NE 4402 Final Assignment

Falls 2010

1. Complete the answer pages for Parts 1 and 2 of the final assignment.
2. Submit to me via email attachment ONLY the 2 answer pages NO LATER THAN 12:00
pm (mid-day) on Friday, 19 December.
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
Name________________________________________

Part 1 Answer Page

1 17

2 18

3 19

4 20

5 21

6 22

7 23

8 24

9 25 A

10 26

11 27

12 28

13 29

14 30

15 31

16a

16b

32 a

f
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
Name_______________________________________

Part 2 Answer Page

10

11

12
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
Part 1 – At-home, Open-book, Open-notes, Open-mind Quiz

Please provide all answers on the answer pages, NOT on the question pages.

True/False
Write or type T or F at the corresponding number on the answer page.

1. Positive reactivity increases reactor power and negative reactivity decreases reactor
power
2. Nuclear criticality implies an infinite multiplication factor greater than one and an
effective multiplication factor of one.

3. Increasing the coolant flow in a BWR decreases core reactivity.

4. A burnable poison, such as gadolinia (Gd2O3), is mixed with fuels for long-term
reactivity control.

5. For safety, a positive reactivity temperature coefficient is desirable.

6. The first man-made nuclear reactor was the Chicago Pile (CP-1), a graphite
moderated, thermal reactor.

7. Delayed neutrons have little effect on the control of a thermal reactor but a large effect on the
rate of energy generation.

8. Neutrons can leak from a reactor core only after they are thermalized.

9. Pressurized water reactors are cooled by water and moderated by graphite.

10. Nuclear engineering is cool. 

 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
Matching
Match definitions and terms for numbers 11 to 15. Write the correct letter beside the corresponding
number on the answer sheet. Not all terms will be used.

Definitions Terms

11. The ratio of neutrons produced by fission in one generation to the A. keff
number of neutrons lost through absorption in the preceding generation
B. kabsorption
12. Condition in which the neutron chain reaction is self-sustaining and the
neutron population is neither increasing nor decreasing C. k∞

13. Condition in which the neutron population is increasing each generation D. Subcritical

14. Condition in which the neutron population is decreasing each generation E. Critical

15. The ratio of the number of neutrons produced by fission in one F. Hypercritical
generation to the number of neutrons lost through absorption and leakage in
the preceding generation G. Supercritical

16. Indicate which curve, on the figure below, represents the neutron flux spectrum for the given
reactor type by writing “1” or “2” beside 16a and 16b on the answer sheet.

a. Thermal reactor

b. Fast reactor

Multiple Choice
Write/type the letter(s) for the correct answer(s) to each question beside the corresponding
number on the answer sheet.

17. A reactor with an effective multiplication factor (keff) of 1.0013 is

A. subcritical B. critical C. supercritical D. shutdown

 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
18. Criticality is the condition for which

A. the neutron fission chain reaction is self-sustaining

B. neutron population is increasing
C. reactivity is positive
D. the infinite multiplication factor equals 1

19. A reactor with a reactivity (ρ ) of 0 is

A. supercritical B. critical C. subcritical D. shutdown

20. Which one of the following is the most accurate definition of the term "reactivity"?

A. the rate of change of reactor power in neutrons per second

B. the ratio of the number of neutrons at some point in a generation to the number
of neutrons at the same point in the previous generation
C. the factor by which the neutron population changes per unit time
D. the fractional change in the neutron population in one generation time

What direction of movement of control rods, if any, will be required to maintain constant power
during a typical PWR core lifetime by the following changes? Assume that each change is
accomplished independently, unaffected by any other change. Write the letter answer next to the
corresponding number on the answer sheet.

21. Control rod burnup

A. up
B. down
C. no movement

22. Samarium buildup

A. up
B. down
C. no movement
235
23. U burnup
A. up
B. down
C. no movement

24. Production of 239Pu

A. up
B. down
C. no movement
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
Given a homogenous, bare, cylindrical, source-free, critical, uranium-fueled reactor, answer
if/how keff if affected as a result of each of the separate changes to the thermal reactor.

25. If the reactor is formed into a sphere, keff

A. increases
B. decreases
C. does not change

26. If the reactor is surrounded by a layer of stainless steel, keff

A. increases
B. decreases
C. does not change

27. If the number density of 238U, relative to 235U, is increased, keff

A. increases
B. decreases
C. does not change

28. If the temperature of the core is raised, keff

A. increases
B. decreases
C. does not change

29. If old fuel is replaced by new fuel in the reactor, keff

A. increases
B. decreases
C. does not change

30. In class we discussed the concept of nuclear criticality. We know that when a reactor is not
critical, it is either subcritical or supercritical. However, there is also a state of “prompt”
criticality, which is
A. Criticality with prompt neutrons alone
B. Criticality with delayed neutrons alone
C. Criticality only with both prompt + delayed neutrons

31. Under what conditions does the six-factor formula simplify to the four-factor formula?
A. Finite core
B. Finite core with no neutron leakage
C. Infinite core
D. Infinite core with neutron leakage

32. A neutron is born in a thermal fission reactor. This neutron may cause another thermal fission
or it may do one of 6 other things. List the 6 possibilities on the answer sheet as 32a – 32f.
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010

Final Assignment, Part 2 – Read. Think. Answer. Repeat.

Read the following excerpt from the pdf text provided for you on the Moodle page (Section 10.9
in Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, J.K. Shultis and R.E. Faw, Marcel Dekker,
Inc., 2002):
NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010

(You may also want to read through Sections 5.0 to 5.4 (pages 230-238) of Lamarsh and
Baratta, 3rd edition.)

After reading and thinking, answer the following on the answer sheet:

1. For this simple derivation of the neutron diffusion equation, which of the following is not
one of the simplifying assumptions
A. Neutrons are all the same speed
B. Reactor is made of homogeneous material
C. The reactor is at steady state (i.e. neutron gain equals neutron loss)
D. The reactor is infinite in all directions

2. “Diffusion” of neutrons refers to

A. net neutron movement in the direction of increasing neutron concentration
B. net neutron movement in the direction of decreasing neutron concentration
C. net neutron movement less than or equal to the diffusion coefficient, D
D. net neutron movement greater than the diffusion coefficient, D

3. The diffusion equation, also known as Fick’s Law, describes random molecular motion in
a heterogeneous fluid. This law was proposed by
A. Enrico Fermi
B. Antoine Lavoisier
C. Ernest Rutherford
D. Adolf Fick

4. The units of Jx, the net flow of neutrons across a unit area (perpendicular to the x-axis) in
a unit time are
A. unitless
B. neutrons cm2/s
C. neutrons s/ cm2
D. neutrons/cm2 s
E. neutrons/cm3 s
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
5. The units of φ , the neutron flux (sometimes also called the “neutron flux density”)
A. unitless
B. neutrons cm2/s
C. neutrons s/ cm2
D. neutrons/cm2 s
E. neutrons/cm3 s

6. The units of D, the diffusion coefficient, are

A. unitless
B. cm2/s
C. cm/s
D. cm
E. 1/cm

7. Which term in the neutron balance equation is expressed using Fick’s Law?
A. Leakage
B. Absorption
C. Production
D. Source
E. None of the above

8. In equation 10.47 (of Shultis and Faw), what term(s) represent(s) neutron leakage?
d2φ(x)
A. −D
dx 2
B. Σaφ(x)
C. νΣfφ(x)
D. Qx ()
9. In equation 10.47 (of Shultis and Faw), what term(s) represent(s) neutron absorption?
d2φ(x)
A. −D
dx 2
B. Σaφ(x)
C. νΣfφ(x)
D. Qx ()
10. In equation 10.47 (of Shultis and Faw), what term(s) represent(s) neutron production?
d2φ(x)
A. −D
dx 2
B. Σaφ(x)
C. νΣfφ(x)
D. Qx ()
 NE 4402 Final Assignment
Falls 2010
11. In equation 10.47 (of Shultis and Faw), what term(s) represent(s) an external neutron
source?
d2φ(x)
A. −D
dx 2
B. Σaφ(x)
C. νΣfφ(x)
D. Qx ()
12. If there is no external neutron source and all three dimensions must be considered, then
the neutron diffusion equation can be written as
A. − D ∇2
φ + Σa φ −ν Σ fφ = Q
Σ νΣ Q
B. ∇ 2
φ− aφ+ f φ=−
D D D
1 νΣ
C. ∇φ− φ+ 2 f φ=0
2
2
L LΣa
νΣf Σa 1
D. ∇2φ− 2
φ=−
L D