SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING STUDY GUIDE NUCLEAR ENGINEERING MKI 420. Revised by Prof.

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1 SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING STUDY GUIDE NUCLEAR ENGINEERING MKI 420 Revised by Prof. J F M Slabber Date of last revision July 2014 Copyright reserved 1

2 Opposition to nuclear energy is based on irrational fear fed by Hollywood-style fiction, the Green lobbies and the media. These fears are unjustified, and nuclear energy from its start in 1952 has proved to be the safest of all energy sources I entreat my friends in the movement [Greenpeace] to drop their wrongheaded objection to nuclear energy. Even if they were right about its dangers, and they are not, its worldwide use as our main source of energy would pose an insignificant threat compared with the dangers of intolerable lethal heat waves and sea levels rising to drown every coastal city in the world. We have no time to experiment with visionary energy sources; civilizations are in imminent danger and have to use nuclear the one safe, available, energy source now or suffer the pain soon to be inflicted by our outraged planet James Lovelock, the patriarch of Greenpeace Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. Marie Curie We did not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we are borrowing it from our children. Author unknown 2

3 STUDY GUIDE Nuclear Engineering MKI PURPOSE OF THE STUDY GUIDE The study guide is an introduction to the content of the course, and also supplies important information regarding the administration of the course. Each module is briefly summarized and an indication given of what skills and capabilities the student is expected to master at the completion of that module. This study guide is a crucial part of the general study guide of the Department. In the study guide of the Department, information is given on the mission and vision of the department, general administration and regulations (professionalism and integrity, course related information and formal communication, workshop use and safety, plagiarism, class representative duties, sick test and sick exam guidelines, appeal process and adjustment of marks, vacation work, university regulations, frequently asked questions), ECSA outcomes and ECSA exit level outcomes, ECSA knowledge area, CDIO, new curriculum and assessment of cognitive levels. It is expected that you are very familiar with the content of the Departmental Study Guide. It is available in English and Afrikaans on the Department s website. English _Eng_2012(1).pdf Afrikaans s_afr_2012.pdf Take note of the specific instructions in the above study guide on: a. Safety b. Plagiarism c. What to do if you were sick (very important)? d. Appeal process on the adjustment of marks 2. GENERAL INFORMATION Lecturer Prof. J F M Slabber Cell: Johan.Slabber@up.ac.za Textbook and study material 3

4 Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, by J.R. Lamarsh & A.J. Baratta, 3 rd Edition, Prentice-Hall, Unless stated otherwise on the paper, the textbook may be used during all tests and examinations; Lectures, tests and assignments The course is presented during the second semester and consists of approximately 36 (three per week) 50 minutes lectures. Fifteen minutes are set aside for questioning during and after the lecture. Class exercises are given to the students and ample time will be made available to discuss any difficulties experienced in the completion of each of the exercises. These class exercises will normally cover the work that was covered in the specific lecture(s) on a particular day. This methodology has been introduced to encourage students to stay in synchronization with the pace of the lectures. The class exercises are not marked and therefore do not contribute towards the semester mark. Assignments are given at the completion of each particular module. The Assignments do however encompass the questions contained in the class exercises. The contents of the modules are summarized in paragraphs 4 to 11 below. Attendance of classes is compulsory according to University regulations. Examinations and grading Evaluation will occur continuously throughout the semester. Two formal semester tests will be written during the official test weeks. Assignments will be marked, and contribute towards the semester mark. No late assignments will be accepted. The semester mark comprise of the following: Assignments 50% Semester tests 50% According to the regulations of the Engineering Faculty, a student may only write the final examinations at the end of the semester if he/she achieved a semester mark above 40%. This guideline will be strictly adhered to, and no student with a semester mark below 40% will be 4

5 allowed to sit for the final examination. The final mark that determines whether the student passes the course will be calculated as follows: Semester mark 50% Examination mark 50% 3. INTRODUCTION The nuclear engineer requires a basic knowledge of a subset of nuclear physics. This subset consists of the physics involved in the specific utilization of nuclear effects; the radiation or the nuclear heat. The course will therefore aim to provide to the student the necessary background to understand: The relevant atomic-, nuclear- and reactor physics and the interaction of radiation with matter The fundamentals of neutron diffusion and moderation and the calculation of the critical mass of reactor cores The behaviour of a reactor core under steady state, transient and accident conditions The production and removal of energy from a reactor core during normal and abnormal (accident) conditions The protection of the workers, the public and the environment against the resulting effects of radiation during steady state operation as well as transient and accident events. 4. ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS The student will be required to gain a good understanding of: Fundamental particles Atoms and the nuclear structure of matter The concepts of atomic and molecular weight The equivalence of mass and energy The excitation of nuclei The release of energy from excited nuclei and the reduction of radioactivity by radioactive decay Nuclear reactions between two nuclear particles, two nuclei or a nucleus and a nucleon The concept of Binding Energy The models used in describing the nucleus The concept of Atomic Density. 5

6 - Have a working knowledge of the characteristics of electrons, protons, neutrons, photons and neutrinos; - Explain the model of the atom with protons and neutrons in the nucleus and orbital electrons; to explain the concepts of nucleons, mass number, and atomic number; - Explain the term atomic mass unit and how it was standardized; - Calculate the atomic weight of naturally occurring elements; - Explain why the total energy of a particle is given by E total = mc 2, and the kinetic energy is given by E=m 0 c 2 [1/(1-v 2 /c 2 ) 1/2-1] - Be able to compute the energy equivalent of an atomic mass unit; - Explain the energy balance associated with radioactive decay; - Explain the consistency of radioactive decay and to derive the formula for that describes the decay chain of two components in a decay chain; - Explain the conservation of nucleons, charge, momentum and energy that govern radioactivity decay reactions; - Calculate the binding energy per nucleon of given nuclei; - Calculate the atom density of pure elements and compounds. 5. INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER The design of all nuclear installations depends essentially on the way that nuclear radiation in the form of particles and electromagnetic radiation interacts with matter. In this section the student will gain a good understanding of the interaction with matter by: Neutrons and the concept of nuclear reaction cross sections Neutron flux Gamma-ray interactions with matter including the concept of reaction cross sections and attenuation coefficients Charged particle interactions with matter including the concept of specific ionization or stopping power of matter Neutron interactions with matter Neutron energy loss in scattering reactions Nuclear fission and the fission chain reaction - Explain the various reactions of neutrons with various nuclei; - Explain and use the reaction cross sections to calculate the reaction rates of various nuclei in a neutron flux; 6

7 - Have a working knowledge of the three main interactions of gamma rays with matter and calculate the attenuation of a gamma ray flux in various materials; - Have a working knowledge of the way that charged particles interact with matter; - Explain the concept of elastic and inelastic neutron scattering reactions in matter; - Explain the fission process and using the concept of binding energy per nucleon, calculate the average energy released per fission reaction. - Calculate the effective neutron multiplication factor in a reactor with a specific materials composition. 6. NEUTRON TRANSPORT AND MODERATION The design of a reactor core involves the analysis of the neutron population distribution in the assembly of fissionable material. This analysis is not straightforward and to complicate matters the neutrons moves in complicated paths as the result of repeated collisions and they loose energy loss during the various reactions with the core materials. In this section the student will be provided with a particular approximation which assumes that the neutrons undergo a kind of diffusion in the reactor core medium much like the diffusion of one gas into another. The approximate solution is then found by solving the diffusion equation; essentially the same equation as used to describe diffusion phenomena in other branches of engineering such as molecular transport. The student will gain a good understanding of the analysis of neutron distribution in a multiplying medium using the diffusion approximation. The following will be addressed: Neutron flux Fick s law of diffusion The equation of continuity The diffusion equation Boundary conditions Solutions of the diffusion equation The diffusion length The group diffusion method Thermal neutron diffusion Two-group calculation of neutron moderation - Understand the concept of neutron flux as the product of neutron density and neutron speed; 7

8 - Use the concept of diffusion developed for the chemical industry to describe the movement of neutrons in an assembly of core material. This is known as Fick s Law of neutron diffusion; - Derive the steady-state equation of continuity of neutron movement in an arbitrary volume of material; - Understand the derivation of the steady-state neutron diffusion equation; - Apply the boundary conditions associated with the interface of the core outer surface; - Understand the solution of the diffusion equation for three source/medium geometries; - Examine the physical interpretation of the neutron diffusion length which is part of the diffusion equation and solutions; - Understand the treatment of multiple neutron energies in the diffusion approximation; - Understand the application of one neutron energy group (thermal energy) in the diffusion approximation; - Understand the diffusion approximation treatment of the slowing down of neutrons for two energy groups. 7. NUCLEAR REACTOR THEORY A reactor is critical when there is a balance between the number of neutrons produced in fission and the number of neutrons lost due to absorption in the reactor and by leakage from the outer reactor surfaces. The problem is to determine the critical size of the reactor assembly for a given materials composition. The student will be introduced in this part of the course to the process of doing criticality calculations using the group diffusion method for one and more neutron energy groups. The one group diffusion calculation is actually most appropriate for fast reactor calculations but it can be modified for thermal reactor calculations. The following will be addressed: One-group diffusion equation The slab reactor Other reactor shapes The one-group critical equation Thermal reactors Reflected reactors Multi-group calculations Heterogeneous reactors 8

9 - Analyse the criticality of a bare fast reactor of specific materials composition; - To apply the one-group diffusion equation to a reactor consisting of a bare slab of infinite length; - To apply the one-group diffusion equation to bare reactors of other reactor shapes; - Perform a one-group criticality calculation for a given reactor core composition; - Perform a criticality calculation for a thermal reactor; - Perform criticality calculations for reflected reactors within the framework of the one-group diffusion theory; - Have a very superficial understanding of multi energy groups in the final analysis of finite multi-region reactors; - Have an understanding of what determines whether a reactor can be be treated as homogeneous or heterogeneous. 8. THE TIME DEPENDENT REACTOR Knowledge of the behaviour of a nuclear reactor core during non-steady state operation is necessary when control systems are designed or when the safety of the reactor installation is evaluated. This section provides the student with a very simplified approach which highlights the important phenomena which play a role in the analysis of the transient behaviour of specifically the core neutronics Kinetic equation with no delayed neutrons and no neutron source Neutron energies Delayed neutrons Average neutron lifetime approximation Kinetic equation with delayed neutrons and no neutron source Solution of the kinetic equations Variation in neutron population following an addition of reactivity - Derive the kinetic equations for a reactor with either no delayed neutrons or with delayed neutrons; - To perform approximate calculations of the neutron flux behaviour in a core following an insertion of positive or negative reactivity. 9. ENERGY REMOVAL A nuclear reactor theoretically can produce unlimited power from the fission reaction. In practice there is a limit and this limit is determined by the rate at which the produced energy can be removed. The reactor, whether it is a research reactor that is designed to maximize the production of neutrons for research purposes or isotope production or a power reactor for the production of 9

10 electricity or process heat, the design of the system for the removal of the energy from the core is as important as the nuclear design embodied in the core. This section will be integrated generally with the classical mechanical engineering course curriculum. In this module the student will be informed about the characteristics of the nuclear fission heat source during reactor operation as well as when the core is in the shut-down state with heat generated by the decay of fission products. The following will be presented: with heat generated by General thermodynamic considerations The heat source in reactors Spatial heat source - To apply the general enthalpy relationship at constant pressure for the heat absorbed by the coolant in the core; - Explain the characteristics of the heat source in the core during operation and shutdown; - Perform elementary reactor heat transfer design calculations for the core during operation and shutdown. 10. RADIATION PROTECTION Radiation protection of workers and the public is an integral part of the operation op all nuclear facilities and it is necessary to inform the student of the effects that radiation has on matter and in particular on living tissue. This series of lectures will inform the student on: The units used in radiation protection activities The biological effects of radiation Quantitative effects of radiation on the human species Calculations of radiation effects Natural and man-made radiation sources Simplified calculations of exposure from gamma-ray sources - Understand the origin and use of the different radiation units that are currently used; - Do radiation exposure calculations; - Have a qualitative knowledge of the biological effects of radiation on living things; - Understand the importance of radiation protection in the nuclear industry. 10

11 11. REACTOR SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT It is a known fact that all engineering structures, devices and installations present some element of risk to the operators, the public and the environment. Nuclear plants are no exception and, although the risk has been unduly exaggerated to some extent partly as a result of the emotional effects due to the nuclear weapons employed during World War II, the safety analysis of nuclear facilities plays an important role in its design and is an integral activity which runs parallel to all the phases through which the design proceeds. The aim of these lectures is to inform the student on the basic principles employed to achieve acceptable safety in nuclear plants. It will concentrate on: The principles employed in designing for nuclear safety The analysis methodology employed for predicting the dispersion of effluents from nuclear facilities Radiation doses from nuclear plants Accident risk analysis - Understand the necessity of having multiple barriers against the release of radioactivity from a nuclear installation; - Explain the concept of defense-in-depth used in the design and safety analyses of nuclear installations; - Explain and perform analyses of the dispersion of radioactivity from a nuclear installation; - Perform simple calculations of the radiation doses from nuclear installations; - Explain the sequence of events that caused the major nuclear accidents that occurred in the past and the resulting post-accident radiation effects on the workers, the public and the environment. ---ooooooooo--- 11

Metropolitan Community College COURSE OUTLINE FORM LAB: 3.0

Metropolitan Community College COURSE OUTLINE FORM Course Title: Nuclear Plant Operation II Course Prefix & No.: LEC: PROT - 2420 3.0 COURSE DESCRIPTION: LAB: 0 Credit Hours: 3.0 This course introduces