Handbook

This course provides students with an introduction to the key elements of reactor physics. Students completing this course will be able to discuss aspects of reactor physics and the implications that reactor physics has on the engineering of nuclear systems. Students will be able to perform analyses on simple reactor geometries and describe and understand the main reactivity feedback mechanisms, and their significance, on reactor design and control.

Key concepts such as neutron flux and diffusion are first introduced. These are then utilised to demonstrate multiplication and criticality. The neutron life cycle in thermal reactors is described along with fast and delayed neutron production. Reflected reactors and reactor kinetics are discussed including doubling times, reactivity feedback mechanisms, power and temperature coefficients and Xenon poisoning. The course concludes with a discussion on fast reactors and breeding concepts, and a review of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The course material is advanced in nature, due to its interdisciplinary content and the depth of material covered. Students taking this course must have skills expected of advanced engineering students or graduates such that they are capcable of modelling, analysing and critically reviewing complex engineering systems. Students must have completed an introductory course on Nuclear Engineering prior to this course, as the material builds on the physical processes at work during fission including neutron flux, criticality, moderation, reactor dynamics and transients.