Nuclear Engineering Course Catalog

C&ESOC/ISYE/NE/SOC 708: Societal Risk Management of Technological Hazards

Credits unavailable

Issues involved in decision-making regarding technological risks and risk management in areas such as nuclear power, hazardous waste disposal, and pollution control. Risk perception and cognitive biases; risk analysis and decision analysis; political issues in risk management; regulatory mechanisms; and risk communication. Selected case studies.

ECE/NE 528: Plasma Processing and Technology

Credits unavailable

Introduction to basic understanding and techniques. Plasma processing of materials for semiconductors, polymers, plasma spray coatings, ion implantation, etching, arcs, extractive metallurgy and welding. Plasma and materials diagnostics.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 525: Introduction to Plasmas

3 credits

Basic description of plasmas: collective phenomena and sheaths, collisional processes, single particle motions, fluid models, equilibria, waves, electromagnetic properties, instabilities, and introduction to kinetic theory and nonlinear processes. Examples from fusion, astrophysical and materials processing processing plasmas.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 527: Plasma Confinement and Heating

Credits unavailable

Principles of magnetic confinement and heating of plasmas for controlled thermonuclear fusion: magnetic field structures, single particle orbits, equilibrium, stability, collisions, transport, heating, modeling and diagnostics. Discussion of current leading confinement concepts: tokamaks, tandem mirrors, stellarators, reversed field pinches, etc.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 724: Waves and Instabilities in Plasmas

3 credits

Waves in a cold plasma, wave-plasma interactions, waves in a hot plasma, Landau damping, cyclotron damping, magneto-hydrodynamic equilibria and instabilities, microinstabilities, introduction to nonlinear processes, and experimental applications. Basic knowledge of plasmas [such asPHYSICS/E C E/N E 525] and advanced electromagnetics [such asPHYSICS 721orE C E 740] strongly encouraged.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 725: Plasma Kinetic Theory and Radiation Processes

Credits unavailable

Coulomb Collisions, Boltzmann equation, Fokker-Planck methods, dynamical friction, neoclassical diffusion, collision operators radiation processes and experimental applications. Basic knowledge of plasmas [such asPHYSICS/E C E/N E 525] and advanced electromagnetics [such asPHYSICS 721orE C E 740] strongly encouraged.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 726: Plasma Magnetohydrodynamics

Credits unavailable

MHD equations and validity in hot plasmas; magnetic structure and magnetic flux coordinates; equilibrium in various configurations; stability formulation, energy principle, classification of instabilities; ideal and resistive instability in various configurations, evolution of nonlinear tearing modes; force-free equilibria, helicity, MHD dynamo; experimental applications. Basic knowledge of plasmas [such asPHYSICS/E C E/N E 525] and advanced electromagnetics [such asPHYSICS 721orE C E 740] strongly encouraged.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 749: Coherent Generation and Particle Beams

Credits unavailable

Fundamental theory and recent advances in coherent radiation charged particle beam sources (microwave to X-ray wavelengths) including free electron lasers, wiggler/wave-particle dynamics, Cerenkov masers, gyrotrons, coherent gain and efficiency, spontaneous emission, beam sources and quality, related accelerator concepts experimental results and applications.

ECE/NE/PHYSICS 922: Seminar in Plasma Physics

0–1 credits

Current topics in plasma physics.

ISYE/NE 574: Methods for Probabilistic Risk Analysis of Nuclear Power Plants

Credits unavailable

Methods for risk and reliability analysis of engineered systems, particularly as applied in the nuclear power industry. Fault trees and event trees, Bayesian data analysis, probabilistic risk management. Some familiarity with nuclear plant safety systems is helpful, but not required.

ME/NE 520: Two-phase Flow and Heat Transfer

Credits unavailable

Two-phase flow and heat transfer in engineering systems. Pool boiling and flow boiling. Phenomenological modeling.

ME/NE 565: Power Plant Technology

3 credits

Design and performance of power plants for the generation of electric power; fossil, solar, wind, hydro and nuclear fuels, cycle analysis, component design and performance, plant operation, control, economics and environmental impact.

MEDPHYS/NE 506: Monte Carlo Radiation Transport

Credits unavailable

Use of Monte Carlo technique for applications in nuclear engineering and medical physics. Major theory of Monte Carlo neutral particle transport is discussed. Standard Monte Carlo transport software is used for exercises and projects. Major emphasis is on analysis of real-world problems.

MEDPHYS/NE 569: Health Physics and Biological Effects

3–4 credits

Physical and biological aspects of the use of ionizing radiation in industrial and academic institutions; physical principles underlying shielding instrumentation, waste disposal; biological effects of low levels of ionizing radiation.

MS&E/NE 423: Nuclear Engineering Materials

3 credits

Fundamentals of fuel and cladding behavior in terms of thermal properties, chemical behavior and radiation damage.

MS&E/NE 433: Principles of Corrosion

3 credits

Thermodynamics and kinetics of metallic corrosion. The common forms of corrosion and corrosion susceptibility tests. Electrochemical measurement of corrosion rates. Corrosion prevention, economic considerations. High temperature oxidation and sulphidation. Corrosion case histories.

NE 1: Cooperative Education Program

1 credits

Apply classroom theory and practical knowledge of engineering-related operations and functions in a professional setting. Full-time workplace experience.

NE 231: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering

Credits unavailable

Nuclear fission/fusion, medical applications of radiation, radiation safety. Socio-economic topics including environmental justice, community engagement, nuclear policy. Brief history of and controversies in nuclear engineering. Career paths and ethics in engineering, and introduction to professional communication.

NE 234: Principles and Practice of Nuclear Reactor Operations

Credits unavailable

Presents the theoretical and practical information required to understand operation of nuclear reactors. Content includes all subjects which must be known by a person seeking an operating license for the university reactor. Instructors integrate information on similar operations and systems in a nuclear power plant.

NE 305: Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering

3 credits

Properties of nuclei, nuclear structure, radioactivity, nuclear reactions, fission, resonance reactions, moderation of neutrons.

NE 405: Nuclear Reactor Theory

Credits unavailable

The neutronics behavior of fission reactors, primarily from a theoretical, one-speed perspective. Criticality, fission product poisoning, reactivity control, reactor stability and introductory concepts in fuel management, followed by slowing down and one-speed diffusion theory.

NE 408: Ionizing Radiation

Credits unavailable

Sources, interactions, and detection of ionizing radiation. Biological effects, shielding, standards of radiation protection.

NE 411: Nuclear Reactor Engineering

3 credits

Reactor heat generation and removal; steady- and unsteady-state conduction in reactor elements; single phase, two-phase, and liquid metal cooling, core thermal design.

NE 412: Nuclear Reactor Design

Credits unavailable

Reactor design projects, reactor hazards, economics.

NE 424: Nuclear Materials Laboratory

1 credits

Practical application of materials issues for nuclear systems including welding, non-destructive examination, optical microscopy, electron microscopy, to understand radiation damage and corrosion.

NE 427: Nuclear Instrumentation Laboratory

2 credits

Experiments on nuclear instrumentation, counting, data analysis.

NE 428: Nuclear Reactor Laboratory

2 credits

Experiments on reactor operation, flux measurement, measurements of reactor parameters, using pool type reactor.

NE 489: Honors in Research

1–3 credits

Undergraduate research and senior honors thesis in nuclear engineering.

NE 505: Nuclear Reactor Analysis

Credits unavailable

The neutronics behavior of fission reactors, both from a theoretical and computational multi-group perspective. Multi-group diffusion theory, finite-difference and nodal methods, core heterogeneous effects, pin power reconstruction, thermal neutron spectra, fine group whole spectrum calculations and coarse group constant generation.

NE 526: Laboratory Course in Plasmas

Credits unavailable

Provides a background in the techniques for creating, exciting, and measuring the properties of lab plasmas and using the associated apparatus.

NE 536: Feasibility of Fusion Power Plants Based on Controlled Nuclear Fusion

3 credits

Introduction to the main aspects of fusion power plants and the underlying plasma physics. Key design considerations will be summarized related to fusion fuels, resources, plasma physics, plasma-facing materials, magnets, neutronics, shielding, tritium breeding blankets, structural materials, activation, radiation damage, neutral beams, wave heating current drive, safety, and environmental concerns. Focus on magnetic confinement fusion and its near-term and longer-term prospects.

NE 541: Radiation Damage in Metals

Credits unavailable

A survey of the nature of point defects, how these defects are produced, how the defects migrate and cluster, and what effects point defects and defect clusters have on the physical and mechanical properties of metals.

NE 545: Materials Degradation in Advanced Nuclear Reactor Environments

Credits unavailable

Overview of materials (cladding and structural materials) used in advanced reactor systems and the associated degradation. Interactions between the advanced nuclear reactor environment and materials. Surface degradation, corrosion, oxidation, dissolution, vaporization, mass transfer, diffusion, and hands-on examples related to advanced reactors.

NE 550: Advanced Nuclear Power Engineering

3 credits

Analysis of nuclear systems for the production of useful power. Emphasis: thermodynamic cycles, reactor types, coupling of reactor and power plant, design synthesis, and plant economics.

NE 555: Nuclear Reactor Dynamics

Credits unavailable

Basic equations and physical parameters of point reactor kinetics without feedback effects; the nuclear reactor as a total system; reactor excursions, Fuchs-Nordheim and Bethe-Tait models; space-time reactor dynamics; synthesis methods.

NE 571: Economic and Environmental Aspects of Nuclear Energy

Credits unavailable

Economics of the nuclear fuel cycle. Economic and environmental impact of the nuclear fuel cycle. Impact on design, plant siting and regulation.

NE 602: Special Topics in Reactor Engineering

Credits unavailable

Special Topics in Reactor Engineering.

NE 699: Advanced Independent Study

0–3 credits

Directed study projects as arranged with instructor.

NE 705: Advanced Reactor Theory

Credits unavailable

The neutron transport equation and its application to the analysis of nuclear reactors. Numerical solution methods, including the multi-group model, one-group equations, energy-averaged constants, discrete ordinates, and Monte Carlo methods. Perturbation theory and variational techniques for practical problems. Knowledge of Nuclear Reactor Theory [such asN E 405] required.

Nuclear Engineering course catalog