34594 - Non-conventional Plants for Power Production (Graduate Course)

Learning outcomes

The student acquires knowledge on unconventional production of energy on an industrial scale alternative to fossil fuels and in particular of  nuclear power type.

Course contents

Part I

1. Nuclear energy: production of nuclear energy, nuclear reactors of I, II, III and IV generation, thermodynamic cycles, thermal-neutron design parameters for a nuclear reactor; conversion rate and breeding;
2. Fission and heat reactor generation: fission chain reaction and energy release; multi-scale model for neutron systems:  three-dimensional neutron transport and the point kinetic model. Reactivity  and thermal source models  in fuel, moderator and shields.
3. Heat exchange in reactors: thermo-hydraulic multi-scale model:  conduction-convection in three-dimensional reactor cores  and transport point models for   primary and  secondary reactor loops. Introduction to thermal design and  control.
4. The neutron-thermohydraulic system behavior in nuclear reactors: core interaction  with the primary and secondary loop system; study of coupled neutron-heating system with feedback.

     Part II:

1. Nuclear Power Plant architecture: nuclear reactor classification; main functions and sub-systems; Light Water Reactors (LWR); Boiling Water Reactor (BWR); Heavy Water Reactors (HWR); Gas Reactors (GR); Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR); Innovative Reactors and Generation IV.
2. The Fuel Cycle: open and closed cycles; HWR and FBR cycles, uranium enrichment; heavy water production.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes

M. Cumo, Impianti Nucleari, UTET, 1976
M. M. El-Wakil, Nuclear Power Engineering, McGraw-Hill, 1962
C. Lombardi, Impianti nucleari, CLUP, 2003
L.S.Tong, J.Weisman, Thermal analysis of pressurized water reactor, ANS, 1979
J.R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, Addison-Wesley, 1976
E: Sobrero, Appunti delle lezioni tenute presso la facoltà di Ingegneria dell'Università di Bologna, 1975 e seg.

Assessment methods

The examination consists of two parts: a written (Part I) and an oral one (Part II).

The written exam consists of  three questions on the following topics:

1) a question concerning the neutron topics specified in Section 2 (Part I): score 0-5.

2) a question concerning the heating and plumbing on topics specified in Section 3 (Part I): score 0-5.

3) a  question about neutronic and thermal-hydraulic coupling on topics specified in Section 4 (Part I): 0-6 score.

The oral exam covers the topics 1 and 2 of Part II: 0-16 score.

 

The final grade is the sum of the two scores. Students who exceed the 30 will be given 30 with honours.

Office hours

See the website of Sandro Manservisi

See the website of Ruben Scardovelli