Teaching basic pressurized water reactor core thermal-hydraulics employing worksheet-based exercises
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Autores: F. Reventós, C. Pretel, L. Batet, Joaquín Izquierdo Sebastián
, M. Arànega
- Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 25, no. Extra 6, 2009, págs. 1183-1193
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
The Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) is involved in many initiatives devoted to the examination of new approaches both to teaching organization and to the methodology used. Teaching basic thermal-hydraulic analysis of nuclear plants to students having their first contact with nuclear technology is a challenging activity in Nuclear Departments and Institutes. An important background in computing and numerical algorithms seems to be needed from the very beginning and the student has to understand physical phenomena and aspects of engineering. Traditionally the challenge was apparently solved by only selecting candidates who had a high level in all these skills for nuclear technology studies. This paper explains how, by using a properly organized worksheet, a very limited number of teaching sessions, together with corresponding study on the part of the student, provide interesting results to consolidate knowledge of the most relevant aspects of Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) core thermal-hydraulics. We do not offer a full description of the tools used, but provide the most relevant aspects and we describe the educational experience of both its development and use. We give some detail of how, from the very beginning, easy calculations are performed by the student using a standard worksheet which enables him or her to concentrate on concepts and parameters related to phenomena and thus on general understanding of the basic overview of the physics involved. All of this is supplemented with simple, but realistic results produced by the student. The worksheet has been tested and is currently being used successfully at the UPC.
