Introduction to Nuclear Engineering (A+B)

2021

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 1
 Introduction to Nuclear Engineering (A+B):
course structure
Part A (5 ECTS)
§ Basic elements of Nuclear Energy and Engineering. Brief history of nuclear technology; current
international status and relevance of nuclear energy in the World.

§ Reactor physics concepts. Key concepts to understand nuclear reactor technology basics: neutron
moderation, fission chain reaction, basic nuclear properties of materials (fuel – moderator –
coolant).

§ Nuclear engineering for energy production - I. Key elements of Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
technology.

§ Nuclear fuel cycle. (To be addressed with a FLIPPED CLASSROOM approach: working groups +
presentations + discussion) Main features of fuel cycle front-end and back-end steps, from mining
to waste disposal.

§ Nuclear system economics. Main features of NPP electricity production costs.

§ Visit to Nuclear Power Plant or Nuclear Facility or Nuclear Company (Mangiarotti Industries, Trino)
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 2
 Introduction to Nuclear Engineering (A+B):
course structure
Part B (5 ECTS)
§ Nuclear engineering for energy production - II. Other nuclear reactor
technologies:
- graphite moderated, gas cooled reactors (GCRs)
- boiling water reactors (BWRs),
- pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs),
- liquid metal, fast neutron reactors (LMFRs),
- new generation reactors: Generation III/III+, Generation IV
§ New Generation Reactors: Small Modular Reactors (SMR), Micro Reactors,
Space Reactors. (To be addressed with a FLIPPED CLASSROOM).
§ Nuclear power plant safety. Principles and main systems.
§ Basic Thermal-hydraulics for Nuclear Power Plants. (To be addressed with a
design project – working groups approach, also addressing the previous
topics – SMRs & safety)
Excel or Matlab model:
- Steam Generator (OTSG or U-tube nat. circ.), or
- passive EHRS, or
- iPWR-SMR nat. circ. (Core + riser + SG + downcomer)
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 3
 Introduction to Nuclear Engineering (A+B) 2021:
NEWS about PROJECT WORKS

Basic Thermal-hydraulics WORKING

for Nuclear Power Plants
Excel or Matlab models GROUPS

Energetici
Laboratorio
Ingegneria
Nucleare
(2nd semester)
Prof. Lorenzi
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 4
 on-site visits
(if allowed by Covid constraints)

VISITS Olkiluoto
SIET labs,
Trino NPP,
Mangiarotti,
EU sites,
…
Mochovce
Goesgen

Cadarache

Mangiarotti
Trino
5
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti
 Textbooks
§ Carlo Lombardi, Impianti Nucleari, Ed. PoliPress, 2009
(english version-draft available on WeBeeP site)
§ Pedrocchi, Lombardi, Introduzione
all’Energia Nucleare, Ed. PoliPress

§ Ronald Allen Knief, Nuclear Engineering: Theory and Technology of Commercial Nuclear
Power, American Nuclear Society, 2008 (2nd edition)
§ Raymond L. Murray, Nuclear Energy: An Introduction to the Concepts, Systems, and
Applications of Nuclear Processes, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2014 (7th edition)
§ De Sanctis, E., Monti, S., Ripani, M., Energy from Nuclear Fission: An Introduction,
Springer, 2016
§ Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3rd Ed., Addison Wesley
§ Todreas, Kazimi, Nuclear Systems I + II, Hemisphere Publ. Corp.

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 6
 Main educational goal of the Course

§ To be able to explain the COMPLEXITY of both the energy dilemma and the
nuclear technology

§ To be able to argue around the ROLE and the KEY FEATURES of nuclear
technology, especially w.r.t. the MAIN 3 POINTS OF DEBATE:
1. ________
2. ________
3. ________

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 7
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 8
 Future experiences @POLIMI and abroad

1. Thesis work (int.l collaborations)

2. Internships (e.g. OECD, IAEA, companies)
3. Post-grad experience (PhD, ass.res.)

§ Brand new labs @POLIMI

§ ITA, EU & extra-EU nuclear companies,
universities, R&D centers

§ ENEN projects
– Student research funding

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 9
 EU «certification» of MSc in Nucl.Eng.

§ EMSNE certification
– European Master of Science in Nuclear
Engineering (ceremony at IAEA-Vienna)
§ Trick: to include 5 CFU “extra” (“sovrannumero”) for MSc Thesis for abroad
thesis work

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 10
 Web site

www.ingnucleare.polimi.it

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 11
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 12
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 13
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 14
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 15
 links

§ prof. Marco Ricotti Tel.: 02 2399 6325 (Bovisa)

349 0822480 (mobile)
E-mail: marco.ricotti@polimi.it
Dept. of Energy, CeSNEF-Nuclear
Engineering Division, Nuclear Reactors Group
campus Bovisa: via La Masa, 1st floor Building 12

Documents & Media:

§ WeBeeP (uploading….)
§ www.nuclearenergy.polimi.it (POLIMI-NRG website)

IAEA www.iaea.org WNN www.world-nuclear-news.org

WNA www.world-nuclear.org News www.nucnet.org
Data/Pictures www.nucleartourist.com …

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 16
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 17
 Interested in Nuclear Engineering?...

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 18
 …this is your perspective

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti
 Because you will find a job as a
nuclear engineer, somewhere in the World…
(like your colleagues before you)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 20
 …since the nuclear sector is becoming more and more
international

Note: The total number includes also 2 reactors in Taiwan, China.

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti Source: IAEA, 2020 – PRIS database 21
 What about nuclear, after Fukushima?

§ Germany: phase–out 2022 (?); Italy: re-start abandoned

§ Switzerland: phase–out 2034 (?)

§ Japan: re-thinking of energy strategy but 20-30% of production

by nuclear; some reactors already restarted, others planned; S-Korea: re-
thinking

§ USA, UK, France, Sweden, Finland: confirmed their nuclear plans, with
reduction / slowing down
§ India, China, UAE, Russia: new NPPs programs kept

§ Poland, Lithuania, Turkey, other Est-Europe countries, Saudi Arabia,

Egypt, Jordan, Ghana, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, …:
planning their entry into the nuclear sector

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 23
 about Japan (post-Fukushima)

§ 2015: Japan restarts Sendai-1 and -2 reactors, notwithstanding

Fukushima
§ 2015-17: Takahama-1 -2 -3 -4, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 -4,
Genkai-3 -4, Ikata-3, ...

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 24
 Nuclear Energy – After Fukushima
Number of Operated Reactors
460

World - Nuclear Power Plants 455

450

Electricity Supplied 445

440
435

Fukushima
430
2700 425
420

1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

2005
2006

2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

2015
2016
2004

2007
2008

2014

2017
2018
2650
Year
2600

2550

2500

2450
TWh

2400

2350

2300

2250

2200

2150
1999

2001

2005

2007

2008

2009

2011

2015

2017

2018
2000

2002

2003

2004

2006

2010

2012

2013

2014

2016
Year

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti
 EPR: (still) in construction in Finland (Olkiluoto3)

420-tonne RPV : the

steel component
(5.3m diam., 10.6m
tall) took 20 hours to
move along the rails
into position

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti
 EPR: (still) in construction at Flamanville3 (FRA)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 27
 EPR: 2 units in operation at Taishan (China)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 28
 AP1000: in construction at Vogtle and
VC Summer (USA)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 29
 AP1000: 4 units in operation, at Sanmen and Haiyang
(China)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 30
 APR-1400: in construction at Barakah (UAE)
(first unit: startup on Aug. 19, 2020)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 32
 Market perspectives for Russia (ROSATOM)

8 new reactors in Russia,

34 planned outside

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 34
 Nuclear Power Reactors: World status
(2020)

Source: IAEA, 2020 – PRIS database

§ 5% world primary energy

§ 10% world electricity
§ 18% OECD countries electricity (27% in EU)
§ 33% «low carbon» electricity
§ Less GHG emitting energy source (+ hydro + wind)
§ h24 availability (back up for «Intermittent Renewables»

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 35
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 37
 NUCLEAR ENERGY – WHY?

§ Energy is a very complex equation – no easy/ultimate solutions

§ Cost of energy (nuclear is usually cheap, at least competitive, under

certain conditions)

§ CO2, global warming and environmental concerns (nuclear &

renewables are almost CO2-free)

§ High-quality industry; usually used to improve & develop country’s

economy
(UK and UAE cases)

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti
38
 NUCLEAR ENERGY – WHY?

Chemical reactions:
§ C + O2= CO2 + Q (Q=3.6 eV) 1
§ CH4 + 2 O2 = CO2 + 2 H2O + Q (Q=9.22 eV) 3

Nuclear reactions:
§ 235U + N = F1 + F2 + nN + Q
235 nucleons ´ 0.9 MeV = (Q=211.5 MeV) 23 000 000
The Mega
factor

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 39
 The pioneer of nuclear
Enrico Fermi
02-12- 1942 / 02-12-2012
70 years
Chicago – Exactly seven decades ago,
on December 2nd, 1942, the mankind
found itself on the threshold of the
nuclear era.

A team led by Italian physicist Enrico Fermi managed to ignite a controlled nuclear reaction for the first time in the
history. The experiment opened doors towards the usage of the mysterious energy from the cores of atoms which is able to
both kill and help. Although Fermi belonged among the key minds of the U.S. Manhattan Project whose goal was to develop
a nuclear warhead during the war, the place where the test took place wasn't a nuclear facility. Instead, the experimental
reactor was constructed in the basement beneath the unused terraces of Stagg Field, a sport stadium in Chicago.

The equipment built by the team of Fermi's collaborators for several months was aimed to practically verify the possibility
of a controlled fission chain reaction which was suggested by Fermi's colleague Leó Szilárd. It was composed of numerous
graphite blocks into which uranium capsules were inserted. Cadmium-coated bars were dragged through the spaces in
between the blocks and their sliding in and out was supposed to control the reaction intensity according to the
experimenters' will. The whole 450-ton "atomic charcoal miln" was covered by wooden boards. Together with the bars,
these were the only two safety arrangements.
Although the risks linked to the experiments were significant, 49 brave people gathered in front of the reactor on
December 2nd. Young scientist George Weil was assigned an important role in this exercise. According to Fermi's
instructions, he slowly began to remove bars from the reactor while others were breathlessly standing on an elevated
podium.
Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 40
 Just like the
physicists
expected, the
neutron
activity grew
every time
the bars were
sliding out.
Once the
fission chain
reaction was
in reach and the
tension in the room could have been cut like a loaf of bread,
Fermi astonished everyone who was present. In a calm voice, he declared a lunch break. When the physicists ate the lunch
together, the experiment could continue. The clocks were showing 3:25 pm when the accelerating ticks of the detectors
changed to an uninterrupted sound. The reactor entered the critical state for the first time.

About half an hour later, Fermi ordered Weil to insert the regulating bars and stop the reaction. The viewers felt a feeling
composed of relief and happiness. Someone managed to find a wine bottle and paper cups. Those who remember say that
the room was as silent as a cemetery because everyone was aware of the importance of the moment.

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 41
 The pioneer of nuclear
Enrico Fermi
Army officials were informed about the successful experiment by phone. To protect the information against
eavesdropping, both sides had to exploit a curious code in their speech. "An Italian voyager landed in the New World," the
basement of the Chicago stadium reported. "How did the aborigines react?" chemist James Conant was worried on the
other side of the line. The answer was reassuring: "They were very friendly."

Fermi's experiment opened the door to subsequent developments that took place on two very different paths. The first
path led to the construction to a nuclear warhead that was ignited in a New Mexico desert in July 1945 for the first time. A
month later, inhabitants of Japan's Hiroshima could testify that the weapon was rather efficient.

A more friendly among the two "Janusian faces" of the energy from the cores of atoms is displayed in nuclear power plants.
The first nuclear reactor that was actually producing electricity was started shortly before Christmas 1961 in the U.S.
state of Idaho. Its power was so small, however, that it only covered its own energy needs. The first "nuke" power plant was
connected to the grid in Summer 1954 – in the USSR.

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 42
 NUCLEAR ENERGY – WHY?

5g

=
640 kg 360 m3 400 kg 350 kg

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 43
 CO2 PRODUCTION – LIFE CYCLE
1 800 [8] 180
[4]
1 600 160 Standard deviation
a Mean
1 400 140

gCO2-eq / kWh
gCO2-eq / kWh

[12] Min - Max

[10]
1 200 120 [sample size]
[8]
1 000 100
[16]
800 80 [13]

600 60

400 40 [16]
[15]
[8] [15]
200 20

0 0
lignite coal oil gas CCS hydro nuclear wind solar bio- storage
PV mass

§ Energy Policy, 1997, vol.25, Joop F. van de Vate, “Comparison of energy sources in terms of their full energy chain emission
factors of greenhouse gases”
§ Energy, 2007, vol 32, Daniel Weisser, “A guide to life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electric supply
technologies”

Nuclear Engineering Division, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano – prof. M.E. Ricotti 44