Principles Of Design Improvement For Light Water Reactors

Commercial nuclear power plants have been operated for 25 years. Although their basic design has been proven successfully, an overall review of the designs of existing reactors, in light of the operational experiences and reactor safety research results, is useful to provide the direction for future improvements. This book is written: (1) to delineate reactor design principles and requirements and to review the performance of existing plants for stimulating the communications between the reactor designers, the reactor operators, and regulators in the course of further development of commercial nuclear power; (2) to update the design criteria and to suggest innovations for the reactor designers and operators based on the latest operational experiences and safety research results; and (3) to provide tools and technology of an IWR design, emphasized in thermal-hydraulic field, for further improvements in reactor design. This book is suggested for use as a reference for professionals working in the nuclear power field, and for use as a text for graduate level courses of nuclear engineering.

This edition builds on earlier traditions in providing broad subject-area coverage, application of theory to practical aspects of commercial nuclear power, and use of instructional objectives. Like the first edition, it focuses on what distinguishes nuclear engineering from the other engineering disciplines. However, this edition includes reorganization and overall update of descriptions of reactor designs and fuel-cycle steps, and more emphasis on reactor safety, especially related to technical and management lessons learned from the TMI-2 and Chernobyl - 4 accidents.

Dr. Samuel Glasstone, the senior author of the previous editions of this book, was anxious to live until his ninetieth birthday, but passed away in 1986, a few months short of this milestone. I am grateful for the many years of stimulation received during our association, and in preparing this edition have attempted to maintain his approach. Previous editions of this book were intended to serve as a text for students and a reference for practicing engineers. Emphasis was given to the broad perspective, particularly for topics important to reactor design and oper ation, with basic coverage provided in such supporting areas as neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and materials. This, the Fourth Edition, was prepared with these same general objectives in mind. However, during the past three decades, the nuclear industry and university educational programs have matured considerably, presenting some challenges in meeting the objec tives of this book. Nuclear power reactors have become much more complex, with an ac companying growth in supporting technology. University programs now offer separate courses covering such basic topics as reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, and materials. Finally, the general availability of inexpensive xv xvi Preface powerful micro-and minicomputers has transformed design and analysis procedures so that sophisticated methods are now commonly used instead of earlier, more approximate approaches.

Super Light Water Reactors and Super Fast Reactors provides an overview of the design and analysis of nuclear power reactors. Readers will gain the understanding of the conceptual design elements and specific analysis methods of supercritical-pressure light water cooled reactors. Nuclear fuel, reactor core, plant control, plant stand-up and stability are among the topics discussed, in addition to safety system and safety analysis parameters. Providing the fundamentals of reactor design criteria and analysis, this volume is a useful reference to engineers, industry professionals, and graduate students involved with nuclear engineering and energy technology.

Completely updated, this graduate text describes the current state of boiling heat transfer and two-phase flow, in terms through which students can attain a consistent understanding. Prediction of real or potential boiling heat transfer behaviour, both in steady and transient states, is covered to aid engineering design of reliable and effective systems.