Nuclear power is in the midst of a generational change-with new reactor designs, plant subsystems, fuel concepts, and other information that must be explained and explored-and after the 2011 Japan disaster, nuclear reactor technologies are, of course, front and center in the public eye. Written by leading experts from MIT, Nuclear Systems Volume I:
Nuclear power is in the midst of a generational change—with new reactor designs, plant subsystems, fuel concepts, and other information that must be explained and explored—and after the 2011 Japan disaster, nuclear reactor technologies are, of course, front and center in the public eye. Written by leading experts from MIT, Nuclear Systems Volume I: Thermal Hydraulic Fundamentals, Second Edition provides an in-depth introduction to nuclear power, with a focus on thermal hydraulic design and analysis of the nuclear core. A close examination of new developments in nuclear systems, this book will help readers—particularly students—to develop the knowledge and design skills required to improve the next generation of nuclear reactors. Includes a CD-ROM with Extensive Tables for Computation Intended for experts and senior undergraduate/early-stage graduate students, the material addresses: Different types of reactors Core and plant performance measures Fission energy generation and deposition Conservation equations Thermodynamics Fluid flow Heat transfer Imparting a wealth of knowledge, including their longtime experience with the safety aspects of nuclear installations, authors Todreas and Kazimi stress the integration of fluid flow and heat transfer, various reactor types, and energy source distribution. They cover recent nuclear reactor concepts and systems, including Generation III+ and IV reactors, as well as new power cycles. The book features new chapter problems and examples using concept parameters, and a solutions manual is available with qualifying course adoption.
There is considerable interest in both developing and developed countries in the design of innovative water cooled reactors (WCRs) and, owing to the higher thermal efficiency and significant system simplifications, supercritical water cooled reactors (SWCRs). Compared to conventional WCRs the SCWR concept requires extensive, comprehensive research and development (R&D). Fundamental research in understanding important phenomena has been completed successfully in providing information required for the next step of development. Currently, a few concepts have been assessed as being technical feasible, and several other concepts are under development. These concepts are described in this publication, together with detailed analysis of remaining gaps requiring future R&D.