Progress In Reactor Physics

Progress in Nuclear Energy, Volume 5 covers the significant advances in several aspects of nuclear energy field. This book is composed six chapters that describe the progress in nuclear and gas-cooled reactors. The introductory chapter deals with the development and evolution of decay heat estimates and decay heat Standards, and illustrates the use of these estimates through comparison of both the actinide and fission product decay heat levels from typical fuel samples in a variety of reactor systems. The succeeding chapters present different practical methods for handling resonance absorption problem in the case of thermal reactor lattices and review the physics of the different noise phenomena. These topics are followed by discussions of the developed methodology for the description of breeding, conversion, long-term fuel logistics, and related subjects derived from the detailed mathematical description of the fuel cycle. The concluding chapters consider the historical development of heat transfer surfaces for gas-cooled reactors. These chapters also provide a complete set of differential nuclear data on the three technologically important americium isotopes, 241Am, 242Am, and 243Am, suitable for incorporation into the computer-based U.K. Nuclear Data Library. This book will prove useful to nuclear physicists and nuclear energy scientists and researchers.

The third, revised edition of this popular textbook and reference, which has been translated into Russian and Chinese, expands the comprehensive and balanced coverage of nuclear reactor physics to include recent advances in understanding of this topic. The first part of the book covers basic reactor physics, including, but not limited to nuclear reaction data, neutron diffusion theory, reactor criticality and dynamics, neutron energy distribution, fuel burnup, reactor types and reactor safety. The second part then deals with such physically and mathematically more advanced topics as neutron transport theory, neutron slowing down, resonance absorption, neutron thermalization, perturbation and variational methods, homogenization, nodal and synthesis methods, and space-time neutron dynamics. For ease of reference, the detailed appendices contain nuclear data, useful mathematical formulas, an overview of special functions as well as introductions to matrix algebra and Laplace transforms. With its focus on conveying the in-depth knowledge needed by advanced student and professional nuclear engineers, this text is ideal for use in numerous courses and for self-study by professionals in basic nuclear reactor physics, advanced nuclear reactor physics, neutron transport theory, nuclear reactor dynamics and stability, nuclear reactor fuel cycle physics and other important topics in the field of nuclear reactor physics.

Modelling of Nuclear Reactor Multiphysics: From Local Balance Equations to Macroscopic Models in Neutronics and Thermal-Hydraulics is an accessible guide to the advanced methods used to model nuclear reactor systems. The book addresses the frontier discipline of neutronic/thermal-hydraulic modelling of nuclear reactor cores, presenting the main techniques in a generic manner and for practical reactor calculations.The modelling of nuclear reactor systems is one of the most challenging tasks in complex system modelling, due to the many different scales and intertwined physical phenomena involved. The nuclear industry as well as the research institutes and universities heavily rely on the use of complex numerical codes. All the commercial codes are based on using different numerical tools for resolving the various physical fields, and to some extent the different scales, whereas the latest research platforms attempt to adopt a more integrated approach in resolving multiple scales and fields of physics. The book presents the main algorithms used in such codes for neutronic and thermal-hydraulic modelling, providing the details of the underlying methods, together with their assumptions and limitations. Because of the rapidly expanding use of coupled calculations for performing safety analyses, the analysists should be equally knowledgeable in all fields (i.e. neutron transport, fluid dynamics, heat transfer).The first chapter introduces the book’s subject matter and explains how to use its digital resources and interactive features. The following chapter derives the governing equations for neutron transport, fluid transport, and heat transfer, so that readers not familiar with any of these fields can comprehend the book without difficulty. The book thereafter examines the peculiarities of nuclear reactor systems and provides an overview of the relevant modelling strategies. Computational methods for neutron transport, first at the cell and assembly levels, then at the core level, and for one-/two-phase flow transport and heat transfer are treated in depth in respective chapters. The coupling between neutron transport solvers and thermal-hydraulic solvers for coarse mesh macroscopic models is given particular attention in a dedicated chapter. The final chapter summarizes the main techniques presented in the book and their interrelation, then explores beyond state-of-the-art modelling techniques relying on more integrated approaches. Covers neutron transport, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer, and their interdependence, in one reference Analyses the emerging area of multi-physics and multi-scale reactor modelling Contains 71 short videos explaining the key concepts and 77 interactive quizzes allowing the readers to test their understanding