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Introduction to nuclear engineering - Can nuclear technology be a realistic option to solve climate change?


ChalmersUniversityOfTechnology

About This Course

After the discovery of fission in 1938, mankind managed to master the enormous amount of energy released by this reaction, both for peaceful and non-peaceful applications. The first nuclear weapon was tested in 1945 in the desert of New Mexico, USA, whereas the first controlled nuclear reactor was successfully demonstrated in 1942 in Chicago, USA. In 1955, the first nuclear reactor producing electricity was operated onboard the USS Nautilus submarine, representing a milestone in the development of nuclear reactors for electricity production. The second half of the 20th century saw the development of a massive fleet of nuclear reactors. An entire industry able to handle all aspects related to nuclear reactors was developed: from uranium mining, fuel fabrication, reactor operation, waste management and disposal, to decommissioning. Today, more than 400 nuclear reactors are in operation worldwide and more than 50 are under construction. Despite the expansion of nuclear reactors, the share of nuclear electricity worldwide is only slightly above 10%. Can this technology be realistically used to solve climate change?

In this course, you will learn the working principles of nuclear reactors and their physics, the corresponding technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the ethical, economical and societal aspects of nuclear power.

The student learning time for the full course is presently estimated to be around 40 hours:

  • Self-paced learning phase (preparation): 29 hours
  • Interactive discussion sessions: 9 hours
  • Assessment: 2 hours

Requirements

A BSc in Engineering or similar knowledge is required. All principles are derived from scratch, thus allowing any engineering student to comprehend these resources.

Course Staff

Course Staff Image #1

Prof. Christophe Demazière

Prof. Demazière is co-leading the DREAM task force at Chalmers (Deterministic REactor Modelling). DREAM is a cross-disciplinary group having expertise in neutron transport, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and numerical methods. The aim of the group is to develop beyond state-of-the-art techniques for modelling nuclear reactors, thus contributing to improved simulations tools and enhanced safety. Prof. Demazière is lecturing in courses on the physics and modelling of nuclear reactors. These courses deal with the multi-physic and multi-scale aspects of such systems. He is a member of the American Nuclear Society.

Complete list of publications (with most articles available as links within the PDF).

Complete list of presentations (with most presentations available as links within the PDF file).

Read more about the DREAM task force.

Author of the book “Modelling of Nuclear Reactor Multi-physics - From Local Balance Equations to Macroscopic Models in Neutronics and Thermal-Hydraulics”.

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