NUCLEAR ANALYSIS AND RADIATION SENSOR LABORATORY - Courses
Courses
NE 5742 - Nuclear Radiations and Their Measurements (Spring 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) (no prereq) to be offered in Spring 2020
Course Description:
Systematic study of nuclear radiation source, interaction with matter and their detection using gas-filled detectors, semiconductor detectors and scintillation detectors; HPGe detector and gamma-ray spectrometry; pulse shaping and processing; statistical data analysis. This course includes a lab session.
Course Topics:
- Nuclear radiation and radiation sources
- Counting statistics: Binomial, Poisson and Gaussian distribution, uncertainty, error propagation and limits of detection
- Interaction of ions and electrons with materials, range calculation with simulation code
- Gas-filled detectors: Ion Chamber, Proportional Counters, G-M Counters, and Frisch Grid
- Scintillation detectors: NaI(Tl) and Photomultipliers
- Semiconductor detectors: PN junction, Schottky contacts, Silicon diode, CZT and mu-tao factor
- Interaction of gamma-ray with materials: PE, CS, PP
- HPGe, detector response function, gamma-ray spectrometry, and Monte Carlo simulation
- Pulse shaping & processing (Current and pulse mode, Pre-amp, Pulse pile-up and rejection, Pole-zero, CR-RC shaping network, ADC, Multichannel pulse analysis, Digitized pulse processing)
- Interaction of neutron with materials, neutron energy and direction detection
- Neutron flux sensor in nuclear reactor instrumentation
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Labs:
- Lab 1: Introduction to Nuclear and General Purpose Pulse Instrumentation
- Lab 2: The BF3 Neutron Detector and Counting Statistics / Error Analysis
- Lab 3: NaI(Tl)/PM gamma ray detectors
- Lab 4: Gamma-ray spectroscopy, HpGe detector
- Lab 5: CZT Detector
- Lab 6: Alpha Particle Spectroscopy
- Lab 7: Uranium-lined fission neutron detectors
NE704 - Reactor Theory I (Fall 2010, 2011), Reactor Physics NE6708 (Fall 2015)
Course Description:
Introduce the basic physical and engineering concepts important to the design and performance assessment of nuclear reactors; introduce the mathematical models used for the approximate studies of nuclear reactor cores; develop the capability of applying these models to practical situations and working skills with the relevant mathematical techniques.
Course Topics:
1. Review of atomic and nuclear physics (Ch.2, 2 hrs)
2. Review of neutron reactions (Ch.3, 2 hrs).
3. Neutron flux, current and cross-section (2 hrs)
4. Heuristic derivation of neutron transport equation (2hrs)
5. Neutron diffussion equation (Ch.5, 3 hrs)
6. Solution of the time-dependent diffusion equation by separation of variables (3 hrs)
7. The critical reactors, material and geometric buckling (2 hr)
8. One-group flux distribution in finite media including two regions (Ch.6, 6 hrs)
9. Two-group, one region and six-factors (2 hrs)
10. Using NJOY code to generate neutron cross-sections and group constants (2 hrs)
11. Introduction to Origen code (1 hr)
12. Multi-group approximation (2 hrs)
13. Introduction to reactor kinetics (Ch.6, 2 hrs)
14. Commercial reactors (Ch.4, 2 hrs)
NE744 - Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (Spring 2011), now NE6726
Course Description:
Measurement of reactor characteristics and operational parameters using the Ohio State University Research Reactor, development of mathematical capability to analysis the reactor dynamics in both frequency and time domain.
Course Topics:
1. Approach-to-critical
2. Control rod calibration by subcritical multiplication, rod drop, and positive period
3. Determination of U-235 delayed neutron group parameters
4. Temperature reactivity feedback with fast and slow transients
5. Simulation of the dynamic response of the OSU research reactor
6. Determination of prompt neutron life time by zero-power reactor transfer function
measurement, neutron noise analysis
7. Reactor neutron energy spectrum measurement by foil activation and unfolding
NE880.08 - Advanced Topics: Nuclear Instrumentation (Spring 2012)
Course Description:
An advanced course of study for special topics in nuclear engineering; topics include FPGA based digitizer for data acquisition and processing, coincidence and anti-coincidence measurement, design of an all-digital positron annihilation spectroscope, semiconductor radiation sensor design, use of TCAD and other simulation codes.
NE/ME 4505 - Introduction to Nuclear Science and Engineering (Fall 2012, 2013, 2014)
Course Description:
A systematic introduction of nuclear science and engineering, including the ionization radiation and their interactions with materials, shielding, protection, detection, and the medical applications; one important aspect of nuclear technology is the electrical power generation, on which the topics centralized are reactor physics, nuclear reactor system, reactor safety, nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear fusion.
Course Objectives: At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe the breadth and impact of the nuclear industry on society today.
- Describe the structure of the atom and the nucleus, the processes that result in the time-dependent emission of energy (nuclear radiation), and nuclear characteristics important to our ability to use nuclear radiation.
- Apply fundamental calculational skills as an aid in understanding and explaining nuclear energy problems and solutions.
- Describe processes and applications that make use of the energy released from the nucleus, using both analytical and descriptive methods.
- Describe the sources of exposures to radiation, including both natural background radiation and man-caused radiation exposures.
- Describe the immediate and long-term biological effects of radiation exposure as a function of accumulated dose.
- Utilize their problem solving skills to evaluate radiation applications in industrial processes (industrial measurements and process control), nuclear reactor engineering (design and operation of fission reactors), medical diagnostics and therapy, and food processing.
- Describe the concept of risk and its application to human radiation exposure and nuclear safety.
NE6766 - Nuclear Engineering Design (Spring 2015)
Course Description:
This course offers to the student a practical experience in the design process within the context of nuclear engineering. A definition of engineering design is: an iterative, decision-making process which has as its objective the creation of a new or improved engineering device or system which fulfills a human need or desire and which is completed in a timely fashion. Engineering design embraces the entire sequence of activities and events which occur between the recognition of a problem and the completion of specifications of a functional, economical, optimized and otherwise satisfactory solution to that problem. It includes problem definition, analysis, creative thinking, synthesis, invention, evaluation, calculation, decision-making, tradeoffs, optimization, and finalization. These processes are found in virtually every aspect of engineering management. Thus, design is the process by which the engineer applies his/her specialized knowledge, skills and point of view to the solution of problems.