Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Safety Economic And Strategic Issues Of Indian Nuclear Power Programme, V Ranganathan, Sanjay Kanoongo

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Mixed Convection In Laminar/Turbulent Separated Backward-Facing Step Flows, Jen-Tai Lin

Doctoral Dissertations

"Mixed convective heat transfer results for two-dimensional laminar/turbulent flow in a duct with a backward-facing step are reported. The two walls forming the duct are maintained at uniform but different temperatures. The straight wall is maintained at the inlet air temperature, while the downstream section of the stepped wall is heated to a higher temperature. This study focuses on a backward-facing step geometry with an expansion ratio of two. The present laminar study examines a wide range of inlet flow and wall temperature conditions to cover the domain from buoyancy-assisting mixed convective flow, pure forced convective flow, buoyancy-opposing mixed convective …

Safety Related Model And Studies Of Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Electrical Distribution System, Hamidreza Sharifnia

Dissertations and Theses

The most important requirement for running a nuclear power plant safely is having a reliable safety system, especially during the emergency shutdown condition. For performing a scrutiny load flow and voltage drop study a detailed and comprehensive electrical model for the emergency electrical distribution system of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant has been developed. This model includes the representation of the transformers, circuit breakers, motors, cables and load data from 4160 volts level down to the individual 480 volts loads.

The Effects Of A Mandatory Early Shutdown Of Maine Yankee, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

The Effects of a Mandatory Early Shutdown of Maine Yankee

Maine State Planning Office - Richard Silkman, Director (September 1987).

Contents: Introduction / Legal Issues / Economic Issues / Health and Environmental Issues / Conclusions / Appendices

Mechanical And Neutronic Properties Of Neutron Absorbing Materials, Donald James Buth

Masters Theses

“The primary neutron absorbing material examined in this project was Boraflex™, which consists of a silicone polymer with boron carbide acting as the neutron absorber. Two aluminum based neutron absorbers, Boral™ and Al-B-Ten, were also examined. Both X-ray and neutron radiography were used to examine the Boraflex™. The neutron radiography gave better resolution in detecting fluctuations in the boron carbide distribution; however, X-ray radiography did perform better in detecting flaws in the base material. Tensile tests were performed to determine the uniformity of Boraflex™'s tensile properties. The average tensile strength was calculated to be 303 ± 15 psi. A small …

Maine Yankee Shutdown Assessment: A Report To Governor Joseph E. Brennan, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

Maine Yankee Shutdown Assessment: A Report to Governor Joseph E. Brennan

Maine State Planning Office, Maine Office of Energy Resources, Maine Public Advocate

Executive Department - May 1986

Contents: Legal Process / Decommissioning Constraints and Costs / Public and Economic Costs and Benefits / Apprendices

Dimensional Change Correlations For 20% Cold Worked Aisi 316 Stainless Steel For Fusion Applications, Robert Wayne Clark

Masters Theses

"Dimensional instability of structural components in a fusion reactor Is expected to occur during Its operation. This expectation is based upon experience with fast reactors In the United States, France and United Kingdom. Correlations for void swelling and Irradiation creep are developed in this thesis for 20% cold worked AISI 316 Stainless Steel for fusion applications.

The sensitivities of swelling to variations in composition, fabrication and the Irradiation environment I le al roost exclusively in the duration of the transient regime of swelling. Irradiation creep rates at high exposures are also expected to exhibit a similar parametric insensitivity, largely because …

Fuel Loading For A Low-Leakage Core In A Pressurized Water Reactor, Omar Ivan Aguilar

Masters Theses

"A study of low-leakage core fuel loading as a means to reduce fast neutron flux incident upon the pressure vessel is presented. The specific case under study is Cycle 5 of Arkansas Nuclear One - Unit Two (ANO-2), a Combustion Engineering Pressurized Water Reactor. Neutron transport calculations were performed using the DOT two-dimensional transport code. The results from DOT provide the angular distribution of the fast neutron flux at the surface of the pressure vessel.

Seven different fuel loading schemes were studied and compared to the Reference Case. The angular distribution of the fast neutron flux for all cases studied …

Dismal Science Meets Dismal Subject: The (Mal)Practice Of Nuclear Power Economics, Charles Komanoff

New England Journal of Public Policy

Electric utilities, reactor designers and builders, and the federal government have badly underestimated the costs of new nuclear power plants over the past fifteen years. Although not all of the increases were readily predictable, particularly those caused by rapid general inflation, nuclear advocates failed to foresee most of the sixfold growth in real costs resulting from new reactors' greater complexity, scope, and regulatory surveillance.

This review recounts the methods used by nuclear power proponents to convince policymakers, the public, and themselves that new nuclear plants would be competitive with other energy sources, long after conclusive contrary evidence was available. It …

Coupled Radiation Transport / Thermal Analysis Of The Radiation Shield For A Space Nuclear Retractor, William John Barattino

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The renewed interest of conducting operations in space has given rise to re-establishment of space reactor systems development. The current SP-100 program is focussing on design of a 100 kW nuclear e reactor for space application. This research project investigated the coupling between radiation transport, energy deposition, and temperature distribution for a variety of space reactor shield configurations. The basic shield design consisted of tungsten [W], and natural lithium hydride either cast or pressed into a stainless steel matrix [LiH(Nat)].

For a nuclear reactor operating at a power level of 1.66 MW_th, temperature feedback effects on energy deposition …

Seabrook: A Case Study In Mismanagement, Irvin C. Bupp

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Seabrook nuclear power plant construction project is an unqualified financial disaster. It simultaneously threatens its chief owner, the Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (PSNH) with bankruptcy and the company's electricity customers with huge rate increases. The fifteen-year history of the project is reviewed to identify "what went wrong?"

The review suggests that the basic problem has been mismanagement by both PSNH and by government regulators. A three-year regulatory imbroglio over the environmental effects of the plant's cooling system was extremely costly in the mid-1970s.

By the time this problem was belatedly resolved, the project had begun to outstrip …

Numerical Simulation Of Mixing Processes In Two-Dimensional Channel Flows, Milan Karel Straka

Doctoral Dissertations

"Recently, considerable interest has arisen in the numerical simulation of laminar and turbulent transport phenomena. More knowledge in this field is needed to improve predictions of heat and mass transfer processes in a variety of technical fields.

In this work a new computationally efficient transport model is developed. It consists of partially parabolized time-dependent equations of motion, continuity, and concentration of nonconservative species. Pertinent equations are solved numerically for both laminar and turbulent flow.

Results of calculations of laminar flow in the entry region of a parallel-plate channel agree well with the work of other authors. For turbulent flows, the …

Evaluation Of A Near-Surface Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility For The State Of Missouri, Christine Lang Nelson

Masters Theses

"A low-level radioactive waste disposal facility for the state of Missouri Is designed. The proposed facility Is to be placed in a mined opening within a Precambrian granite outcrop in southeastern Missouri.

A safety assessment of the proposed facility was performed. The method used was fault tree analysis.

The threat of seismic activity within the region ls seen to be the main determent to the proposed design. Groundwater modelling was not possible due to a lack of data.

The facility design Includes a provision for the retrieval of the low-level waste once the waste has decayed to acceptable levels"-- Abstract, …

The Compositional And Temperature Dependence Of Radiation-Induced Void Nucleation And Swelling In Austenitic Alloys, Bahram Esmailzadeh

Masters Theses

"The objective of this study is to introduce a model which can demonstrate the major features of the compositional and temperature dependence of radiation-induced swelling of austenitic alloys. The effective vacancy diffusion coefficient, D_V^eff, is the prime variable explored in this study. Variations in D_V^eff with composition and/or irradiation temperature are used along with the KWR nucleation theory to determine the subsequent effects of these variables on the void nucleation rate and the duration of the transient regime. The materials chosen for this study are nickel (Ni) and the Ni-Si, Fe-Ni-Cr and Fe-Ni-Cr-Si alloy systems. …

A Theoretical And Experimental Investigation Of Single Phase Flow Through A Small Centrifugal Pump In Three Quadrants Of Operation, Lee Charles Cadwallader

Masters Theses

"The operating characteristics of a conventional centrifugal pump have been investigated, both theoretically and experimentally, in three modes of operation with single phase liquid water at atmospheric pressure and room temperature.

Simple one-dimensional theory has been used to evaluate the theoretical pump performance, and these evaluations are compared to actual experimental data. The actual data shows the degradation effects of flow friction and shock losses that the theory does not take into account. The comparison of the curves illustrates these differences.

The data obtained compares well to and reinforces data from experiments found in the literature review.

Based on the …

Analyzing And Predicting Natural Circulation In A Snupps's Pwr Using "Retran-01", Roger Lee Boyer

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this project is to predict the natural circulation start-up test for the Standardized Nuclear Unit Power Plant System (SNUPPS). In order to make this prediction, a best-estimate, thermal-hydraulic computer code called RETRAN-01 is used.

The start-up test procedures require the simultaneous tripping of all four reactor coolant pumps (RCPs). Natural circulation is confirmed when the three test acceptance criteria have been met. Since this transient is symmetrical, a one-loop approximation of the Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) is normally considered adequate in the nuclear industry. However, there is a concern over how to model the four actual …

Comparative Study Of The Boundary Element Technique And The Finite Element Method In Two Dimensional Eigenvalue Problem, Farough Baradari

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this work we investigate the applicability of a "Boundary Element method 11 for the numerical solution of the Liouville and Helmholtz eigenvalue problem for different two-dimensional geometries including a typical reactor configuration. The method is based on the discretization of the unknown along the boundary and Green's function representation of the governing equation.

To compare the capability of this method with the finite element method, a finite element code which uses quadratic quadrilateral isoperimetric elements was developed. A boundary element code was also written. These codes were used to determine the fundamental eigenvalue for several two-dimensional geometries -- square, …

Optical Filtering Element Including Fluorescent Material, Gary Edward Mueller

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Optical filtering elements having two opposed surfaces and including at least one thin layer of stable non-reflective fluorescent material provide transparent articles which, when exposed to incident electromagnetic radiation at one surface of the fluorescent layer, absorb certain wavelengths within the fluorescent layer and emit other wavelengths at the opposed surface of the fluorescent layer. In preferred embodiments, when radiation (light) in the visible range (about 400 nm to about 700 nm) is incident on the element from one side, certain wavelengths of radiation which transverse the element are absorbed in the fluorescent layer and other radiation of greater, but …

Optical Filtering Element, Gary Edward Mueller, Timothy D. Ziebarth

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Optical filtering elements having two opposed surfaces and including at least one thin layer of stable non-reflective fluorescent material provide transparent articles which, when exposed to incident electromagnetic radiation at one surface of the fluorescent layer, absorb certain wavelengths within the fluorescent layer and emit other wavelengths at the opposed surface of the fluorescent layer. In preferred embodiments, when radiation (light) in the visible range (about 400 nm to about 700 nm) is incident on the element from one side, certain wavelengths of radiation which transverse the element are absorbed in the fluorescent layer and other radiation of greater, but …

The Effect Of Availability Improvement Of A Nuclear Power Plant On The Cost Of Generating Electricity, Seyyed Mohammad Reza Nejat

Doctoral Dissertations

"The objective of this investigation is to study the economic benefits in operating a nuclear power plant as a result of improving the availability of the secondary (steam) loop of the plant. A new method has been developed to obtain availability, frequency of failure, probability and frequency of operation, cycle time, and uptime for different capacity states of a parallel-series system having components with failure and repair rates distributed exponentially. The method has been applied to different subsystems, systems, and the secondary loop as a whole. The effect of having spare parts for several components, as measured by savings in …

An Alternate High Pressure Injection System For Pressurized-Water Reactors, Gary Edward Mueller

Doctoral Dissertations

"To evaluate the In-Core Injection System (ICIS) performance during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) due to a major rupture in the primary system of a pressurized water reactor (PWR), tests were conducted using the thermal-hydraulic computer code RELAP4/MOD5.

The results for the overall plant system show that the maximum core average fuel cladding temperature reached during an intermediate size cold-leg break in a Combustion Engineering PWR with ICIS is equal to the initial operating temperature of 335°c (636°F). The maximum core average fuel cladding temperature reached during a large size cold-leg break with ICIS is 478°c (893°F). This temperature is approximately …

Film Boiling Destabilization From Hydrodynamic And Thermodynamic Considerations, Fred Samuel Gunnerson

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

An analytical method is presented for predicting, from first principles, the minimum heater temperature and heat transfer rate at the onset of film boiling for spherical and ·flat plate heaters in saturated and subcooled liquids. Within the analysis, consideration is given to the two types of film boiling, they are:

(1) Pool film boiling where the entire heater is submerged within the boiling liquid, and

(2) Leidenfrost film boiling where a droplet of liquid boil s above a horizontal plate heater.

0254: Leslie Carl Borchert Papers, 1942-1954, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Mr. Borchert was an engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project in Chicago during WWII. He was an employee of Houdaille-Hershey. Collection consists mainly of newspapers and clippings concerning the development of atomic energy, the bomb, etc. Also memos, certificates, and items relating to auxiliary fireman.

The Effect Of Volatile Fission Products On Fuel Motion In Nuclear Fuel Elements, Paul Sasa

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Stringent licensing procedures for commercial nuclear reactor operation require an in-depth analysis of the phenomena associated with postulated reactor core overheating accidents. One aspect of nuclear reactor safety assessment is a prediction of fuel behavior associated with such postulated overheating events, which includes an assessment of the role of fission product inventory contained within irradiated fuel elements on fuel relocation potential. In general the gaseous fission product, such as Xenon and Krypton, have been considered the most likely candidates for fuel relocation due to gas dissolution from the fuel matrix and bubble expansion during fuel overheating; thus, such gaseous fission …

The Role Of The Civex Process In The Nuclear Industry, Thomas E. Eaton, Joseph C. Carter

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

The United States is committed to policies which would assure that the international, commercial nuclear industry cannot be exploited as a source of materials for nuclear weapons. The Civex process provides for a proliferation-resistant fast breeder reactor fuel cycle. Nevertheless, the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation involving the commercial nuclear industry is small compared to the risk associated with certain research facilities and military activities.

A Strategy For The Practical Utilization Of Thorium Fuel Cycles, Paul R. Kasten

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

There has been increasing interest in the utilization of thorium fuel cycles in nuclear power reactors for the past few years because of economic, fuel utilization, and pro- 1 iteration resistance factors. Also, it appears desirable to maintain the ratio of thermal reactors to fast reactors at a high value in the long term because of economic and proliferation resistance features. The analysis performed here concludes that the practical, early utilization of thorium fuel cycles in power reactors requires commercialization of HTGRs operating first on stowaway fuel cycles, followed by thorium fuel recycle. In the longer term, thorium utilization involves …

A System For Detecting Neutrons In The Harsh Radiation Environment Of A Relativistic Electron Beam, Lyle Wayne Kruse

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Newly developed detectors and procedures allow measurement of neutron yield and energy in the harsh radiation environment of a relativistic electron beam source. A new photomultiplier tube design and special gating methods provide the basis for novel time-of-flight and total-yield detectors. The technique of activation analysis is expanded to provide a neutron energy spectrometer. There is a demonstrated potential in the use of the integrated system as a valuable diagnostic tool to study particle-beam fusion, intense ion-beam interactions, and pulsed neutron sources for simulating weapons effects. A physical lower limit of 10⁸ neutrons into 4π is established for accurate …

Improvement To The Solution Of Stefan-Like Freezing And Melting Problems, With Application To Lmfbr Safety Analysis, Mohamed Shafik El-Genk

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

This work involves development of improvements to two analytical methods to predict the instantaneous position of the moving phase-change front in one-dimensional Stefan-like problems. These techniques, the refined integral heat balance and the upper and lower bounds averaging methods, are useful in practical applications for reactor safety analysis, under hypothesized conditions leading to molten fuel relocation problems. With such applications in mind, the two methods are applied to four different one-dimensional problems which involve change-of­phase, with or without a convective boundary condition at the moving front. Comparison with the exact solution has been presented whenever possible; ultimately, all solutions have …

Utilization Of Waste Heat From The University Of Missouri Research Reactor., Anek Punyakumleard

Masters Theses

"An analysis has been conducted to determine the economic as well as technical feasibility of using waste heat from the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) to heat the reactor containment building and the associated laboratory building.

Several methods of waste heat utilization were reviewed, including open field agriculture, animal shelter heating, aquaculture, waste water treatment, and space heating. Based on this review, it was concluded that several of these waste heat utilization methods are feasible for the MURR. However, the most practical means of utilizing the MURR waste heat appears to be for space heating in the reactor containment …

The Environmental Effects Of Uranium Exploration And Mining, Nicholas H. Tibbs, David L. Rath, Thomas K. Donovan

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

Uranium exploration and mining is increasing as the Nation's demand for energy grows. The environmental impacts associated with this exploration and mining are not severe and compare favorably with impacts from the production of other energy resources.