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2020　Nuclear Reactor Thermal-hydraulics

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Academic unit or major
Graduate major in Nuclear Engineering
Instructor(s)
Kato Yukitaka  Kikura Hiroshige  Kondo Masatoshi  Sawada Tetsuo  Takahashi Hideharu 
Class Format
Lecture    (ZOOM)
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Mon1-2(原講571, North Bidg. 2, 5F-571)  Thr1-2(原講571, North Bidg. 2, 5F-571)  
Group
-
Course number
NCL.N405
Credits
2
Academic year
2020
Offered quarter
1Q
Syllabus updated
2020/9/18
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
English
Access Index

Course description and aims

To lecture the theories of heat generation and cooling in nuclear fission and fusion reactors based on thermal-hydraulics, and to lecture the energy conversion theory from the heat to power based on thermodynamics.
The purpose of the course is to let students to get the thermal-hydraulics theories necessary for thermal design and safety of fission and fusion nuclear reactors.

Student learning outcomes

Students have the ability of theoretical calculations and/or qualitative explanation on the following items: (1) Generation of heat in nuclear reactor, (2) Heat conduction in fuel elements of nuclear reactors, (3) Single-phase flow cooling of nuclear reactors, (4) Phase changes of reactor coolants, (5) Boiling two-phase flow cooling of nuclear reactors, (6) Thermal-hydraulic phenomena related to nuclear reactor safety, (7) Energy conversion from heat to power in nuclear reactor

Keywords

Fission reaction, Fusion reaction, Nuclear reactor, Blanket, Cooling, Heat conduction, Convective heat transfer, Boiling, Condensation, Two-phase flow, Thermal cycle

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills Intercultural skills Communication skills Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

The instructor will give a lecture and a quiz in every class, and will return the evaluated quiz to students in the following class.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Generation of heat (1) Heat generation of fission and fusion reactions Calculation of heat generation due to mass defect
Class 2 Generation of heat (2) Heat generation in coolant, structural and shield materials and decay heat Calculation of decay heat
Class 3 Heat conduction (1) Temperature distribution in fuel element Calculation of temperature difference between center and surface in fuel element
Class 4 Heat conduction (2) Temperature distributions in fuel cladding, structural materials and first wall Calculation of temperature distribution in thermal shield
Class 5 Energy of thermal fluids (first law of thermodynamics, internal energy, enthalpy, entropy, vaporization, boiling point) Calculation of Energy of thermal fluids
Class 6 Single-phase flow cooling (1) Temperature on surface of fuel element (convective and radiation heat transfer) Calculation of temperature at the surface of fuel element
Class 7 Single-phase flow cooling (2) Multi-dimensional thermal-hydraulics in plenum Study on derivation of conservation equations for thermal-hydraulic analysis
Class 8 Single-phase flow cooling (3) Turbulence phenomena and analytical models Study on derivation of the equations of turbulent models
Class 9 Phase changes of coolant (1) Pool boiling heat transfer and critical heat flux Explanation of boiling curve
Class 10 Phase changes of coolant (2) Condensation heat transfer (film, dropwise and direct contact condensations) Explanation about the importance of condensation in nuclear reactor system
Class 11 Boiling two-phase flow cooling (1) Gas-liquid two-phase flow (flow regime, two-phase flow theory) Explanation about the flow regime of two-phase flows
Class 12 Boiling two-phase flow cooling (2) Boiling two-phase flow (heat transfer, steam quality, critical heat flux)steam-liquid droplet separation Calculation of steam quality in boiling two-phase flow
Class 13 Thermal-hydraulic phenomena related to fast and fusion reactors (liquid metals and molten salts) Explanation of thermal-hydraulic phenomena dealt with in lecture
Class 14 Energy conversion from heat to power in nuclear reactor (steam and gas turbine cycles, thermal efficiencies) Explanation of thermal-hydraulic phenomena dealt with in lecture

Out-of-Class Study Time (Preparation and Review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

Text can be supplied form the lecturers.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

[1]S. Glasstone & A. Sesonske, Nuclear reactor Engineering (4th ed.), Chapman & Hall
[2] R. Byron Bird, et al., Transport Phenomena (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
[3] H. Schlichting & K. Gersten, Boundary Layer Theory (8th ed.), Springer

Assessment criteria and methods

Quiz and Report of given subjects

Related courses

  • NCL.N404 ： Thermal‐Hydraulics and Radiation‐Measurement Laboratory
  • NCL.N407 ： Nuclear Safety Engineering
  • NCL.N406 ： Nuclear Reactor Theory
  • NCL.A402 ： Nuclear Fusion Reactor Engineering
  • TSE.A205 ： Fluid Engineering
  • MEC.E201 ： Thermodynamics (Mechanical Engineering)
  • MEC.E311 ： Heat Transfer
  • SCE.M302 ： Fundamentals of Thermal Engineering
  • NCL.D403 ： Experiment on Severe Accident Engineering

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

It is to be desired for students to have studied thermodynamics, fluid engineering, heat transfer and thermal engineering,

Contact information (e-mail and phone)    Notice : Please replace from "[at]" to "@"(half-width character).

Prof. Yukitaka Kato：yukitaka[at]lane.iir.titech.ac.jp, 03-5734-2967
Associate Prof. Hiroshige Kikura：kikura[at]nr.titech.ac.jp, 03-5734-3058
Associate Prof. Masatoshi Kondo: kondo.masatoshi[at]lane.iir.titech.ac.jp, 03-5734-3065
Assistant Prof. Testuo Sawada: sawada.t.aa[at]m.titech.ac.jp, 03-5734-3062
Assistant Prof. Hideharu Takahashi: takahashi.h.av[at]m.titech.ac.jp, 03-5734-2377

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