Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Advancement Of Computational Nuclear Fuel And Safeguard Tools, Nathan Shoman

Masters Theses

This thesis work was conducted in two separate but related areas: reactor physics and nuclear fuel safeguards. Reactor physics calculations at the assembly level are important to understand the buildup of fission products and major actinides. These calculations can be used to determine the content of a spent fuel assembly prior to reprocessing or disposal at a much cheaper price. This thesis presents an extension to the SCALE (A Nuclear Systems Modeling & Simulations Suite) by developing a lattice model and cross-section library for the CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) 37 and 28 element assemblies. The previous cross-section library was based …

Impact Of Configuration Variations On Small Modular Reactor Core Performance, William Kirby Compton

Masters Theses

"One of the most promising new reactor designs is the Small Modular Reactor (SMR). These reactors, which operate under 300 MWe, will help bring cheap and safe nuclear energy to remote and centralized locations alike. Their ease of construction, advanced passive safety features, and cost effectiveness make these reactors an intriguing option for the near future.

In the work presented here, a neutronics analysis of the Westinghouse SMR was performed. Westinghouse's SMR design is a scaled down version of their AP1000 plant and will produce about 225 MWe of power. Though the parameters of the reactor core will be modeled …