Reactor physics

In order to register for the course 17RFYZ, the student must have successfully completed or received credit for and not exhausted all examination dates for the course 17NFYZ. The course 17RFYZ can be graded only after the course 17NFYZ has been successfully completed.

Garant předmětu:

Jan Frýbort, Lenka Frýbortová

Lecturer:

Jan Frýbort, Lenka Frýbortová

Tutor:

Jan Frýbort, Lenka Frýbortová, Ondřej Novák

Supervisor:

Department of Nuclear Reactors

Synopsis:

The subject “Reactor physics” helps Bachelor’s degree students to get acquainted with fundamentals of reactor physics. The students will get broad knowledge of fission chain reaction. All fission aspects are important for nuclear reactors: fission products, yield of fission neutrons, energy release from fission, and kinetic energy of released neutrons. Such a knowledge will be utilized for analysis of neutron balance in a nuclear reactor and definition of multiplication factor. The students will learn theory of neutron slowing down and fundamental approximations of neutron energy spectrum and group theory. Students will get knowledge of Fick’s law and diffusion theory for basic analytical calculations of neutrons’ spatial distribution in homogeneous multiplying and non-multiplying media. The same theory is also utilized for large-scale calculations of nuclear reactor cores. Conclusions obtained for homogeneous reactor are subsequently compared to heterogeneous reactors. Lecture on fundamentals of nuclear rector kinetics and dynamics is also included.

Requirements:

Syllabus of lectures:

1.Nuclear fuel fission (1 lecture)

2.Analysis of neutron slowing-down with and without neutron absorption (2 lectures)

3.Neutron energy distribution in nuclear reactor (1 lecture)

4.Nuclear fuel construction from the perspective of reactor physics (1 lecture)

5.Fick’s law and diffusion theory (2 lectures)

6.Criticality of homogeneous nuclear reactors (2 lectures)

7.Generalized diffusion theory (1 lecture)

8.Differences between homogeneous and heterogeneous nuclear reactors (1 lecture)

9.Kinetics and dynamics of nuclear reactors (1 lecture)

Syllabus of tutorials:

1.Fission and neutron multiplication coefficient (1 seminar)

2.Analysis of neutron slowing-down and resonance escape probability (2 seminars)

3.Macroscopic group cross-section (1 seminar)

4.Fundamentals of diffusion theory (3 seminars)

5.Criticality calculations of homogeneous nuclear reactors (3 seminars)

6.Application of generalized diffusion theory (2 seminars)

Study Objective:

Study materials:

Key references:

1.Lamarsh J.R, Baratta A.J.: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, Pearson (2017), ISBN: 978-0134570051

2.DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory, Volume 1 and 2, DOE-HDBK-1019/2-93, 1993

Recommended references:

3.Hebert A.: Applied Reactor Physics, Presses internationales Polytechnique, 2016, 406 s. ISBN 978-2553016981

4.Duderstadt J. J., Hamilton L. J.: Nuclear reactor analysis. N. York: Wiley, 1976. xvii, 650 s. ISBN 0-471-22363-8

Note:

Time-table for winter semester 2023/2024:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2023/2024:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Jaderné inženýrství - Jaderné reaktory (PS)