Teaching

NE533 – Nuclear Fuel Performance

In this course, we will study the basic role of fuel in reactor operation and understand how the fuel impacts heat generation and transport to the coolant. The course will begin with an overview of different fuels and the fabrication processes required to construct nuclear fuel. This will include various fuel types and geometries, with a focus on light water reactor fuel and cladding. Thermal transport, mechanics, and thermomechanics affecting fuel behavior will be introduced, and methods to solve the governing equations numerically and analytically will be developed. Subsequently, changes in the fuel and cladding material that degrade the performance of the fuel will be examined. Finally, the knowledge gained throughout the course will be utilized to conduct fuel performance simulations with MOOSE.

NE795 – Advanced Reactor Materials and Materials Performance

In this course, we will study the behavior of nuclear materials in advanced reactor environments. Students will be introduced to different advanced reactor systems and the materials that are either currently deployed or plan to be deployed, within those reactors. Specific material phenomena and material evolution will be particularly emphasized, including, but not limited to: fission gas swelling, constituent redistribution, fission product attack, fission gas bubble superlattice, recrystallization, actinide salt chemistry, and radiation damage accumulation. A particular emphasis will be placed upon advanced fuel forms; however, this course will also address advanced cladding and coolant systems.