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American Nuclear Society, Inc. 555 North Kensington Avenue La Grange Park, Illinois 60526 USA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knief, Ronald Allen, 1944 Nuclear engineering : theory and technology of commercial nuclear power 0 Ronald Allen Knief. 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-89448-458-3 1. Nuclear engineering. 2. Nuclear energy. I. Title. TK9145.K62 2008 621.48dc22 2008029390
ISBN-10: 0-89448-458-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-89448-458-2 Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 2008029390 ANS Order Number: 350023 2008 American Nuclear Society, Inc. 555 North Kensington Avenue La Grange Park, Illinois 60526 USA All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
xiii
XVll
Overview 1 Introduction
Nuclear Fuel Cycles
Nuclear Power Reactors
3
4
10
22
II
2
67
vii
viii
Contents
87 96
Reactor Physics
99
Infinite Systems 100 Finite Systems 108 Computational Methods 113 Exercises 131 Selected Bibliography 133
135
161
185
III
8
211
241
260
Contents
ix
10
Light-Water Reactors
261
Boiling-Water Reactors 262 268 Pressurized-Water Reactors Exercises 282 284 Selected Bibliography
11
12
313
IV
13
337
14
359
15
417
16
475
Contents
V
17
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Fuel Cycle, Uranium Processing, and Enrichment
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Uranium 513 Exercises 532 Selected Bibliography 508
507
533
18
535
557
19
559
20
599
VI
21
Fusion Overview 636 643 Magnetic Confinement Inertial Confinement 650 Commercial Aspects 655 Non-Thermonuclear Fusion 659 Exercises 661 Selected Bibliography 662
Contents
xi
The Impending Energy Crisis: A Perspective on the Need for Nuclear Power 677
Energy Crisis 678 683 Options Proposed Solutions 694 Exercises 698 Selected Bibliography 702
IV
707
BASIC THEORY
Goals
1. To introduce the basic theoretical concepts of nuclear physics, radiation protection, reactor physics, reactor kinetics, fuel depletion, and energy removal 2. To develop fundamental calculational skills that can aid in understanding nuclear energy problems and solutions
3. To identify the bases for some of the "uniquely nuclear" features of the
Chapters in Part II
Nuclear Physics Nuclear Radiation Environment Reactor Physics Reactor Kinetics and Control Fuel Depletion and Related Effects Reactor Energy Removal
2
NUCLEAR PHYSICS
Objectives
After studying this chapter, the reader should be able to: 1. Describe the atom, including the constituent parts and their relationships. 2. Write and perform calculations using balance equations for alpha, beta, and gamma radioactive decay and for the time-dependent size of a sample experiencing decay. 3. Identify the principal nuclear reactions that involve neutrons and write their balance equations for specified reactants. 4. Define fissile, fissionable, and fertile. Identify the major nuclides in each of these three categories. 5. Describe the distribution of energy among the product particles and radiations associated with fission. Explain the basis for decay heat. 6. Describe the energy distribution of fission neutrons. 7. Define microscopic cross section, macroscopic cross section, and mean free path. Sketch the first three of the four tiers in the cross-section hierarchy. 8. Define neutron flux, write the equation for neutron reaction rate, and use the equation to perform calculations. 9. Estimate radioactive decay rates and neutron reaction rates using data from the "Chart of the Nuclides" and cross-section plots. 10. Interpret the energy dependencies of neutron-reaction cross sections and fission-particle emission to explain key features of and limitations on reactor design and operation.
27
28
Basic Theory
Prerequisite Concepts
Energy Forms Basic Chemistry Basic SI Units Appendix II
The characteristics of the radioactive decay and nuclear reaction processes have been the driving forces behind nearly every unique design feature of nuclear energy systems. Thus, familiarity with some of the fundamental principles of nuclear physics is essential to understanding nuclear technology. . Radioactive decay and nuclear reactions are unique in that they I. provide clear evidence that mass and energy can be interconverted 2. involve a variety of particles and radiations, which often have discrete, or quantized, energies 3. require descriptive formulations based on laws of probability Such characteristics have prompted the development of many new experimental and analytical methods.
THE NUCLEUS
The atom is the basic unit of matter. As first modeled by Niels Bohr in 1913, it consists of a heavy central nucleus sU'rrounded by orbital electrons. The nucleus, in turn, consists of two types of particles, namely protons and neutrons. Table 2-1 compares the atom and its constituents in terms of electric charge and mass. t The proton and electron are of exactly opposite charge. A complete atom has the same number of protons and electrons, each given by the atomic number Z. The electrostatic [Coulomb] attractive forces between the oppositely charged particles is
t Unless otherwise noted, data here and in the remainder of the book are based on the General Electric Chart of the Nuclides (GE/Chart. 1989). The definition for the "amu" is provided at the end of this section.
Radius
(m)
-I
+1
o o
+z*
-A
10 10-
II>
11
te
= 1.6022 x 10- 19 C. +amu = 1.6606 x 10- 27 kg. Z = atomic number. = atomic mass number.
Nuclear Physics
29
the basis for the electron orbits (in a manner similar to the way solar system orbits result from gravitational forces). Although the atom is electrically neutral, the number and resulting configuration of the orbital electrons uniquely determine the chemical properties of the atom, and hence its identity as an element. It may be recalled that the atomic number is the basis for alignment in the periodic table of elements.
Structure
Very strong, short-range forces override the Coulomb repulsive forces to bind the positively charged protons (along with the uncharged neutrons) into the compact nucleus. The protons and neutrons in a nucleus are collectively referred to as nucleons. Since each nucleon has roughly the same mass, the nucleus itself has a mass that is nearly proportional to the atomic mass number A, defined as the total number of nucleons. The electrons are very light compared to the particles in the nucleus, so the mass of the atom is nearly that of the nucleus. The characteristic dimensions of the nucleus and atom are listed in Table 2-1. The latter value is based on the effective radius of the outer electron orbits in arrays of atoms or molecular combinations. A useful shorthand notation for nuclear species or nuclides is 1X, where X is the chemical symbol, Z is the atomic number, and A is the atomic mass number. (An alternative formulation, zX A, is also found, although current practice favors retention of the upper right-hand location for charge-state information.) The subscript Z is actually redundant once the chemical element has been identified; its use is discretionary. Different nuclides of a single chemical element are called isotopes. For example, uranium isotopes U, U, and U were mentioned in the last chapter. Each has 92 protons and electrons with 141, 143, and 146 neutrons, respectively. Another important isotope group is the hydrogen family-iH, rH, and 1H. The latter two are the only isotopes often given separate names and symbols-deuterium lTD] and tritium [TTL respectively.
Binding Energy
One of the most startling observations of nuclear physics is that the mass of an atom is less than the sum of the masses of the individual constituents. When all parts are assembled, the product atom has "missing" mass, or a mass defect given by
(2-1)
where the masses mp ' me, and m n of the proton, electron, and neutron, respectively, are multiplied by the number present in the atom of mass Malam' The defect mass is converted into energy at the time the nucleus is formed. t The conversion is described by the expression
E = mc 2
(2-2)
t Mass changes also occur with chemical binding (e.g., electrons with a nucleus to form an atom and atoms with each other to form molecules), but they are so small as to defy measurement.
30
Basic Theory
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