Applied Reactor Technology and Nuclear Power Safety, 4A1627; 4 cp. Course Description

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1 Applied Reactor Technology and Nuclear Power Safety, 4A1627; 4 cp Course Objectives Course Description The purpose of the course is to provide a general knowledge on the physical processes that take place in nuclear power plants as well as an ability to perform quantitative analyses of such processes. In particular, students will learn the principles of nuclear reactor physics and thermal-hydraulics, as well as the methods of the nuclear and thermal designs of nuclear reactors. The various safety functions available in nuclear power plants will be described and analysed in detail in order to understand their functionality. After completion of the present course, students will be able to: Calculate various nuclear parameters in a reactor including the multiplication factors of critical and sub-critical systems, reactivity and reactivity coefficients Explain the principles of reactor poisoning Calculate the reactivity changes in a reactor due to poisoning Explain the principles of reactor control and operation Calculate temperature distributions, pressure drops and void fraction distributions in fuel assemblies of nuclear reactors. Explain nuclear power plant behaviour and environmental consequences caused by design basis and severe core meltdown accidents. Reflect on nuclear core design constraints in terms of limiting important operating parameters. Course prerequisites Students should be acquainted with the nuclear physics corresponding to the nuclear part in course 4A1605, however, this course is not a mandatory prerequisite. For those who have not taken that course it is recommended to consult DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory, Volume 1 (DOE-HDBK-1019/1-93 freely available on the Web). It is assumed that students have a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics, physics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. In particular, students should be able to solve simple sets of linear ordinary differential equations as well as invoke fundamental principles of conservation of mass, momentum and energy. Even though the course level corresponds to rather nonadvanced mathematics, students are expected to feel comfortable in manipulating equations 1

2 and perform fundamental calculus. Students are encouraged to use Matlab or equivalent software (e.g. Scilab) for programmed solutions of home assignments and exercises. Course Language The course is given in English Course Staff Teacher and examiner: Henryk Anglart, Course assistant: Krzysztof Karkoszka, Both of us work in the EGI building, Brinellvägen 60. Henryk s room is located in the main building at 2nd floor, room K129. Krzysztof is best available via phone or . Contents The content of the course is as follows: Part 1- Reactor Physics Important physical principles and relationships are discussed and illustrated using examples and analysis such as: the neutron life cycle, infinite and effective multiplication factors, reactivity and reactivity coefficients, neutron poisons, reactor control and operation. Part 2 - Thermal-hydraulics The principles for the transfer of heat from the reactor fuel to reactor coolant are presented. The related subjects that are included are as follows: temperature in the fuel rods, convective heat transfer in fuel elements, single-phase and two-phase flow in heated channels, pressure drop distributions for single- and two-phase flows, void fraction distributions for two-phase flows, critical heat flux and the dry-out phenomena, reactor core transients and reactor core stability. Part 3 - Nuclear Reactor Safety Among the material presented are topics such as: design basis and core meltdown accidents in Light Water Reactors, including topics like accident progression, accident management and the radiological consequences of such type of accidents. Course literature The basic course literature is available on the course homepage as downloadable PDF files. The literature consists of compendium, lecture handouts and DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory, Volume 2 (DOE-HDBK-1019/2-93 freely available on the Web). For those who are interested in additional reading, the following books are recommended: - Nuclear Reactor Engineering, S. Glasstone and A. Sesonske, 3 rd ed., Krieger Publishing Company, 1991, ISBN , (NRE); - Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, J. Lamarsh and A. Baratta, Prentice-hall, 2001, (INE). 2

3 Activities Lecture sessions Lecture sessions will consist of several units including lecturing period and exercise periods led by the teacher and/or the teacher assistant. Some lectures, as indicated below in the table, will contain presentations of home assignments, during which randomly selected students will present solutions to the latest home assignment. The following lecture sessions are planned: Lecture 1: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Neutron Life Cycle 11:15-11:45 Presentation and discussion of solutions 11:45-12:00 Handing out and discussion of Home Assignment #1 (HA1) Lecture 2: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Reactivity and Reactivity Coefficients 11:15:12:00 Presentation and discussion of solutions Lecture 3: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Neutron Poisons 9:15-10:00 Presentations of solutions to HA1 by randomly selected students 11:15:11:45 Lecturing period 11:45-12:00 Handing out and discussion of HA2 Lecture 4: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Control Rods and Sub-Critical Systems 11:15:12:00 Presentation and discussion of solutions Lecture 5: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Reactor Kinetics and Reactor Operation 9:15-10:00 Presentations of solutions to HA2 by randomly selected students 11:15:11:45 Exercises in groups solving examples 11:45:12:00 Presentation and discussion of solutions Lecture 6: , 13:15-17:00 Title: Introduction to Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of Nuclear Reactor Cores 13:15-14:00 Lecturing period 3

4 14:15-15:00 Lecturing period 15:15-16:00 Exercises in groups solving examples 16:15-16:45 Presentation and discussion of solutions 16:45-17:00 Handing out and discussion of HA3 Lecture 7: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of Single-Phase Flows in Heated Channels 11:15-12:00 Presentation and discussion of solutions Lecture 8: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of Two-Phase Flows in Heated Channels 9:15-10:00 Presentations of solutions to HA3 by randomly selected students 11:15-11:45 Lecturing period 11:45-12:00 Handing out and discussion of HA4 Lecture 9: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Thermal-Hydraulic Design of Nuclear Reactor Cores 11:15-12:00 Presentation and discussion of solutions Lecture 10: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Dynamics and Stability of Nuclear Reactor Cores 9:15-10:00 Presentations of solutions to HA4 by randomly selected students 11:15:11:45 Exercises in groups solving examples 11:45:12:00 Presentation and discussion of solutions Lecture 11: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Design Basis Accidents in Light Water Reactors and discussion 11:15-12:00 Lecturing period Lecture 12: , 8:15-12:00 Title: Core Melt-Down Accidents in Light Water Reactors and discussion 11:15-12:00 Lecturing period NOTE: the presence in the presentations of solutions to Home Assignments is compulsory! 4

5 Study visit A study visit to the nuclear power plant in Forsmark will take place on March the 1st, All details of the study trip will be given later during the course. All students interested to participate in the trip have to contact the course responsible person by January 31st Course schedule This course runs in the Spring term (January March). The detailed timetable and location of all activities of the course are available from KTH Schema page: ( Examination Method The examination will have two obligatory parts: 1. Home assignments 2. Final written exam Home Assignments All students are requested to solve four home assignments with two questions each: two assignments related to the reactor physics and two related to the reactor thermal-hydraulics. The assignments will be handed out periodically during the course and must be completed within one week. The home assignments have to be returned in a written form before the lecture they are due. Randomly selected students will consecutively present the solutions to the class. Failure to present the correct solution or absence in the presentation session will cause a loss of points obtained for the home assignment. The timetable for handing out and return/presentation of home assignments is given below. Home assignment Handed out Return/Presented to class HA HA HA HA A home assignment will be graded by the course responsible according to the following principles: 1. Each question can bring at maximum 5 points (e.g. the total number of points for a home assignment is 10) points will be given for correct identification of the principles that are involved additional points will be given for correct mathematical description of the problem additional point will be given for correct final (numerical) answer. A home assignment will not be graded (no points will be given) for students that fail to present the correct solution to the class or are absent during the presentation. The total number of points that can be obtained from home assignments and that will count to the final mark is 40. To get this number of points students have to return all home 5

6 assignments in due time with correct solutions and will have to successfully present selected solutions to the class on request. Note that 40 points is enough to pass the course without the written part and to get the final mark 3. Final Written Exam The exam will take place on March 10th 2005 in rooms M23 and M31 from 14:00 till 19:00. Students will be allowed to have and use any course material or books during the exam. There will be a written part only in which students will obtain 5 tasks/questions: 2 related to the reactor physics, 2 related to the reactor thermal-hydraulics and 1 related to the nuclear safety. Students can obtain from 0 to 10 points for each answer. The final number of points will be a sum of points obtained from home assignments and from the final written exam. The marks will depend on the total number of obtained points as follows: Mark Number of points 3 >=40 4 >=60 5 >=80 Course evaluation At the end of the course all students are ask to provide to the course responsible person their comments and ideas how to improve the course. This can be done either through forms available on the course home page or personally. Our goal is to provide a high quality course in applied reactor technology and nuclear power safety and all students are encouraged to give feedback to us. 6

Institution : Majmaa'h University Academic Department : Physics Programme :

Institution : Majmaa'h University Academic Department : Physics Programme : Bachelor of Science in Physics Course : Neutron Physics and Reactors (PHYS485) Course Coordinator : Elassaad Jemii Programme