ENGR 55400 Nuclear Reactor Physics and Engineering

Assignment #1 (Total: 52 marks) (due March 8, 2021)

Ql. A nuclear power plant produces 1000 MWe of electricity with a thermal efficiency of 32%. The
"heating value" of uranium fuel when fissioned is 8.21 X l 07 MJ/kg. Here, the heating value simply
means the amount of nuclear energy converted to thermal energy in the fission process. How many
kilograms of uranium does the station consume per day?

Answer: Uranium consumed = 1000 x 24 x 3600 x 1/0.32 x 1/8.21x10 7 = 3.29 k g/day.

(MJe/s) (s/day) MJ T /MJe kg/MJ T (10 marks)
Note: This is a small quantity; fission reactors do not have to be fueled every day.
𝐴𝐴 𝐴𝐴
Q2. Identify the reactant nucleus, 𝑍𝑍𝑋𝑋, or product nucleus, 𝑍𝑍𝑌𝑌, in the following nuclear reactions.

79 81
f. 35𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 (α,2n) 37𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 a. 6 3
3𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿(n,α) 1𝐻𝐻
88 88
g. 38𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆(d,2n) 39𝑌𝑌 b. 56 54
66 68 26𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹(d,α) 25𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀
h. 30𝑍𝑍𝑍𝑍(α,2n) 32𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 c. 24 22
12𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀(d,α) 11𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁
1 mark for each correct answer in red for a total of
71 74
i. 31𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺(α,n) 33𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 d. 52 52 10 marks.
105 105 24𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶(α,4n) 26𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹
j. 46𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃(p,n) 47𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 e. 71 74
31𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺(α,n) 33𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴

Q3. In the four reactions shown below, the rest mass of the aluminum nucleus (27Al) is given as
26.981538 amu, and the Q-value of each reaction is indicated. Identify the product nucleus and
calculate its mass in amu using mp=1.007825, mn=1.0086647 amu, md = 2.0141018 amu, and mα =
4.002602 amu.

(a) 27A1(n,γ); Q = 7.722 MeV

(b) 27A1(d,p); Q = 5.497 MeV (For each part, 1 mark for the correct nuclide name, and 2
(c) 27Al(p,α); Q = 1.594 MeV marks for the correct mass in amu. Total of 3 x 4 = 12 marks)
(d) 27Al(d,α); Q = 6.693 MeV

Solution:
First, convert the Q-value to an equivalent mass by dividing by 931.5 MeV/amu
(a) Q = 7.722 MeV, mass equivalent = 0.00828985 amu
(b) Q = 5.497 MeV, mass equivalent = 0.005901 amu
(c) Q = 1.594 MeV, mass equivalent = 0.0017112 amu
(d) Q = 6.693 MeV, mass equivalent = 0.007185 amu

Since Q-value in amu = Mass of reactants – Mass of products,

Mass of products = Mass of Reactants - Q-value

a) Product is 28Al and its mass = 26.981538+1.0086647-0.00828985 = 27.9819 amu

b) Product is 28Al and its mass = 26.981538+2.0141018–1.007825-0.005901 =27.9819 amu
c) Product is 24Mg and its mass = 26.981538+1.007825-4.002602 =23.9867 amu
d) Product is 25Mg and its mass = 26.981538+2.0141018-4.002602 =24.9930 amu

1
 Q4. 90Sr decays to yttrium-90 (90Y) which also decays to zirconium-90 (90Zr). If the half lives of 90Sr
and 90Y are 28.1 years and 64 hours, respectively, calculate the activity of 90Y at t = 24
hours if one has 1.0 Ci of 90Sr and no 90Y at t = 0. (10 marks)
𝜆𝜆 𝑁𝑁0
Solution: Use 𝑁𝑁1 (𝑡𝑡) = 𝑁𝑁10 𝑒𝑒 −𝜆𝜆1 𝑡𝑡 and 𝑁𝑁2 (𝑡𝑡) = 𝑁𝑁20 𝑒𝑒 −𝜆𝜆2 𝑡𝑡 + 𝜆𝜆 1−𝜆𝜆1 (𝑒𝑒 −𝜆𝜆1 𝑡𝑡 − 𝑒𝑒 −𝜆𝜆2 𝑡𝑡 )
2 1

=0

0 𝜆𝜆1𝑁𝑁01
𝜆𝜆2 𝑁𝑁2 (𝑡𝑡) = 𝜆𝜆2 𝑁𝑁2 𝑒𝑒−𝜆𝜆2𝑡𝑡 + 𝜆𝜆2 (𝑒𝑒−𝜆𝜆1𝑡𝑡 − 𝑒𝑒−𝜆𝜆2𝑡𝑡 )
𝜆𝜆2 −𝜆𝜆1
𝜆𝜆2
𝜆𝜆2 𝑁𝑁2 (𝑡𝑡) = 𝜆𝜆1 𝑁𝑁01 (𝑒𝑒−𝜆𝜆1𝑡𝑡 − 𝑒𝑒−𝜆𝜆2𝑡𝑡 )
𝜆𝜆2 − 𝜆𝜆1

Q5. 238U (T1/2 = 4.5x109 years) decays by alpha and β- decay to stable 206Pb (lead) in a series of
radioactive decay reactions.
a) How many β- decays are involved?
b) What is the rate of alpha particle production in a rock containing 1.0 g of 238U with all
its daughters in equilibrium?
222
c) Rn (T1/2 = 3.8 days) is a noble gas produced by the radioactive decay of 238U.
The daughters of 222Rn are a dominant contributor to our background radiation dose.
Estimate the global inventory of 222Rn (in grams) assuming that 4x109 tons of uranium
are present on our planet.
d) Calculate the global power in Watts produced by the radioactive decay of 238U.
Solution: a) No. of α’s emitted = (238 – 206)/4 = 8. Noting that U-238 has Z = 92 and Pb-206 has Z = 82,
each α emission decreases Z by 2, so Z should have decreased by 16, but the actual decrease in Z is
10. So, 16 - 10 = 6 beta particles must have been emitted.

dps

Activity of Rn-222

2
 Neglect mass of β- particles

Q6. Deuterium (2H) comprises 0.0148 atomic % of natural hydrogen. If all the deuterium (2H) in
1000 kg of water is used in d-d fusion reaction, how much energy in Mega Joules (MJ) would
be produced? The average energy released per d-d fusion reaction can be taken to be 3.64 MeV.

(10 marks)

kg/m3
g/kg g/mole molecules/mole

MJ/MeV