LEARNING OUTCOMES
After finishing this course, the student has hands-on experience on the behaviour of a nuclear reactor. The student knows how reactor power is measured, what the role of delayed neutrons is in reactor control, how the reactivity of a nuclear reactor is controlled in practice, how control rods are calibrated, and how a reactor is brought to a critical state. Additionally, oral and written presentation skills are practiced.
Credits: 5
Schedule: 06.01.2025 - 06.06.2025
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Jarmo Ala-Heikkilä
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
The essential content of this course is provided by five days of nuclear reactor exercises at VR-1 research reactor of Czech Technical University CTU. The visit to VR-1 is scheduled together with CTU and is in Period IV. Due to practical limitations, the course is organized for 6-12 participants per year.
In preparation for the reactor exercises, an introductory lecture is organized in early period III. Exercise instructions are studied in Period III and each participant presents one of the exercises in a half-day seminar that is organized before the VR-1 visit.
CTU staff instructs and supervises reactor exercises at VR-1. Measurement results are analyzed during the course of the exercises in small groups. Additionally, each student writes a more comprehensive laboratory report on one of the exercises by the end of Period IV or early Period V.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
Acceptable seminar presentation, acceptable laborary report (pass/fail)
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
Self studies, student seminar, guided experiments, written report
DETAILS
Study Material
valid for whole curriculum period:
CTU: Reactor physics course at VR-1 reactor; Lamarsh-Baratta: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering; Stacey: Nuclear Reactor Physics
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
7 Affordable and Clean Energy
9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
13 Climate Action
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language: English
Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Spring III - V
2025-2026 Spring III - VRegistration:
A compulsory prerequisite is course PHYS-E0460 “Introduction to Reactor Physics”. If the maximum number of participants is exceeded, the grades for PHYS-E0460 are utilized in student selection (highest grades preferred).