Credits: 3 (3-0-0)
Description
Introduction: Scope of nuclear energy (fission and fusion energy), typical reactions.
Basics Concepts: Binding Energy of a nuclear reaction, mass energy equivalence and conservation laws, nuclear stability and radioactive decay, radioactivity calculations.
Interaction of Neutrons with Matter: Compound nucleus formation, elastic and inelastic scattering, cross sections, energy loss in scattering collisions, polyenergetic neutrons, critical energy of fission, fission cross sections, fission products, fission neutrons, energy released in fission, r-ray interaction with matter and energy deposition, fission fragments. The Fission Reactor: The fission chain reaction, reactor fuels, conversion and breeding, the nuclear power resources, nuclear power plant & its components, power reactors and current status.
Reactor Theory: Neutron flux, Fick’s law, continuity equation, diffusion equation, boundary conditions, solutions of the DE, group diffusion method, Neutron moderation (two group calculation), one group reactor equation and the slab reactor Health Hazards: radiation protection & shielding.
Nuclear Fusion: Fusion reactions, reaction cross-sections, reaction rates, fusion power density, radiation losses, ideal fusion ignition, Ideal plasma confinement & Lawson criterion.
Plasma Concepts: Saha equation, Coulomb scattering, radiation from plasma, transport phenomena.
Plasma Confinement Schemes: Magnetic and inertial confinement, current status.