Courses

Theory of radioactive decay processes, nuclear properties and structure, nuclear reactions, interactions of radiation with matter, biological effects of radiation.

Statistical description of systems composed of large numbers of particles in the context of classical and quantum mechanics; basic concepts of probability theory and thermodynamics as they relate to statistical mechanics.

Nuclear reactor materials: relationship between changes in material properties and microstructural evolution of nuclear cladding and fuel under irradiation.

Ionizing radiation, biological effects, radiation measurement, dose computational techniques, local and federal regulations, exposure control.

Nature, sources, and control of radioactive wastes; theory and practice of disposal processes.

Nuclear power cycles; heat removal problems; kinetic behavior of nuclear systems; material and structural design problems.

Basic knowledge necessary for intelligent simulation and interpretation of simulations of transients in nuclear power plants.

Laboratory experience in radiation detection and measurement.

Thermal hydraulic fundamentals applied to power reactors, thermal analysis of fuel elements, and two-phase heat transfer in heated channels.

In-depth analysis of the reactor core thermal hydraulics; computational methods and practical applications.

Analytical kinetics and dynamics modeling for reactivity-induced transients; reactor accident kinetics methods for simple and complex geometries; experimental methods.

Nuclear fuel inventory determination and economic value through the fuel cycle. Emphasis on calculational techniques in reactor, optimization, and design.

Derivation of Boltzmann equation for neutron transport; techniques of approximate and exact solution for the monoenergetic and spectrum regenerating cases.

Fundamentals of the probability theory and statistics, analog and non-analog Monte Carlo methods and their applications, random processes, and numbers.

Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Concepts and techniques of analyses useful in evaluating engineering projects under deterministic and uncertain conditions.

Thermal energy transfer mechanisms: conduction (steady, transient), convection (internal, external), radiation; lumped parameter method; heat exchangers; introduction to numerical methods.

Laminar and turbulent flow heat transfer in natural and forced convection systems.

Second semester of core sequence in fluid mechanics; continuation of boundary layers, stability, transition, turbulence, turbulent boundary layers, turbulence models.

Application of finite difference methods to the study of potential and viscous flows and conduction and convection heat transfer.

Introduces computational fundamentals, including digital logic; programming language, basic numerical analysis and data processing, as applied to mechanical simulation techniques.