Nuclear reactor theory

Nuclear reactor theory

1 10.D 1 Nuclear Physics 10 (1969) 627; @North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam BOOK REVIEW W. K. MANSFIELD, Elementary Nuclear Physics (Nucle...

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1 10.D

1

Nuclear

Physics

10 (1969) 627; @North-Holland

Publishing

Co., Amsterdam

BOOK REVIEW W. K. MANSFIELD, Elementary Nuclear Physics (Nuclear Engineering Monographs I) (Temple Press Ltd., London, 1958. viii-60 p., 10s Bd.) J. J. SYRETT,Nuclear Reactor Theory (Nuclear Engineering Monographs II) (viii-80 p., 12s 6d.) W. B. HALL, Reactor Heat Transfer (Nuclear Engineering Monographs III) (viii-68 p.. 10s 6d.) These three booklets are the first of a new series of monographs, which are intended to give an introductory treatment of nuclear engineering subjects for students, research assistants and others who might want it, but who have no time to derive full benefit from the more detailed special works available. The first monograph is written to meet the need for a concise summary of the terminology and essential principles of nuclear physics. It has been prepared by the general editor of the series, W. K. Mansfield, of the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory, Queen Mary College, London. The book starts with a survey of the atomic theory of matter, giving a superficial explanation of the periodic system and the forces acting between atoms in molecules and solids. This is followed by an account of nuclear theory, touching on nuclear models, but with more attention to nuclear energetics and reactions. After a brief but instructive treatment of nuclear disintegrations, including radioactivity and fission, the author considers the interactions of neutrons and nuorlear radiations with matter, emphasizing the concepts of cross-section and flux. The final chapter gives an appropriate description of methods and apparatus for detection and measurement of nuclear radiations. In the second monograph J. J. Syrett, of the Reactor Division, A. E. R. E., Harwell, gives a survey of the physics of nuclear reactor design with particular emphasis on the heterogeneous natural uranium reactor with graphite moderator. The first chapters contain a qualitative explanation of the physical concepts of nuclear fission, chain reactions and neutron behaviour in reactors as well as their mathematical formulation in terms of elementary calculus, some special problems being deferred to two appendices. This provides the basis for a discussion of the calculations of critical size and lattice parameters. The variations of reactor properties due to temperature changes and neutron irradiation effects (fission product poisoning, fuel-burn-up and production of fissile material) are briefly discussed, and finally some of the possible reactor types and their fuel cycles are mentioned. The third monograph (by W. B. Hall, Windscale Research and Development Laboratory) is devoted to the study of the heat transfer process in nuclear reactors. Since this problem bears directly upon the size and consequently the prize of a reactor, it demands much more consideration of reactor design than is required in many other industrial processes. The fundamental data of convective heat transfer are presented and discussed in the first part of the monograph, their application to reactor design and performance in the second part, while the last chapter is devoted to a discussion of some special aspects, such as the properties of liquid metal coolants and the efficiency of longitudinal and transverse fins on the surface of the fuel container. In general the contents and the depth of treatment of these compact monographs appear to be adequate for their purpose. Particularly, it seems that the first of the series would serve as a very suitable introduction also for many readers who may be interested in the elementary principles of nuclear physics without being engaged in work in this field. Svend Holm

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