NE 161- NUCLEAR POWER ENGINEERING (3 units)

Energy conversion in nuclear power systems; design of fission reactors; thermal and structural analysis of reactor core and plant components; thermal-hydraulic analysis of accidents in nuclear power plants; safety evaluation and engineered safety systems. (Fall) Peterson

Catalog Description

• 161. Nuclear Power Engineering. Three hours of
  lecture per week. Energy conversion in nuclear power systems;
  design of fission reactors; thermal and structural analysis of
  reactor core and plant components; thermal-hydraulic analysis
  of accidents in nuclear power plants; safety evaluation and engineered
  safety systems.

Course Prerequisite(s)

• Course(s) in fluid mechanics and heat transfer:
  ME 106 and 109; or ChemE 150A
• Junior level course in thermodynamics (Engin.
  115, ME 105, or ChemE 141

Prerequisite knowledge and/or skills

• The course uses the following knowledge and skills
  from prerequisite and lower-division courses:
• solve linear, first and second order differential
  equations.
• use steam tables and ideal gas relationships
  to assess the thermodynamic state of fluids.
• apply mass, momentum and energy balances to
  control volumes.
• estimate pressure losses for fluids flowing
  in channels.
• calculate drag forces from fluid flow over
  objects.
• determine heat transfer coefficients in forced
  and natural convection flows.

Textbook(s) and/or other required material

• J.H. Rust, "Nuclear Power Plant Engineering," Haralson
  Publishing Company.

Course objectives and outcomes

Course Objectives: It is the instructor's
intention to...

• illustrate, with examples drawn from reactor
  systems, the thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics and
  structural phenomena which control reactor performance and safety.
• show how complex thermal hydraulics phenomena
  are currently understood and modeled through scaling, analysis,
  empirical data correlation, and numerical modeling.
• introduce students to the specific features
  of light water reactors (LWRs) now used commercially, of passive
  heat removal systems for future LWRs, and of gas and metal cooled
  reactor types that may take their place in the future.
• show students the principles of defense in
  depth and of reactor safety analysis.

  Course Outcomes: Students must be able
  to...

• perform mass, momentum and energy balances
  on different reactor components, determining thermodynamic states
  within closed flow loops, and estimate the thermal efficiency
  of Rankine and Brayton power cycles.
• solve steady heat conduction problems beginning
  from the differential form of the conduction equation.
• discuss the implications of reactor-specific
  parameters (fuel thermal conductivity, gap conductance) on fuel
  centerline temperature.
• find pressure loss in single-phase incompressible
  and compressible flow and two-phase flow.
• find heat transfer coefficients given forced
  or natural convection conditions.
• use CHF correlations to determine if a particular
  reactor assembly channel is too hot.
• estimate the stress induced in structural components
  from water hammer and from temperature gradients arising from
  heat conduction.
• know the principal capabilities and limitations
  of the major thermal hydraulics codes, their use in modeling and
  sensitivity studies
• describe the major safety issues associated
  with light water reactors, as well as the principal differences
  between "next-generation" light water, gas, and metal cooled reactors
  and current generation LWRs.

Topics covered

• Descriptions of nuclear power plants and operations.
• Thermodynamics of nuclear power
• Nuclear power cycles.
• Fluid systems analysis and introduction to
  two-phase flow.
• Heat generation in nuclear reactors.
• Thermal hydraulic design of reactor cores and
  plant components
• Structural analysis and design.
• Fluid transients.
• Reactor safety, engineered safety system design.

Class/laboratory schedule

• This is primarily a lecture course, meeting two
  times a week for 80-minute lectures.

Contribution of course to meeting the professional
component

• This course contributes primarily to the students'
  knowledge of engineering topics, and does provide design experience.
• Heat transfer and fluid mechanics are central to
  the thermal performance and safety of fission and fusion power
  plants, and thus this course is required for students in the General
  Nuclear Engineering area of emphasis which covers fission and
  fusion energy systems. This course illustrates, through specific
  examples, the thermal hydraulics analysis of nuclear power systems,
  with particular emphasis on light water reactors. The course provides
  specific illustrations important thermal-hydraulics design concepts,
  in particular defense in depth, phenomena identification and ranking,
  and the application of sensitivity studies to safety analysis
  and design optimization.

Relationship of course to undergraduate degree
program objectives

• This course primarily serves students in the department.
  The information below describes how the course contributes to
  the undergraduate program objectives.
• This course contributes to the NE program objectives
  by providing education in a fundamental area (reactor engineering)
  important for a career in nuclear power engineering. It does not
  provide students with direct design experience, but includes substantial
  discussion and illustration of design issues. The central theme
  of safety analysis also generates discussion of environmental
  and contemporary issues for nuclear energy.

Assessment of student progress toward course objectives

• Weekly (nearly) problem sets: 20%
• Two midterm Exams 20% (each)
• Final Exam: 40%