NE 6501 - Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Offered as Required

Credit Hours: 3-0-3
Prerequisite: NRE 6201 or equivalent, or with the consent of the instructor
Course Description: Fission fuel cycle, uranium mining and milling, enrichment. Fuel fabrication. In-core fuel management. Reprocessing and fuel cycle economics. Spent-fuel waste management.
Textbook:
 		 Robert G. Cochran and Nicholas Tsoulfanidis, The Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Analysis and Management, Second Edition, American Nuclear Society, 1999.
Instructor: Nolan Hertel
Goals:
 
 		 Provide an integrated survey of the nuclear fuel cycle, an understanding of the technologies employed and the related aspects of safety, economics, environmental effects and institutional safeguards.
References:
 		 Nuclear Chemical Engineering, M. Benedict, T. H. Pigford and H. W. Levi, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY, 1981.
  Nuclear Fuel Management, H. W. Graves, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, 1979.

 

Prerequisite by Topic: Reactor Physics

Topics:
Uranium mining and milling
Solvent extraction of metals
Uranium purification and conversion
Enrichment
Fuel fabrication
In-core fuel management
Isotope Buildup and depletion
Properties of irradiated fuels and reactor materials
Fuel reprocessing
Spent fuel radioactive waste management and disposal
Fuel disposal cycle economics
Computer Usage: Code assignments which model enrichment process and isotope buildup/depletion.
Grading: 1. Examinations
2. Homework
3. Computer assignments
4. Project

Prepared by: Nolan E. Hertel
Date: April 24, 1997

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Revised July 2004