Lecture

Reactor Technology: Reactivity Variations

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In course

PHYS-443: Physics of nuclear reactors

In this course, one acquires an understanding of the basic neutronics interactions occurring in a nuclear fission reactor as well as the conditions for establishing and controlling a nuclear chain reaction. ...

Description

This lecture covers reactivity variations in reactor technology, including short-term variations like Doppler and void coefficients, medium-term variations such as Xe135 poisoning in thermal reactors, and long-term variations related to fuel composition changes with burnup. The means of control to maintain reactor stability and safety are also discussed, emphasizing the importance of compensating for reactivity changes. The lecture delves into the point kinetics equations, Laplace transforms, and the Inhour equation to analyze reactor behavior under different conditions, such as stable periods, delayed and prompt criticality, and the effects of reactivity insertions. Various coefficients like the Doppler effect, fuel temperature, and moderator temperature are explained, along with their impact on reactor performance.

Instructors (3)

Andreas Pautz

Teaching & PhD PhD Students Sofia Portolan, Michel Saliba, Bishal Torrente, Alexis Paul Boris Claude Dupont-Bembinoff, Cynthia Camila Güttlein Past EPFL PhD Students Ting Zhu, Vladimir Vladimirov Brankov, Boris Aviv Hombourger, Damar Canggih Wicaksono, Petra Mala, Adolfo Rais, Valentyn Bykov, Daniel Jerôme Siefman, Evgeny Nikitin, Dionysios Chionis, Oskari Ville Pakari, Friederike Bostelmann, Jiani Gao, Efstathios Vlassopoulos, Alessandro Scolaro, Stefan Radman, Alexander Aures, Lubomír Bures, Ahmed Salah

Mathieu Hursin

Current work I'm currently heavily involved in the nuclear data community and with technical work towards the improvement of the latest version of the European library (JEFF). I'm leading an OECD/NEA subgroup in that direction. I'm also leading a Euratom project towards the production of multi-physics experimental data suitable for the validation of high-fidelity, high-resolution simulation tools. After a doctoral thesis on the high-fidelity modeling of control rod ejection in a pressurized water reactor at

Carlo Fiorina

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Energy engineering

Nuclear power: Topics in nuclear power

Related concepts (32)

Pressurized water reactor

A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core where it is heated by the energy released by the fission of atoms. The heated, high pressure water then flows to a steam generator, where it transfers its thermal energy to lower pressure water of a secondary system where steam is generated.

High-temperature gas reactor

A high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), is a nuclear reactor that uses a graphite moderator with a once-through uranium fuel cycle. The HTGR is a type of high-temperature reactor (HTR) that can conceptually have an outlet temperature of . The reactor core can be either a "prismatic block" (reminiscent of a conventional reactor core) or a "pebble-bed" core. The high temperatures enable applications such as process heat or hydrogen production via the thermochemical sulfur–iodine cycle.

Boiling water reactor

A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR), which is also a type of light water nuclear reactor. The main difference between a BWR and PWR is that in a BWR, the reactor core heats water, which turns to steam and then drives a steam turbine. In a PWR, the reactor core heats water, which does not boil.

Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which in turn runs through steam turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators' shafts. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating.

CANDU reactor

The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide (heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. CANDU reactors were first developed in the late 1950s and 1960s by a partnership between Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, Canadian General Electric, and other companies.

Related lectures (64)

Reactor Technology: Reactivity Variations and Control

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Explores nuclear reactor physics, covering basic principles, specific reactor types, accidents like Chernobyl, and advanced technologies.

Introduction to Nuclear Engineering

Introduces nuclear engineering concepts, covering reactor technology, physics, safety measures, fission reactions, and reactor safety.

Physics of Nuclear Reactors: Fundamentals and Advanced Concepts