Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Physics

Robert E. Masterson (1950-2020) held MS and PhD degrees in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he worked for Westinghouse Nuclear Energy Systems. He was an Affiliate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Dr. Masterson published extensively in the journals of the ANS and had over 20 years of experience in the field of nuclear science and engineering. He had an extensive background in the fields of reactor safety, reactor design and analysis, reactor thermal hydraulics, numerical analysis, reactor physics, reactor dynamics, nuclear medicine, and nuclear particle transport. He was a member of the American Nuclear Society. His first textbook with CRC Press, Nuclear Engineering Fundamentals: A Practical Perspective, was published in 2017.

"As the preface indicates, a modern reactor physics book is long overdue. There are many good classic texts, but that lack the regular up-dates, ease of use or the more extensive nuclear physics introduction required for undergraduate courses. Following a detailed, yet accessible comparison of modern reactor types and a whole chapter introducing the basic nuclear physics underpinning nuclear power generation, this book steadily builds up the tools required by reactor physicists in a clear and non-presumptuous way. The layout is uncluttered and clean, with highlighting used to pick out important equations and concepts. Diagrams are colourful and appropriate. At the end of each chapter many (as many as ~80) short questions are included for students to test their understanding of each section, followed by more involved exercises. A solutions key is stated to be available for faculty members, increasing the usability of this book further. Later chapters deal with multi-group diffusion theory, various 3-D geometries as well as common reactor codes and the essentials of the Monte-Carlo method. These topics are crucial and yet often overlooked in undergraduate texts. Finally, though appendices with useful data are to be expected in a book of this nature, this volume excels with extensive data, common functions and integrals as well as diffusion parameters, attenuation coefficients, rates and cross sections to name a few. What’s also impressive is that on-line sources of public data are given together with details on plotting and visualisation. One point to note, is that there is a companion book on nuclear engineering where much of the radiation transport material located."—Carl Wheldon, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

• 1. Nuclear Power in the World Today 2. Neutrons and Other Important Particles of Reactor Physics 3. Nuclear Particles, Processes, and Reactions 4. Nuclear Cross Sections, Reaction Probabilities, and Reaction Rates 5. Cross Section Libraries and Sources of Practical Nuclear Data 6. Nuclear Fuels, Nuclear Structure, the Mass Defect, and Radioactive Decay 7. Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Energy Production 8. Neutron Slowing Down Theory, Neutron Moderators, and Reactor Coolants 9. The Neutron Multiplication Factor, the Reactivity, and the Four-Factor Formula 10. Neutron Leakage, Reactor Criticality, and the Six-Factor Formula 11. An Introduction to Neutron Diffusion Theory and Fick’s Law of Diffusion 12. Multigroup Neutron Diffusion Theory 13. Solutions to the Steady-State Neutron Diffusion Equation 14. Solving the Neutron Diffusion Equation with a Radioactive Source Term 15. Time-Dependent Reactors and Their Behavior 16. The Point Kinetics Approximation and the Inhour Equation 17. Burnup, Depletion, and Temperature Feedback 18. Long-Term Changes to the Reactivity of the Core 19. Fuel Assembly Homogenization and Reaction Rate Conservation 20. Control Rods, Burnable Poisons, and Chemical Shim 21. Fission Products, Xenon Transients, and Reactor Accidents 22. An Introduction to Neutron Transport Theory 23. The Monte Carlo Method and Its Applications to Nuclear Science and Engineering