Reactor design - WPMURDE0

Goal(s)

In this course, each chapter is followed by a group project. With some technical help and communication advice from the teacher, each group has to understand (fully or half of) a scientific article (from a journal or a conference) dealing with some design studies or issues of an existing or paper nuclear reactor.
Since articles which complete each other are chosen, all different aspects about this (often innovative) nuclear reactor type are thus finally studied by the entire class and a consistent "student conference" can be given on the subject at the end by all groups, as an evaluation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Efficient reading of scientific papers
• Linking theoretical knowledge to actual research
• Presenting results under a clear and consistent form

Content(s)

Course is decomposed into 4 big parts (in september-october)
Chapter 1 : design principles, attempt of classification
Chapter 2 : water-moderated reactors (PWR, CANDU, ...)
Chapter 3 : graphite-moderated reactors (RBMK, GTR, HTR, ...)
Chapter 4 : fast systems (GFR, SFR) and even more exotic/innovative ones

You can find on this web page :
https://sites.google.com/site/nucleardesignconferences
all the student works performed and presented in conference the previous years.
8hours home work

This project is conceived to improve your knowledge in fundamentals of nuclear reactor design, as taught in these four chapters studied in class :

1) reactor physics fundamentals and classification attempt
2) water-moderated reactors
3) graphite-moderated reactors
4) reactors with reduced moderation,
by working on recent and accessible research articles. Some recent project examples : KRUSTY and JANUS : small reactors for space electric propulsion, Study of D2O/H2O-cooled thorium-fueled PWR-like SMR cores, Autonomous Reactivity Control for Fast Reactor Safety, Neutronic and Thermal-Hydraulic Analyses of Hydride-Fueled PWR Cores, Simulation Studies of Small Modular Reactors for both uranium and thorium fuel cycles, ...