Engineering of Nuclear Reactors
Course facts
- Payment: Free, no certificate
- Credits: Non Credit
- Learning style: Self-paced, start anytime
- Resources: Exam Solutions; Exams; Problem Sets
MIT OpenCourseWare details
- As taught in: Fall 2015
- Department: Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Engineering of nuclear power reactors: plant thermodynamics, fuel heat transfer, single- and two-phase thermal-hydraulics, structural mechanics.
A nuclear power plant is safe and reliable only if the heat its reactor produces is removed under every condition and its structures withstand the loads. This course teaches the engineering principles of nuclear reactors, with an emphasis on power reactors, so that students can understand and model the thermal-hydraulic and mechanical phenomena behind their design and operation. It covers plant thermodynamics and containment, heat generation and fuel temperatures, single-phase and two-phase coolant flow and heat transfer, and structural mechanics.
What You Will Achieve
- Apply conservation equations to power cycles and containment analysis
- Calculate temperature distributions in nuclear fuel elements
- Analyze single-phase and two-phase coolant flow and heat transfer
- Assess reactor structures for stress, creep and fatigue
Program Overview
Thermal Design and Plant Thermodynamics
Heat generation and the plant as a system.
- Reactor types and heat generation
- Conservation equations
- Power cycles and containment analysis
- Thermal analysis of fuel elements
Thermal-Hydraulics
Removing heat with single- and two-phase flow.
- Single-phase flow, heat transfer and loop analysis
- Two-phase flow, pressure drop and critical flow
- Pool and flow boiling
- Boiling crises and condensation
Structural Mechanics
Keeping reactor structures sound.
- Elasticity and thin-shell theory
- Stress categorization and ASME codes
- Creep and fatigue
Course Completion
Job Outlook
These skills are used in reactor design, nuclear plant engineering and operations, safety analysis and thermal-hydraulics research.
Good for: Engineering students with mechanics and thermal-fluids backgrounds who want to work on nuclear power systems.
Keep in mind: A fall 2015 course whose materials are problem sets and a rich exam archive with solutions from four years; there are no lecture notes, so the Todreas and Kazimi textbook carries the teaching.
Bottom line: An outstanding practice resource for reactor thermal-hydraulics, best used alongside the textbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many years of exams are posted?
Yes. The 2015 quizzes and final exam are posted with solutions, along with quizzes and finals from 2014, 2009 and 2008, also with solutions.
Which textbook is required?
Nuclear Systems Volume 1: Thermal Hydraulic Fundamentals by Neil E. Todreas and Mujid S. Kazimi, supplemented by notes and handouts on structural mechanics.
Can software be used for homework?
Yes. Some problems may be solved efficiently with MATLAB, Mathcad or similar programs, with answers expected in SI units.
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