, to utilise thorium as fuel. Most of the technological innovations in the design of AHWR have been validated under his guidance, in large experimental facilities. He has contributed substantially to design and development of Indian High Temperature Reactors intended for hydrogen generation and has been instrumental in the guiding the design and development of Compact High Temperature Reactor (CHTR), which will serve as technology demonstrator for future larger high temperature reactors. Another salient objective of the CHTR is to demonstrate the technologies needed for transportable nuclear power packs capable of being deployed in remote areas with practically no need for skilled operation and no need to refuel for 15 years. This first-of-its-kind design incorporates thorium based coated particle type nuclear fuel, a reactor physics design to achieve inherently safe neutronic characteristics, use molten lead-bismuth as coolant driven by natural circulation, passive emergency cooling systems that deliver core heat to atmosphere, passive shutdown device and passive control devices capable of operation at very high temperatures. These innovative features are unparalleled in any other reactor in the world.

Non-power applications and spin-off technologies Ratan Kumar Sinha has enabled development of self-reliance, and international achievement in several domains of nuclear technology. In addition to guiding programs for the development of nuclear energy system, he has prioritised the application of radiation technology and spin-off R&D for enhanced contribution of Department of Atomic Energy towards healthcare management, agriculture & food preservation and water purification and other deliveries of direct societal relevance.

Public outreach initiatives Ratan Kumar Sinha has strengthened outreach activities of DAE for spreading awareness about nuclear energy among the general public. He has several awards and honors to his credit including the first of the prestigious Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award (1992), VASVIK Award (2000), Indian Nuclear Society (INS) Award (2001), the DAE Special Contributions Award (2006), INAE Prof. S. N. Mitra Memorial Award (2006). He was conferred with honorary Doctorate of Sciences (D.Sc.) degree by the University of Mysore (2009), and honorary Doctorate of Sciences (D.Sc.) by Amity University (2014). He is the recipient of Distinguished Academician Award from IIT Patna (2013), the Kurukshetra University Goyal Award (2015) and the South Indian Education Society's National Eminence Award for Science and Technology (2015).

Publications R.K. Sinha et al., 'Evaluation of Ultimate Tensile Strength using Miniature Disk Bend Test', Journal of Nuclear Materials (2015). R.K. Sinha et al., 'Experimental determination of thermal contact conductance between pressure and calandria tubes of Indian pressurized heavy water reactors', Nuclear Engineering and Design, 284, 60 – 66, (2015). R.K. Sinha et al.,'Use of Miniature Tensile Specimen for Measurement of Mechanical Properties', Procedia Engineering 86 (2014), 899 – 909. R.K. Sinha et al., 'The National Grid of India', Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology, July – September 2014, Volume 35, Issue 3, 226 – 227. R.K. Sinha et al., 'Modeling flow and work hardening behaviour of cold worked Zr-2, 5 Nb pressure tube material in the temperature range of 30oC to 600oC, Nuclear Engineering and Design, 269, 52 – 56, (2014) R.K. Sinha et al., 'Artificial Neural Network Modeling of In-Reactor Diametral Creep of Zr 2.5% Nb Pressure Tubes of Indian PHWRs', Annals of Nuclear Energy, Volume 69, Pages 246–251, July 2014, R.K. Sinha et al., 'Analysis of Interaction of Calandria Tubes with the End Shields in Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)’, Procedia Engineering 55 (2013) 333 – 341. R.K. Sinha et al.,'Non-destructive assay of fissile materials through active neutron interrogation technique using pulsed neutron (plasma focus) device', Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A (2012) R.K. Sinha et al., 'A Mechanistic Approach for the Prediction of Critical Power in BWR Fuel Bundles', JSME Journal of Power and Energy System, Vol.6, p35-50, 2012. R.K. Sinha et al.," Steady state behaviour of Natural Circulation loops operating with supercritical fluids for open and closed loop boundary conditions", Heat transfer Engineering Journal, published by Taylor and Francis, 33(9): 1–12, 2012.

List of his earlier publications is available on-line.